The Time-Gap Birthday

Three candles lit the spumoni ice cream cake - Lara's favorite. Cherry, pistachio, and chocolate ice cream, with yellow cake. Buttercream frosting covered the entire outer layer. The sides of the cake were adorned with roses of pink frosting. Mint green frosting trimmed the top layer. The cake was big enough for at least twenty people. Each candle on the cake was shaped like a number: 1-0-4.

Members of the staff at Springhill Senior Living Center gathered in Lara's room and began singing the birthday song in her honor.

“Please don't sing the ‘how old are you?’ part!!!” Lara pleaded, through joyful laughter.

Everyone shouted, "one-two-three," and Lara blew out the three candles in one breath.

Lara was surprised to have lived so long. As a child, she had faced difficult health conditions. Constantly having earaches and fevers. She had kidney stones in her early 20s. She had her appendix out at age 29.

“I love candles!” Lara made up a melody and sang the words repeatedly. “I love candles! I love candles! I love candles!”

Everyone started clapping. Soon, their light clapping turned into thunderous applause. It was all flattering, but Lara wanted them to stop. Her ears were hurting.

“Stop, please, stop clapping!” Lara shouted, closing her eyes and covering her ears. “Stop it, please! Stop it!"

The clapping slowly diminished but Lara continued to keep her eyes closed and ears covered, continuing to shout, "Stop it! Stop it!" until she felt a hand on both her shoulders. Someone was shaking her. Then, she heard a feminine voice. “Lara, you’re having a nightmare. Please wake up.”

When Lara opened her eyes, her heart was racing, and sweat was pouring down her forehead. Standing on the right side of the bed was the woman who had been shaking her by the shoulders. The woman had on a white coat with a name tag that read "Susan J. Kuong, Nurse Practitioner."

On the left side of the bed was a man who was reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart, the Hollywood movie star from the 1940s and 1950s. He also had on a white coat. His name tag read "Yosef Fadel, M.D."

Dr. Fadel smiled serenely and said, "How are you feeling, Lara? You gave us a bit of a scare. We weren't sure we could wake you up!"

Lara heard and understood the question but formulating a response didn't come quickly or easily.

"Lara, do you understand what we're saying?" asked Barbara.

“Yes, I understand!" Lara said angrily. "Who are you people, anyway? Why were you clapping? And where did all the others go?"

“Lara, don’t you remember us?” Barbara asked. “We’re your medical team. I’m your nurse practitioner, Barbara and this is Dr. Fadel, the surgeon who removed your appendix. And it's just us here. No one else.”

Lara’s memory was coming back. “Oh...okay, maybe. Yes, yes…of course. I’m sorry."

“We’re happy to tell you that the surgery was a success,” said Dr. Fadel. “You should be out of the hospital in a couple of days, if not sooner. We want to make sure you're recovering well.”

Just then, there was a delivery to Lara’s hospital room. Pink roses and a balloon.

“Happy birthday, Lara! Sorry, I should've noticed when looking at your chart,” said Barbara, sniffing the flowers and placing the vase on Lara's nightstand. "What a lovely fragrance."

"They are beautiful," said Lara. "I wonder who they're from. Can you read the card for me?"

"Sure!" Barbara took out her reading glasses from her coat pocket. "The card says, Happy Birthday, Lara, and get well soon! Best wishes from your office colleagues!

"I can’t imagine which office colleagues would be sending me flowers. Most are probably dead by now. I haven't worked for a good 35 years! At least."

Dr. Fadel and Barbara exchanged concerned glances.

Lara, still dazed, asked, “By the way, do you know how old I am?”

Barbara looked at Lara's chart and said, “According to your chart, you’re 29 years old today.”

“29 years old? Hah! Goodness, really? I'm not fighting it, but how can that be?”

“Here it is…your birth year subtracted by this year. That makes 29.” Dr. Fadel smiled. "It's basic arithmetic."

“But the candles. What about the three candles on the birthday cake? There were three.”

"Maybe you were dreaming that you were three years old!" Dr. Fadel laughed.

“Doctor, I think the morphine drip may have been too strong,” Barbara said sotto voce.

“Apparently. Let's cut that off,” Dr. Fadel instructed Barbara.

"Lara, have you ever had any sensitivities to morphine that you can recall," Dr. Fadel asked.

"I've never had morphine before," Lara replied.

"As an alternative, we can prescribe oral pain killers for you," Dr. Fadel offered.

"How is your pain level, Lara?" Barbara asked.

“I'm not in pain," said Lara. "But I do need to go to the bathroom."

“Of course,” said Barbara. “Let me help you.”

When they reached the bathroom, Lara headed to the sink to see her reflection in the mirror. She burst out in laughter.

"Goodness, you two are practical jokers, aren't you? How can you say I'm 29 when I have the same old wrinkles and white hair I had at my birthday party? I'm 104 today. And I must say I think I look pretty good. I could pass for...oh, 90, 95?:

“Doctor!” Barbara was taken aback. “Doctor! Please come in here.”

"What's the matter?" asked Dr. Fadel, as he entered the bathroom.

