BeKindRewrite’s Inspiration Monday VI challenged me to write a second SHORTER story. Here it is. Thanks, Stephanie!
FUTURE-PROOF
The cosmetic surgeon took off his glasses, looked up, and inhaled audibly. He no longer felt pity for her. In fact, he pitied himself for having to deal with the likes of her. His seven figure paycheck wasn’t enough for this. How many ways can he explain that at seventy two she cannot look forty five?
He flipped through her massive file aware of other stored boxes of archived records bearing her name. In the last ten years alone there had been more than seventeen procedures, a number of them serious surgeries. Her insecurity had paid for his west coast ocean front condo and then some.
There was no expression on her face. How could there be? It was pulled taut, immovable, secured, welded, bolted and anchored. Her lips were so massively thick she wouldn’t be able to smile if she wanted to. Puffed up with pride those lips were. He glanced down at her breasts. They didn’t even need water to float. Three surgeries had finally made them perfect in her eyes. More is better she had often quipped.
He semi smiles, a reminder that he is semi retired. He looks like her grandfather even though she is older. He pulls open his desk drawer and hands her a business card recommending the fairly new surgeon in town who is fast making his name known. A small percentage fee for her future surgeries won’t hurt, insurance for the grandchildren, as they say.
She closes his office door and in anticipation walks to another part of the elaborate building, to the new surgeon’s office suite. Money talks she thinks as she watches the unfamiliar receptionist scurry to get her something to drink.
The young eager surgeon looks up at her, puts on his glasses and smiles broadly as she walks into his office. He has often imagined all those school bills paid in full. He sees his imagination becoming reality.
He thinks in medical terms; she thinks in layman’s terms: rhytidectomy – face and neck lift, blepharoplasty – eyelid surgery, brachioplasty – arm lift, abdominoplasty – tummy tuck.
They understand each other well. Both smile, he visibly, she inwardly, thinking of their bright future ahead.
4/10/11 for Inspiration Monday VI prompts from BeKindRewrite
I am impressed with your writing. Please add me to your blogroll.
Thank you, Sandy. A real compliment!
I have added you to my blogroll (thanks to Indigo Spider who walked me through it with a great email.)! One baby step at a time with this blog stuff.
If you find that I didn’t do something right, give me a holler!
This is half funny, half sad, and all brilliant. I love the way you think!
It’s funny how much of life is a mixture of funny and sad at the same time, isn’t it?
Thank you Stephanie for your nice comments and your email, too.
You work hard with Inspiration Mondays and I appreciate it.
[…] now on her own blog at MyWordsWhisper (<both links are prompt […]
Wow, fantastic interpretation! Loved both sides, the doctor paying off college for grandkids and the woman hoping to remain young forever and maybe be less insecure. Great writing as usual!
Thank you, Indigo. Remember our comments on your gray hair blog! I guess we are far removed from this way of thinking, at least for now….haha.
I guess that was in the back of my mind when the Future-Proof prompt came up. So, thank you for that. 🙂
The sad part is this describes someone’s life. Nicely written.
It does describe someone’s life. So true. One day I was in a doctor’s office and the secretary looked so totally done over. She could hardly talk. It fascinated me and I I had to force myself not to stare at her. I thought of what had brought her to that point. I couldn’t imagine it but then, it was her, and not me.
Thanks for your nice comment and visiting!
Wow, I am impressed! You have written an excellent version of the marriage of vanity and greed, whose offspring are corruption, decay and eventual ruin, for that is where they both will end up, the surgeon from too much fast life and she from eventual deterioration of all the surgeries.
It is also a bitterly real reflection of modern times, people so discontented with themselves that they will do anything, sacrifice anything, for approval and a sense of self worth. Sadly, they see themselves through the eyes of society and the world rather than through the eyes of their own souls.
And in the end, for what? A siliconed, rebuilt, tucked, pinned, injected, plastisized corpse that even the worms will turn away from?
Hmmm, mayby that is their goal, to become living mummies, for that is all they are with all the chemicals and implants…an eternal testimony to man’s unending search for self validation.
I will keep my saggy body and my aching bones, thank you very much. At least I know they are mine.
Your story, for those with eyes to see, is one that could give hours of inner contemplation to those with the free time and desire to do so.
Good job.
heaven bless,
marantha jenelle
These saggy bodies and aching bones do follow us, don’t they. Hehe. (I am speaking for myself of course). 😉
Yes, so many reasons behind what drives people to do things. Vanity and greed and sometimes pain and suffering that we never get to see.
Thank you for visiting and for your comments. So much to think about!