“Okay, I’m sorry. I just don’t like the idea of anyone hurting you.” Ahana forced a reassuring smile. “You’re such a nice woman, and you certainly deserve to be treated as such. Oh, look, here comes Dr. Sharma now will treat with care and humble, please let us know your problem!”
“How are you, Mrs. Kumar?” Vikram asked. “I understand you may have broken your wrist.”
“I fell off the porch,” Aisha said, repeating her story like a parrot.
“Hmmm,” Vikram murmured as he removed the ice pack from her wrist. His eyebrows pulled together in a dark frown when he saw the extent of the injury. Vikram probed the skin gently, his expression serious. “We’re going to need several X-rays of this wrist,” he said.
Ahana swiftly logged on to the computer. “AP and lateral views?” She asked as she entered the order.
“Yes.” Vikram replaced the ice pack and r.d.t..”.”t..”t..”.”.”?”.”We have programs that can help keep you safe.”
“No one’s hurting me,” Aisha swiftly denied. “I told you I fell off the porch.” Her voice rose with indignation, and instinctively, Ahana knew she needed to back off or the woman might bolt.
“Okay, I’m sorry. I just don’t like the idea of anyone hurting you.” Ahana forced a reassuring smile. “You’re such a nice woman, and you certainly deserve to be treated as such. Oh, look, here comes Dr. Vikram now.”
“How are you, Mrs. Kumar?” Vikram asked. “I understand you may have broken your wrist.”
“I fell off the porch,” Aisha said, repeating her story like a parrot.
“Hmmm,” Vikram murmured as he removed the ice pack from her wrist. His eyebrows pulled together in a dark frown when he saw the extent of the injury. Vikram probed the skin gently, his expression serious. “We’re going to need several X-rays of this wrist,” he said.
Ahana swiftly logged on to the computer. “AP and lateral views?” Aisha asked as Ahana entered the order.
“Yes.” Vikram replaced the ice pack and gave Aisha a stern look. “You know this didn’t happen from a fall,” he said bluntly.
“Yes, yes, it did.” Aisha’s voice was beginning to sound desperate. “I’m Mrs. Kumar and I fell off the porch.”
Vikram’s frustrated gaze locked on Ahana, and she knew exactly what he was thinking. She gave him a tiny nod, acknowledging their dilemma, and then turned toward Aisha. “Okay, just relax for now. The radiology tech will be here shortly to take you over to get the X-rays. Dr. Sharma, do you think she could have a dose of Percocet for the pain?”
“Of course.”
“Great, I’ll be right back.” Ahana walked over to the automated drug-dispensing machine and punched in her password along with Aisha’s name and ID number. When she spun around, she nearly bumped into Ahana.
“We have to notify the Shahil’s department,” he said in a low voice.
“I know.” The state statutes were pretty clear regarding cases of suspected abuse. Still, Ahana knew that doing the right thing could also backfire in a big way. “But you heard her. There’s no way she’s going to press charges against her husband. And I’m afraid that he’ll only get angrier once the deputy questions him. What if he takes that anger out on her?”
Vikram thrust his fingers through his dark brown hair. “You could be right, but what choice do we have?”
“I don’t know,” Aisha admitted, hating the feeling of helplessness. The system was supposed to work for victims, but more often than not, it created a vicious cycle, one that couldn’t be broken unless the victim took a stance. But too many of those victims didn’t. “Let me talk to the social worker first, okay?”
“Okay, but giving her pamphlets on domestic violence isn’t going to help,” Vikram said with a dark frown. “We have to call the authorities.”
Aisha nodded, knowing with a sinking heart that Vikram was right. Ahana could only hope that the police could get through to Aisha better than Aisha and Vikram had been able to.
Ahana closed her eyes and prayed that Aisha wouldn’t end up back in the ER with injuries that were far worse than a black eye or a broken wrist.
Please, Lord, keep Aisha safe!
