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Murmurs
- Red Hen Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
59 Murmurs The couple live together, work together: he, a doctor, she a nurse, but these days she runs the office, hounds delinquents, fills out forms, makes claims. He still practices, the cold metal disk to my chest, reminds me to keep breathing. Does your heart always beat this fast? Sounds like a little tachycardia. I continue breathing. Do you ever have anxiety? Fatigue? Panic attacks? Yes. Might be something simple, like mitral valve prolapse. We’ll do more tests, but start you on beta-blockers. Sometimes there’s side effects, like depression, unpleasant dreams, and erectile dysfunction. I think I’ll skip beta-blockers, get another opinion. Don’t worry, you’ll live, he says, smiling, and I think how nice it is he’s reminded me of something else I had planned on continuing to do. We leave the room and he wordlessly hands my file to his wife. At night, the stethoscope lies curled on his dresser, its cold, sensitive instrument pointed toward the bed, listening for something. Anything. ...