"But look at my face," said Lara, as she continually touched her cheeks, forehead, and hair. “Does this look like the face of a 29-year-old?”

"Lara," Dr. Fadel said, standing behind her, his reflection also in the mirror. "I don't even think you look a day over 22 - the same age as my daughter."

"Are you flirting with me, Dr. Fadel?" asked Lara.

"No, Lara, I'm not flirting with you," Dr. Fadel replied, clearly uncomfortable. "I don't think my wife would be too happy about that."

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I was trying to be funny. I guess I'll keep my day job--the one I retired from," said Lara, her legs a bit shaky. "I think I need to take a nap now."

"Let me help you back to your bed," said Barbara. Then to Dr. Fadel, "I think I can take care of this, Yosef."

"Of course, yes," said Dr. Fadel. "Lara, Barbara will take good care of you. I'll check on you again tomorrow."

Barbara helped Lara back into the hospital bed. "Now, let the nurses know if you experience any pain. Dr. Fadel will be writing an order for oral pain killers. You can take them as needed."

"Okay, thank you, Barbara," said Lara. "By the way, are you Mrs. Fadel?"

Barbara blushed. "Well, hah, yes, I am. How did you know?"

"You called the doctor by his first name, so I thought maybe...."

"Ahh...yes, I slip sometimes. We want to be professional, so we don't advertise the fact that we're married."

"I'm so sorry about that joke about flirting."

"Patients flirt with doctors all the time. And my husband likes to flatter his patients. I'm used to it."

"I know he wasn't flirting. Look at this face. This white hair," said Lara. "He wouldn't notice me when he has a beautiful young wife like you!"

Barbara laughed, a quizzical expression on her face. "What do you mean? You're a very pretty young woman and I'm quite certain I'm much older than you. Frankly, I wouldn't blame my husband if he noticed your beauty."

"Why do you keep saying that? I want to look in the mirror again!" Lara jumped out of the bed on her own and ran into the bathroom.

"Lara! Be careful. You're still healing from the surgery," said Barbara, following her into the bathroom.

Lara stared in the mirror and touched her face and hair repeatedly. The woman Lara saw in the mirror had beautiful, thick raven hair that fell just above her shoulders and framed her delicate features.

"How can this be? Why do I look like this? What happened to my wrinkles and white hair?"

"Lara, you may still be recovering from the anesthesia."

"So, am I really 29 years old today?"

"That's what your chart and identification say, Lara." Barbara gently held on to Lara's arm. "Let's get you back in bed so you can rest."

"Barbara, you said my identification showed my age. Where is my ID?"

Once Barbara was able to get Lara situated back in bed, she looked in the bottom drawer of the nightstand. She took out a red shoulder bag and placed it on the bed. "Would it be in this bag?"

The bag didn't look familiar to Lara. She looked inside and found a small purse. In it, she found a driver's license with her name and photo on it. Dr. Fadel was correct about the arithmetic. According to the birthdate on the license, she was indeed 29 years old.

It was all coming back to her now. Yes, yes, it was truly a dream after all! Lara had never had general anesthesia before. Perhaps it was like having a vivid dream that continues upon waking, thought Lara.

Finally, Lara was safely ensconced in bed, appearing calmer.

"Lara, I have to leave now but don't hesitate to use that call button if you need assistance." Barbara smoothed out the bedding and helped adjust the bed’s height for Lara's comfort. "Dr. Fadel and I will be back to check on you tomorrow. Before I leave, is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, I think I'll be okay," said Lara. "And thanks so much for your patience, Barbara. I do appreciate it."

"Okay, then. Try to get some rest. See you tomorrow."

After Barbara left, Lara closed her eyes. Unable to fall asleep, she reached for the TV remote control on the nightstand. She surfed the channels until she found a station with reruns of classic TV shows from decades past. She started watching an episode of Bewitched that made her laugh. The laughter worked better than prescription drugs. She felt at ease and at peace. She took a deep breath and it felt good. Her heart wasn't racing anymore. She hoped that eventually, she would fall asleep. Her eyelids felt increasingly heavy.

Just as Lara was closing her eyes and dozing off, the TV show cut to a commercial. The commercial began with a group of people loudly singing “Happy Birthday.” That caused Lara to spring out of bed and run into the bathroom once again. She looked in the mirror. Again, her hair was white and her face full of wrinkles. She couldn't catch her breath no matter how hard she tried. She collapsed.

When Lara awoke, she was lying on the bathroom floor face up. Oddly, she felt great. As if she had had a long restful night's sleep. She had no idea how long she was unconscious. She was able to stand up and walk back to her bed. She got into bed and made herself comfortable.

The TV was still on with another episode of Bewitched. It must've been a marathon. The thought made her laugh and again she felt calm and at peace.

She was tempted to enter the bathroom and look in the mirror again, but she decided to wait until morning. She did, however, look at her hands. They were smooth and not the hands of a woman who just had her 104th birthday. That eased her mind, but she decided to wait anyway.

She hoped that tomorrow would be a better day to look in the mirror.

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