Sophie's Choice - William Styron [100]
“A doctor specializing in dietary deficiencies,” I said, hazarding a reasonable guess.
“Yes, exactly. This is a doctor named Warren Hatfield, who study medicine with Larry before the war. Anyway, that same day we ride together, Nathan and I, to New York to see Dr. Hatfield. Nathan borrowed Larry’s car and crossed me over the bridge to the Columbia hospital. Oh, Stingo, I remember that so well, that ride with Nathan to the hospital. Larry’s car is a décapotable—you know, a convertible—and all my life ever since I was growing up in Poland, I wanted to ride in a convertible, like the ones I had seen in pictures and in the movies. Such a silly ambition, yes, to ride in an open car, but here I was on this beautiful summer day riding with Nathan and the sun coming down and the wind blowing through my hair. It was so strange. I was still sick, you see, but I feel good! I mean I knew somehow I was going to be made well. And all because of Nathan.
“It was early in the afternoon, I remember. I had never been to Manhattan except by the subway train at night, and now from the car for the first time I see the river by daytime and the incredible skyscrapers of the city and the airplanes in the clear sky. It was so majestic and so beautiful and exciting, I was near to crying. And I would look at Nathan from the corner of my eye while he talked very fast about Larry and all of these marvelous things he done as a doctor. And then he would talk about medicine, and about how he would now wager anything on earth that he was right about my condition, and how it could be cured, and et cetera. And I don’t know how to describe this feeling I had, looking at Nathan as we drove up Broadway. I suppose you would call it—what?—awe, there’s a fine English word. Awe that this sweet gentle friendly man would come along and just be so caring and serious to make me well. He was my savior, Stingo, just that, and I never had a savior before...
“And of course he was right, you see. At Columbia, at the hospital, I stay for three days while Dr. Hatfield makes the tests, and they show that Nathan is right. I am profoundly lacking iron. Oh, I am lacking some other things too, but they are not so important. It is mainly iron. And while I am there for those three days in the hospital Nathan comes to visit me every day.”
“How did you feel about all this?” I asked.
“About what?”
“Well, I don’t mean to pry,” I went on, “but you’ve been describing one of the wildest, nicest whirlwind encounters I’ve ever heard of. After all, at that point you’re still pretty much strangers. You don’t really know Nathan, don’t know what motivates him, other than that he’s obviously very much attracted to you, to say the least.” I paused, then said slowly, “Again, Sophie, stop me if I’m getting a little too personal, but I’ve always wondered what happens in a woman’s mind when a terrific, forceful, attractive guy like this comes along and—well, to use that expression again, sweeps you off your feet.”
She was silent for a moment, her face pensive and lovely. Then she said, “In truth, I was very confused. It had been so long—oh, so very long—since I had