Read Host for Free Online Page A

them were pushed open, allowing warm air from outside topermeate the room, and affording an unobstructed view over the meticulously landscaped hospital grounds.
    The hospital was situated in the northeastern corner of Charleston, South Carolina, with a bit of the “Holy City” visible over a row of magnolias that lined the street. It was called the Holy City because of all the churches, and even from the hospital coffee shop, a number of steeples could be seen jutting up from among the historic homes. It was a gorgeous morning, like most Charleston spring mornings, filled with sunshine, flowers, and the sounds of songbirds.
    What had made Lynn laugh so suddenly was an off-color joke about an angel who had traded in her harp for an upright organ. It had been told by Ronald Metzner, the jokester of the class, who had a phenomenal memory for jokes. What caught Lynn by surprise was that, although she usually didn’t find his jokes funny, somehow this one touched a nerve without her knowing exactly why, and only later would she realize it was because of suppressed tension she was trying to ignore.
    Apologizing again to her companions for what she thought was a major faux pas, Lynn picked up her coffee cup and saucer to wipe off the table. She noticed that Ronald had a big, contented smile on his face, obviously pleased with the effect he had had on her and on the group as a whole.
    The six medical students, four women and two men, appropriately dressed in their white coats, were hyped up and goofing off. For them, the almost four years of work, doubt, discovery, and challenge were all but over. Just over two weeks previously they had gotten the results of the National Residency Matching Program, so their uncertainty was behind them. They all knew where they were going for the next and, perhaps, most important part of their professional training.
    For the final couple of months before graduation the group andseveral dozen other fourth-year students on the same rotation were supposedly getting their introduction to ophthalmology; ear, nose, and throat; and dermatology. But the rotation was not as organized or as important as had been the case in other, more basic disciplines, such as third-year internal medicine and surgery. They also had no real patient responsibilities, at least not yet. So far there had only been what they considered rather poorly planned and uninspiring lectures and demonstrations in the three specialties. That morning they had decided to skip the lecture to enjoy their sense of accomplishment. Truth be known, they were essentially in a cruise mode until getting their diplomas.
    “I never knew you were interested in orthopedics,” Karen Washington said to Lynn after the group had recovered. Karen’s tone had a slightly captious tinge that only Lynn could detect. Just before the angel joke, Lynn had revealed her residency plans, which she hadn’t shared until that moment, and it had come as a surprise for Karen. She and Lynn were both from Atlanta and had known each other from high school and their undergraduate college days at Duke. They had been close friends during high school and their college freshman year, but when they both had decided on medicine as a career, competitiveness had interfered. But it wasn’t the only thing that came between them. Financial problems with Lynn’s family during sophomore year at college had impacted every aspect of her life, including her relationship with Karen, whose family was particularly well off.
    Although Lynn and Karen ended up at the same medical school, their close friendship had never truly revived, as Karen’s keen competiveness continued. Instead Lynn had gravitated toward a close, platonic connection with Michael Pender. At one point during the first year of medical school Karen had confided to Lynn that she would have understood better if it had involved romance. Lynn’s response was that she was the one who was most surprised to havesuch a close,