Dr. Morgan Reznick opened her closet and found a plethora of clothes that she could donate, "Why do I have all of these clothes when I spend most of my days wearing scrubs?" she asked herself. Not only were there pants and shirts she no longer wore, there were also shoes and high heels that she despised wearing. She took out some of the apparel she knew she no longer wanted or needed and sorted them into bags before going back to see what shoes she no longer wanted to keep. She went to pull a couple of shoe boxes down from the upper shelf when something caught her attention, "What the?"
She pulled an old cardboard box off the top shelf. It didn't have any labeling on it, so she had no idea what was inside it. As she opened the box, dust flew out, causing her to cough and sneeze a little. When she began to sort through the contents, she couldn't help but smile to herself once she realized what it was. It was her old pretend science kits and books of experiments for kids. The ones she had bought with her allowance and babysitting money to make up for the fact that her mother always gifted her with art sets and music books. She would spend days alone locked in her room conducting experiments, working on projects to enter into science fairs, and doing everything she possibly could to pursue her passion. She hadn't used it in years, but surely she couldn't give away something so special to her, right?
Then, a conversation she had had with Dr. Lim-Melendez the other day suddenly hit her. They had been in surgery together, and naturally, Lim spent a lot of it talking about her kids. But it made her ponder something that Dr. Lim-Melendez had said, "You won't believe what Mei-Li's favorite subject in school is."
"English, music, art, recess?" Morgan asked in amusement.
"No. Believe it or not, my Disney princess loving, frilly dress wearing, ballet dancing, girly girl daughter is into science of all subjects," chuckled Lim, "Acing every test and currently working on a project for the school science fair."
Morgan had been surprised to find out that Mei-Li Lim-Melendez had an aptitude for science. Not because Mei-Li was a girl, but because she was always inclined to the most feminine things in life. Mei-Li had chosen ballet over soccer, the majority of her wardrobe consisted of something pink in color, and the few times Morgan had watched the Lim-Melendez kids, Mei-Li was always playing dolls with her. She had just graduated from Bitty Baby dolls to Barbie dolls, and now, she was the proud owner of Josefina and Ivy American Girl dolls—thanks to eBay for the latter. Mei-Li had even had her tenth birthday party at the American Girl store in San Francisco.
Morgan knew she didn't want to give up her old science books and experiment kits, but at the same time, she wanted some young girl who loved science as much as she did to be able to enjoy it as well. Morgan closed her closet door and went downstairs, taking the box with her. She grabbed her car keys, put the box into the trunk of her car, and drove over to their house. She retrieved the box and went to knock on the door. Lim answered a few moments later, "Dr. Reznick?" she acknowledged.
"Dr. Lim-Melendez," Morgan greeted her superior, "Is Mei-Li here?"
Lim nodded, "Yes, she's in the family room which we've converted into a space for her to practice her dance routines. Neil and Carlos are at Little League practice, so it's just the two of us. What's in the box?"
"Oh, some of my old science stuff for kids. I remember you telling me that Mei-Li was really liking science in school, so I was wondering if she wanted them?" explained Morgan.
"Oh, that's very thoughtful of you. You can go ask her if you'd like," Lim gestured towards the room where Mei-Li was practicing.
Morgan smiled and went over to the room, where the music from Swan Lake was playing on the iPod doc. Morgan knocked on the door and Mei-Li artfully spun around to see whom it was, assuming it was her mother. Mei-Li smiled at Morgan and said, "Dr. Morgan," she smiled and went to hug her.
"Hi Mei-Li," Morgan embraced her back, "What are you working on?"
"Swan Lake," answered Mei-Li, "But I'm just in the court."
"No matter what part you have, I'm sure you'll do great," Morgan patted her shoulder, "I have a surprise for you."
"Really?" asked Mei-Li excitedly.
"Mmhm," Morgan nodded, "It's in the living room," Mei-Li followed Morgan and Morgan explained, "Well, Mom told me that you really love science in school."
Mei-Li nodded eagerly, "Yes, it's my favorite subject."
"Well," Morgan stopped in front of the box, "I was cleaning out my closet in my bedroom and I found all of the old science books and experiment kits I used when I was your age," Morgan opened the box, "I don't really have need for them anymore, but I was wondering if you would like to have them?"
Mei-Li's eyes lit up as she went through the contents in the box, "Mei-Li, what do you say to Dr. Morgan?" urged Lim.
"Thank you!" Mei-Li hugged Morgan tightly.
"You're welcome, Mei-Li," said Morgan.
"Can we do some of the experiments together?" asked Mei-Li to Morgan.
"Mei-Li, I'm sure Dr. Reznick is very busy," said Lim softly.
"True," acknowledged Morgan, "But I'm sure I can find some spare time to do some of them with you."
Mei-Li smiled happily, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
Morgan grabbed her keys and said, "Well, I have to get back home. Maybe we can arrange another time?" Mei-Li nodded as she glanced through the books, "Alright then. I'll see you later."
Morgan went to leave and Lim followed her outside, "Thank you for the gift; I'm sure Mei-Li will want to start working on stuff right away."
Morgan shrugged, "I remembered our conversation in the OR the other day about how Mei-Li loves science. My mother wasn't very supportive of my interests growing up, so I figured I could share my love of science with Mei-Li."
Lim sighed, "Yeah, I get you. Certain things I liked were also frowned upon as I was growing up, so I've tried not to form Mei-Li into a miniature version of me and let her have her own interests. But, I've also learned to appreciate ballet and have enjoyed her performances."
Morgan chuckled, "Well, hopefully the experiments will help her love of science blossom."
"If she treats science the way she treats ballet, I'm sure she'll be successful at it," admitted Lim.
