stones. “Give him lots of water!” I barked. Four years of medical school and five more years of residency to learn that brilliant secret. I’m sure I dazzled the flight attendants. I just was glad it wasn’t a pregnant woman in labor. I forgot the table count. I retrieved my nickels and wished my losing compatriots the best of luck, but I feared my predicament may be worse. “Are you really a doctor?” asked the muscle-bound, perennially coppertone, obnoxious Strong Islander with the slick bleach blond hair who stood behind me for the last half-hour repeatedly insisting that he bankroll me every time I split against Dealer’s six. He couldn’t help screaming “MONKEY” every opportunity available. He wasn’t even playing! And he was wearing a Baltimore Ravens jersey! Somehow that clued me in to the possibility the table was getting cold. “Of course he’s a doctor!” proudly chirped the Gujarati. “Doctor Kaushik Bagchi.” Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before. I approached the desk as quickly as possible to avoid another announcement. “I’m B-A-G-C-H-I,” I asserted pre-emptively. I didn’t want the Courtesy Fairy have me clarify the difficult pronunciation and spelling of my six-letter name, and then ask if it is French. “Oh, yes. Sorry to disturb you, Doctor. Angela has left a phone number to the clinic. Please call her immediately.” On a Thursday afternoon when I’m not supposed to be at work? When I’m up $200? When I have the day off and nobody knows? Almost nobody. My secretary must have had an inkling; she frequently has heard me express my lame fantasy that I should just quit my job and make money at Foxwoods. Does my neophyte orthopedic resident have a disaster waiting for me in the emergency room? I’m not even on call. Maybe one of my patients has a complication? I dialed the clinic directly and asked for my indefatigable attention-to-every-detail tell your boss everything top of her class but loves her Mama’s cookies all-time favorite resident. “Hey, it’s Angela. I’m sorry, but your secretary Sue told me you would be at Foxwoods. I hope you don’t mind, but I repeated X-rays on a guy you casted yesterday, and it still looks good! I just saw him in the clinic. He’s so nice!” If I didn’t clench my teeth, my jaw would have dropped. That’s it? I’ll make sure she gets a medal for conveying the least important FYI of the year. What she told me was more trivial than a plankton funeral. Interrupted me from my mini-fantasy. May I please now retreat to the meaningless abyss? But I’m uncovered and derailed. They all know about my secret hideout. The best-laid plans of mice and men... And my hard-earned paltry earnings are but a reminder of my glass UPAHAAR 2021 উপহার ১৪২৮ 11
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