Chapter 3: To beat or not to beat that is the question

Las Vegas had come and gone and Claudia and I were back in classes. We were now in Clinical 2, and boy did it provide some challenges for me. The most hilarious was when it came time to learn proper hand washing. Yes, they have a class in that. Well, the college did not have a sink in the clinical room, so we had to use the Women's bathroom. Here I was with 20 women including Claudia, crowded into this little bathroom watching as Ms. Tripp demonstrated the proper technique. A girl walked into the bathroom and did a double take because I was in there. Ms. Tripp, without batting an eye says, "Sorry, Clinical class, he needs to be in here." The girl shrugged her shoulders and proceeded into the stall and began disrobing after she closed the door. Tripp continued with the lesson, the girl from the stall, called out asking someone to hand her a tampon from the dispenser on the wall. Claudia elbowed me and handed it to me. All the girls in class and Ms. Tripp were giggling as I dutifully handed it to her over the door. When we were done and leaving I whispered to Claudia "I'm going to get you for that." She laughed out loud as we headed back to class.

The toughest thing I faced in school was learning to perform EKGs. I was a nervous wreck after the 1st session. You might wonder "Why?" Well I was raised to respect women and I have never been comfortable intimately touching a strange woman. The only 2 women I have ever touched that way were my ex-wife, Katie, and Claudia. When we got home from class, Claudia could tell something was wrong. She kept on me until I confessed my fears. Claudia smiled a bit, showing that award winning grin, then kissed me on the cheek. She said "Mr. Wellington, let me think; how can we get you through this?" What lay in wait for me, only she knew.

The work/school week came and went and then it was the weekend. I had a late class and headed home to be with Claudia and relax. As my home came into view, I saw a strange car in the driveway. Once inside I found Claudia entertaining our friends from Las Vegas, Trisha and her girlfriend, Melanie. It turns out that the pair was vacationing and decided to stop by and see us. It was a nice dinner and Claudia suggested she go get a video for us to watch. Melanie asked if she could tag along because she needed to find a drugstore. That left Trisha and I at the house.

I was flipping through the channels and Trisha asked me to stop on the Discovery Channel. We were watching a special on cosmetic surgery. In the middle of this she got a weird look on her face then started crying. I was holding her hand asking her what was wrong. She tearfully told me; she had found something in her breast that morning and was afraid to tell Mel. She explained that Mel's mom had died of breast cancer young, and Mel would be scared to lose her. She then began pleading with me to check it out for her and see if she needed a doctor.