Age 14 - Part 4

An impromptu foot race between Izzy and her friends came to a quick end when an unfortunate step led to a four inch cut in Vic’s side from a jagged stone. Vic insisted he was fine, but his friends overruled him and brought him to Doc Porter. She cleaned and inspected the wound and declared that he’d be fine with a couple stitches.

Dante, Joey, and Phil goofed around while waiting, but Izzy watched with keen attention while the old woman tried and failed to thread her small curved needle, growing more frustrated with every attempt. Finally the doctor noticed her attention.

Doc Porter sighed, and with a look of shame, said, “Izzy, could I borrow your young eyes, please?” She handed the tray to Izzy, and frowned while the youthful girl threaded and knotted the needle effortlessly.

“Thank you, dear,” the silver-haired woman told her. She began to sew up Vic’s laceration, and her mood became level again. She went on, sounding like a teacher. “When you get old, your eyes are no longer able to focus up close. The tissues in your eyes become less flexible - they can’t bend enough to focus the light properly.”

Izzy continued to watch as the doctor sewed Vic’s skin. The doctor’s eyes weren’t the only thing failing her. Her hands moved with precision, but slowly. Occasionally they stopped, and the doctor’s face became intense, as if engaged in a battle of will for control of her body. It made Izzy sad to think that the person the town admired the most, and counted on the most, might no longer be able to live up to their expectations.

Izzy studied the pattern the doctor used. It wasn’t one that she had learned for fabric. She wondered if her prime uncle ever used it for leather? Leather and skin probably used the same techniques, she decided.

Eventually, Vic was finished. He immediately sprung to his feet and engaged the other boys in reckless horseplay.

“Izzy,” Doc Porter said before she could leave, “I wonder how you would feel if I asked your uncle to let you help me? A couple hours a week after school?” Izzy smiled and nodded.