Chapter 5
:
Arriving at the hospital, Andrew assisted Colleen out of the carriage, then directed her in the direction of the large surgical theater. Normally the venue was used for surgical demonstrations for medical students and physicians, but its tiered seating could also be used to hold public lectures such as this one.
His hand lightly at her back, Andrew ushered Colleen towards a pair of empty seats, oblivious of the other men nearby who were now giving the two of them looks of consternation.
A man hurried up to them. "Pardon me, doctor, these seats are reserved."
"Oh, excuse me, I wasn't aware," Andrew replied. "We'll move back a row."
The man lowered his voice. "You don't understand, sir. Your… companion will need to sit in the back." He gestured towards the back of the theater, where three women were the only occupants of the very last row.
"But she's my guest," Andrew protested. And then it dawned on him. He had noted women seated in the back before, at prior lectures, but hadn't thought anything of it, thinking it was just the seats they preferred.
"Doctor, I-"
"These seats aren't reserved for physicians, are they?" Andrew interrupted. "You consign woman doctors – and by extension all women – to sit in the back."
The man took no offense. "I'll be happy to escort your guest to her seat."
"That won't be necessary," Andrew said firmly. "I will escort her myself." He took Colleen's elbow and guided her to the back row. Rather than leave her there, however, he followed her into the row.
The three women already seated there looked up at Andrew curiously.
"Andrew, you don't have to sit with me," said Colleen, in awe of his gallantry.
"No, Colleen, I invited you here. I wouldn't feel right sitting in separate seats."
A new voice interrupted them. "Andrew? What are you doing back here?"
Andrew's head jerked. "Father. Uncle." He was abruptly self-conscious. "I, uh, I invited Colleen to the lecture. I wanted to repay her for the supper I attended at her grandmother's."
"You're Mrs. Quinn's granddaughter?" his uncle verified, sounding skeptical.
"Yes, sir. How do you do?"
Andrew belatedly made the introductions. "Oh, uh, Father, Uncle... Colleen Cooper. Colleen, my father, Dr. Edward Cook, and my uncle, Dr. Benjamin Derby."
"Miss Cooper," Dr. Cook acknowledged. "Andrew told us he had had a girl assisting him out West, but frankly, I had a hard time believing one so young could be so capable a nurse."
"I've wanted to be a doctor since I was thirteen."
"Er… yes," he replied, looking distinctly uncomfortable at that idea. "Well, come, Andrew, let us sit down."
"No, Father. I'll be sitting with Colleen. It would be impolite to abandon my duty as her escort."
There was an uneasy pause, then a nod. "If you insist." The two men went to find seats.
Andrew gestured to the empty seats in the back row, and he and Colleen sat down.
"Pardon me, doctor," said the woman sitting on the other side of Colleen. "That was rather noble of you. I doubt anyone else in this room would be as chivalrous."
Andrew was embarrassed. "Uh, thank you."
The woman reached out her hand. "Dr. Felicia Turner. My associates, Drs. Rachel Ferguson and Sarah Simmons." The women nodded at Andrew.
He returned the gesture. "Dr. Andrew Cook. And-"
"Miss Cooper, yes, we heard. Who wishes to join our elite ranks one day?"
"I have another year of college before I can go to medical school," Colleen explained.
"Welcome to our world of exile in the back row, Miss Cooper," said Dr. Ferguson. "If you still wish to pursue medicine after this, we wish you the best of luck."
Before Colleen could respond, shushing sounds could be heard throughout the theater, as the lecture was about to begin.
:
Afterwards, the din rose again as some attendees began conversing amongst themselves while others promptly began to exit.
"Dr. Cook, would you and Miss Cooper care to join us for some refreshment? It's not often we get the opportunity to converse with other doctors such as yourself," said Dr. Turner.
Andrew took her meaning – she meant male doctors. Attending public lectures such as these was the only way the women were allowed to set foot in the hospital as medical professionals, and they were segregated in the back at that. It didn't seem fair, and he wished he could take her up on her offer to make amends somehow. "Perhaps some other time. I should be getting Colleen home."
"Andrew, you don't have to take me home right away. Grandma knows I'm with you."
"Yes, well, you see, I have plans this evening," he said apologetically.
"Oh." Colleen's face fell in disappointment.
"We would be happy to see Miss Cooper home for you if you have another engagement," said Dr. Turner smoothly, clearly well-practiced at being rebuffed.
"Thank you. It appears that will work well for everyone." He focused on Colleen. "I guess this is goodbye then. It truly has been wonderful seeing you again, Colleen. I hope you'll send me an invitation when you graduate medical school. I'd really like to be able to celebrate your achievement."
Colleen stood there numbly. She had hoped that they would have at least have one last carriage ride together, to have his sole focus again be on her. It had been so nice, talking with him again in the cab (well, except the part where he'd mentioned having children someday, reminding her that he wouldn't be having those children with her). There was no other member of the opposite sex with whom she felt so comfortable or compatible. Thus, despite her attempts these past days at thinking of him as just a friend, her heart couldn't help but still wish it was more – that he would always want her to cook supper for him, would always want to take her to lectures, and would always be concerned with her welfare, as he had expressed earlier when told of the events back home.
