Out of all the standardized patient actors, Ben is the newest and I’ve learned more about him tonight than in the last few weeks we’ve been working together.
He’s a very polite thirty-ish aged guy with a cracked tooth and an attractive smile who moved here from the Midwest about a year ago and has been looking for steady work for a while now. He said a friend told him about the program, he applied, and started about a month ago.
I'm glad we had the chance to have dinner together and get to know each other a little better, especially because I think Bernadette is interested in him and she deserves a little happiness. The father of her second daughter cheated on her six weeks ago and she's been meaner than usual. It would certainly benefit everyone if something went her way.
“I’m not sure about the Hines kid either.” Casper brings up work again. “He’s adorable, but he was sweating bullets during our whole scenario. If he was the doctor I met in an emergency room, I’d asked to be transferred to another hospital.”
“They're all nervous when they first start, Casper,” I say, defending the student.
“This was beyond nerves. I think the kid just has an anxious personality or maybe even an anxiety disorder and he's going to struggle a lot in a residency. My mom was a police officer and had a major anxiety disorder. I may not be a doctor, but what I do know is that there are levels of pressure in many professions that not everyone is cut out for.”
Casper gets up to use the restroom.
“Maybe he’ll see the writing on the wall and quit,” Ben joins the conversation.
“I think as this crop of students continues to do more scenarios, they will work through their anxiety and grow into a level of confidence that they didn't have when they first started,” I say whole-heartedly.
“Maybe,” Bernadette says in a tone of skepticism.
“Well, enough about the med students,” Ben responds with a smile. “I’ve shared a little about what brought me here. Why don't you girls tell me a little about you?”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen Bernadette smile so broadly. Even if Ben isn’t interested in her romantically and he’s just being polite, having an interaction with a different guy outside of her treacherous ex-boyfriend seems like a good idea to me.
“I’ve been working in the program the longest,” she says proudly. “Let’s see, I’ve been doing this for about three years and I met Casper and Gigi about a year ago. I like the flexibility the job offers. On my days off, I can get stuff done for my kids like doctor’s appointments and stuff life that. Did I mention I have kids?” she asks Ben sheepishly.
“No, I didn’t realize. You must have been a teenaged mom. You look so young.”
“No, I was in my twenties when I had them.” She blushes. “My babies are only three and five-years-old.”
Instead of asking Bernadette what her kids’ names are, because that would be the natural progression of the conversation, Ben redirects the conversation immediately toward me.
“And what about you Gigi? How did you end up in such a unique job like this one?”
“Um, well, I was a student at Temple and one of my drama professors told me about the gig. Evidently, a lot of theater students take these jobs. The memorization comes easy for us.”
“So, you were a drama major in school?”
“Yes, I was.”
“And what’s your favorite play?”
“Well, I prefer musical theater, so my favorites are Wicked, The Lion King and Hamilton.
“Have you seen those on Broadway?”
“Oh sure, dozens of times. I’m a theater geek. How about you?”
“Nah, we couldn’t afford indulgent nights out at the theater where I’m from.”
“Oh.”
Casper returns to the table as Bernadette and I give each other a sudden “what just happened” look because Ben’s response sounds resentful and almost angry to me.
“What’d I miss?” Casper asks the table.
An incoming call from a familiar number momentarily breaks the tension around the table.
“Guess where the fuck I am?”
