The Running Dream

Jessica leaves school early to attend a doctor’s appointment with her mother, who informs her that Dr. Wells had a sudden cancellation and can fit them in if they hurry. At the doctor’s office, they wait for close to an hour before Dr. Wells brings her in, examines her leg, and proclaims that she’s ready to get a preparatory prosthesis. They are sent to Hank Kruber, the prosthetist whom Jessica had met at the hospital, and whom she has given the nickname Hankenstein.

In the waiting room, they are joined by an elderly couple who seem unhappy. But Chloe, the receptionist who greets them, is “like sunshine through my cloud of uncertainty” (120). Her upbeat attitude keeps Jessica’s spirits afloat, even in the face of the elderly man, who remains sullen and sore. Chloe apologizes for how long Jessica and her mother wait in the office. She encourages Jessica, though, telling her that things will improve: “From here on, they’ll get better” (121). When they ask if Chloe has a family member who had an accident, she knocks on one of her legs, a prosthetic, and tells them she lost her leg to cancer when she was a girl.