The Rocks

The first time I saw Geoff, he was lapping the B level in a bright red wagon stuffed with pillows and adorned with stickers. His face was one that drew stares from the curious, and medical students are curious to the point of rudeness at times. It wasn’t until his second lap that I took stock of the woman pulling the handle. She had on two pairs of mismatched and brightly striped hospital socks on each foot, and her hair had struggled mostly out of her ponytail. She had a weariness in her shoulders.

“What does he have?” I whispered to my resident after the wagon had passed. “I mean, what is his underlying…