A Remarkable Discovery

A Remarkable Finding

The lab’s bright lights bothered Sue’s eyes. Around her countless shelves with colourful solutions contained in long glasses and test tubes. Beakers, pipettes and burettes covered the long countertop in front of her. She took the tissue sample from the Petri dish and carefully placed it under the electronic microscope. She observed the specimen and nodded. Yes, it was perfect. It clearly showed the type of heart cell taken from a lab rat. She had to prepare ten more samples for her Pathology class the following day.

The university considered her one of the best Biochemistry professors. Being the head of the department at forty wasn’t a common occurrence at the place she worked, but there she was doing the best she could, trying to prove to her colleagues, men and women, that she was capable of the task.

Too many hours in the lab interfered with her family life; she was aware of the situation. While she rushed home through the insane peak-hour traffic, she thought of John. He probably was home already and had started dinner. As always she could count on him for almost everything that was important in her life.

***

As she opened the front door, a mouthwatering smell welcomed her.

“Hi, honey,” she said, threw her car keys on the hall table and made her way to the kitchen.

“Hi, there; I hope you are hungry, dinner is almost ready and it tastes great,” John smiled, licking his lips in a comical gesture.

“I’m sure it does,” she kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll set the table.”

During dinner, Sue’s mind went over what she needed to finish for her class the next day.

“Did you have a good day, honey? You seemed preoccupied,” he said.

“Sorry, but I have so much on my mind. Work is a nightmare; it’s never enough time to do it all.”

“What happened with the lab technician you were supposed to hire?”

“That’s out of the question. Budget limitations.”

“I think you put too much pressure on what you do.”

“You don’t understand. Teaching preschool children is quite different from teaching university students.” She said in an unfriendly manner.

“That sounded a bit rough.” John crossed his arms over his chest. “I value my job as you do yours.”

“I know you do, but you can differentiate the level of preparation a Pathology class requires compared with singing lullabies to five-year-olds.”

John’s cold eyes glared at her. “That’s a petulant statement.”

“Sorry you feel that way, but it’s the truth.” She stood and said, “thanks for dinner, I’m tired, I’m going to bed.”

“Good night.” His voice sounded disappointed.

When Sue left the room, John cleared up the table, made himself a drink and sat on the porch. He remembered the Sue he fell in love with. Her happy mood, carefree disposition and enchanting smile captivated him. She showed compassion and she was never unkind. Where did that woman go? he asked himself. They’ve been together for ten years and shared good times and hard times but nothing like this.

She seemed unhappy. Even sex had changed between them; when they made love it felt hurried, mechanic, void of true enjoyment. What was wrong with her? She was always blaming her work, but maybe there was something else or someone else. That was a crazy thought.

***

Back in her bed, aimlessly turning her wedding band on her finger, Sue thought about her conversation with John. Yes, she was being unfair, John didn’t have to put up with her sour moods but he did. Reliable, dependable and loyal John. He has been like that since the beginning of their relationship. He didn’t deserve to go through hell because of her behaviour. 

I know at times I’ve sounded pettish and that’s wrong, she thought.

People said that most of our difficulties as adults might have their roots in our childhood. Probably that was true. Being an overachiever, perhaps it wasn’t entirely her fault. Her father, the brilliant Dr. Steve Jones, the head of the Pathology department for decades, instilled in her brain the erroneous notion that people should always strive to be the best of the best in their profession, at whatever cost. Certainly, an extremely narrow vision of someone’s life.

Since Sue started working at the university, she had to endure the fact that everyone compared her work as a scientist with her father’s. Unfairness was the word that came to her mind when she thought of it.  Why do I keep working there? She asked herself. The answer came to her mind loud and clear; pride. She wanted to demonstrate to everyone that she was capable of being as brilliant as her father. She knew it was a useless predicament because she could never be as accomplished as he was.

 It’s stupid to put all this stress in my life, in my marriage. I won’t come up with an ingenious discovery, as he did. That’s not me. Being a man, my father dedicated most of his time to his studies, his research and his students. Mom ran the house and looked after us. And shortly after he retired, death took him from his family.

***

A couple of months went by and things started to improve between John and Sue. She tried to be home earlier, to mind her words and to enjoy their intimacy. As usual, John was receptive to the changes in his wife’s life and welcomed them with joy.

Sue’s behaviour wasn’t the only change John observed. He noticed her eating habits were different. The foods she enjoyed having made her sick; she complained of being exhausted after a day's work and she cried easily. Concerned about her health, John voiced his worries.

“Honey, how’re you doing? You look a bit pale.

“I feel weary after work. It wasn’t like that bad before,” she said. “On top of it, I’m not keeping my food down all the time.”

“I worry about you. We’ll ask for a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, okay?”

“I can’t tomorrow, honey, I have classes all day.”

“Fine, we’ll ask for the appointment the day after tomorrow then.”

“Sorry, love, but this week I’m taking final exams. I’m truly busy.”

He looked at her sternly. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. Please, listen, your health is a priority. We’ll go this week; you clear things up at work.” 

Sue sniffed back tears. John usually didn’t talk to her in that tone. But she wasn’t that sensitive either. Definitely, something was going on. She didn’t want to wait for the doctor’s appointment and took the matter into her own hands.

At Sue’s work amidst test tubes, beakers, pipettes and burettes sat a small box she bought at the pharmacy. She’ll have to wait to get home to share with John her remarkable discovery.

The lab’s bright lights bothered Sue’s eyes. Around her countless shelves with colourful solutions contained in long glasses and test tubes. Beakers, pipettes and burettes covered the long countertop in front of her. She took the tissue sample from the Petri dish and carefully placed it under the electronic microscope. She observed the specimen and nodded. Yes, it was perfect. It clearly showed the type of heart cell taken from a lab rat. She had to prepare ten more samples for her Pathology class the following day.

The university considered her one of the best Biochemistry professors. Being the head of the department at forty wasn’t a common occurrence at the place she worked, but there she was doing the best she could, trying to prove to her colleagues, men and women, that she was capable of the task.

Too many hours in the lab interfered with her family life; she was aware of the situation. While she rushed home through the insane peak-hour traffic, she thought of John. He probably was home already and had started dinner. As always she could count on him for almost everything that was important in her life.

***

As she opened the front door, a mouthwatering smell welcomed her.

“Hi, honey,” she said, threw her car keys on the hall table and made her way to the kitchen.

“Hi, there; I hope you are hungry, dinner is almost ready and it tastes great,” John smiled, licking his lips in a comical gesture.

“I’m sure it does,” she kissed him on the cheek. “I’ll set the table.”

During dinner, Sue’s mind went over what she needed to finish for her class the next day.

“Did you have a good day, honey? You seemed preoccupied,” he said.

“Sorry, but I have so much on my mind. Work is a nightmare; it’s never enough time to do it all.”

“What happened with the lab technician you were supposed to hire?”

“That’s out of the question. Budget limitations.”

“I think you put too much pressure on what you do.”

“You don’t understand. Teaching preschool children is quite different from teaching university students.” She said in an unfriendly manner.

“That sounded a bit rough.” John crossed his arms over his chest. “I value my job as you do yours.”

“I know you do, but you can differentiate the level of preparation a Pathology class requires compared with singing lullabies to five-year-olds.”

John’s cold eyes glared at her. “That’s a petulant statement.”

“Sorry you feel that way, but it’s the truth.” She stood and said, “thanks for dinner, I’m tired, I’m going to bed.”

“Good night.” His voice sounded disappointed.

When Sue left the room, John cleared up the table, made himself a drink and sat on the porch. He remembered the Sue he fell in love with. Her happy mood, free care disposition and enchanting smile captivated him. She showed compassion and she was never unkind. Where did that woman go? he asked himself. They’ve been together for ten years and shared good times and hard times but nothing like this.

She seemed unhappy. Even sex had changed between them; when they made love it felt hurried, mechanic, void of true enjoyment. What was wrong with her? She was always blaming her work, but maybe there was something else or someone else. That was a crazy thought.

***

Back in her bed, aimlessly turning her wedding band on her finger, Sue thought about her conversation with John. Yes, she was being unfair, John didn’t have to put up with her sour moods but he did. Reliable, dependable and loyal John. He has been like that since the beginning of their relationship. He didn’t deserve to go through hell because of her behaviour. 

I know at times I’ve sounded pettish and that’s wrong, she thought.

People said that most of our difficulties as adults might have their roots in our childhood. Probably that was true. Being an overachiever, perhaps it wasn’t entirely her fault. Her father, the brilliant Dr. Steve Jones, the head of the Pathology department for decades, instilled in her brain the erroneous notion that people should always strive to be the best of the best in their profession, at whatever cost. Certainly, an extremely narrow vision of someone’s life.

Since Sue started working at the university, she had to endure the fact that everyone compared her work as a scientist with her father’s. Unfairness was the word that came to her mind when she thought of it.  Why do I keep working there? She asked herself. The answer came to her mind loud and clear; pride. She wanted to demonstrate to everyone that she was capable of being as brilliant as her father. She knew it was a useless predicament because she could never be as accomplished as he was.

 It’s stupid to put all this stress in my life, in my marriage. I won’t come up with an ingenious discovery, as he did. That’s not me. Being a man, my father dedicated most of his time to his studies, his research and his students. Mom ran the house and looked after us. And shortly after he retired, death took him from his family.

***

A couple of months went by and things started to improve between John and Sue. She tried to be home earlier, to mind her words and to enjoy their intimacy. As usual, John was receptive to the changes in his wife’s life and welcomed them with joy.

Sue’s behaviour wasn’t the only change John observed. He noticed her eating habits were different. The foods she enjoyed having made her sick; she complained of being exhausted after a day's work and she cried easily. Concerned about her health, John voiced his worries.

“Honey, how’re you doing? You look a bit pale.

“I feel weary after work. It wasn’t like that bad before,” she said. “On top of it, I’m not keeping my food down all the time.”

“I worry about you. We’ll ask for a doctor’s appointment tomorrow, okay?”

“I can’t tomorrow, honey, I have classes all day.”

“Fine, we’ll ask for the appointment the day after tomorrow then.”

“Sorry, love, but this week I’m taking final exams. I’m truly busy.”

He looked at her sternly. “I don’t want to hear your excuses. Please, listen, your health is a priority. We’ll go this week; you clear things up at work.” 

Sue sniffed back tears. John usually didn’t talk to her in that tone. But she wasn’t that sensitive either. Definitely, something was going on. She didn’t want to wait for the doctor’s appointment and took the matter into her own hands.

At Sue’s work amidst test tubes, beakers, pipettes and burettes sat a small box she bought at the pharmacy. She’ll have to wait to get home to share with John her remarkable discovery.