Instead, he was leaving her again. They were parting as friends again. It was happening so abruptly, in fact, that there wasn't time to get too sentimental about it. "Bye, Andrew," she said wistfully.
He gave a nod. "Good luck, Colleen." Then a nod to the women. "Doctors."
And with that, he was gone. Colleen stared after him – the last she'd ever see of him. Well, unless she invited him to her graduation as he'd requested.
"I'm sorry, Miss Cooper. We seem to have spoiled things for you."
"What? I mean, I beg your pardon?"
Dr. Simmons nodded in the direction Andrew had left. "Dr. Cook. From the look on your face, you were hoping he would see you home, not us."
Was she that obvious? Apparently so. Colleen put on a brave face. "Oh… well, it doesn't matter. He's courting someone."
The three doctors exchanged glances. "I'm afraid when it comes to being a woman in a man's realm, rejection is a regular companion, Miss Cooper," said Dr. Turner. "Best to learn that lesson now before medical school." She then turned to her companions. "Well, ladies, shall we make our way to our usual haunt?"
:
Colleen and her new acquaintances stopped for coffee and tea at a café near the hospital.
"Is your father a physician, Miss Cooper?" asked Dr. Simmons.
"Please, call me Colleen. No, he's not," Colleen said, skipping over the lengthy explanation of her two fathers. "Actually, it's my Ma – my adoptive mother – who is the doctor. Michaela Quinn."
"The first woman accepted to the Medical Society? My, what an example to follow," said Dr. Ferguson, impressed.
"I think we're missing part of the story," said Dr. Simmons. "Your mother is Dr. Quinn and yet you do not share her name?"
"She came to Colorado Springs four years ago to practice medicine. When my real Ma was dying of a rattlesnake bite, she asked Dr. Mike to take care of my brothers and me – my brothers and I."
"'Dr. Mike'. A name more of necessity than affection, I should think," commented Dr. Turner.
"It was both. Her father called her Mike. He thought she would be a boy when she was born. She kept the name for doctoring hoping people would see her as just a doctor instead of a lady doctor."
"And how did you become acquainted with Dr. Cook?" asked Dr. Simmons, continuing her line of inquiry.
Colleen winced inwardly at the mention of Andrew but soldiered on. "Dr. Mike married Sully and was about to give birth to my sister Katie. Grandma brought Andrew to Colorado Springs to deliver the baby." Colleen decided to skip the part about Katie's birth in the woods. Like her two fathers, it was complicated. "Then he stayed to run Ma's clinic until she could return to work. I assisted him all last summer."
"Well, even if he prefers not to keep company with a lady doctor himself, at least he's accepting of us in a professional capacity," said Dr. Turner approvingly.
Dr. Ferguson agreed. "It's heartening to see a young doctor so open minded. Perhaps at our next gathering we shall meet him again." She then explained what she meant to Colleen. "Every few months the three of us meet at the hospital lecture to catch up and remind ourselves we are part of the larger medical community."
"They won't let us practice medicine inside the hospital, but fortunately the lectures are officially open to the public, so they have to let us in," added Dr. Simmons.
"Where do you practice medicine?" asked Colleen.
"I work with my father in his private practice, as does Felicia with hers. Rachel works at the poorhouse."
"Ma used to work with her father, here in Boston, until he passed on. That's when she came to Colorado Springs."
"Don't tell us, the patients refused to see her once her father was no longer in the picture." Dr. Turner sighed. "Our future fate, Sarah."
"And then we'll likely be joining Rachel at the poorhouse," Dr. Simmons agreed with a knowing look to her colleague.
"Together again, the three musketeers," said Dr. Ferguson.
"Though at times it seems more like we're a trio of Don Quixotes tilting at windmills," noted Dr. Turner wryly.
"And you, Colleen, I presume you'll return to practice with your mother once you've completed your education?" asked Dr. Simmons.
"I don't know," Colleen admitted. "I know she'd like me to. But…"
"But you'd prefer to spread your wings and venture elsewhere?" guessed Dr. Turner.
Colleen sighed, remembering the stories of Dr. Miriam Tilson. They had turned out to be fabricated stories of her work there, but they had still left an impression. "Well, for a while I thought I might work in a hospital."
"We know today might seem discouraging, Colleen," said Dr. Ferguson, "But a smaller hospital in a smaller city might not be as rigid."
"You might find employment at a women's hospital or dispensary," suggested Dr. Simmons. "Those are becoming increasingly common."
"Or perhaps you yourself will one day be the catalyst who gets the rule changed here in Boston. You have an ally in Dr. Cook. He might be willing to help," said Dr. Turner.
At the reminder of how Andrew was just a friend – an ally - Colleen became pensive. She had told Andrew she'd apply to the school here in Boston, but the way she was feeling at present, she didn't feel she could go through with it. The wound was still too raw. How could she return to Boston knowing he was here and belonged to someone else? That he had a family with someone else? She just wasn't as strong as Mr. Bray. Not yet. "I don't think I'd want to practice medicine in Boston," she said dejectedly.
Sensing the shift in their companion's mood, Dr. Simmons placed a comforting hand on Colleen's. "Perhaps we should take you home."
"Could I stay with you a while longer?" Colleen pleaded. "It's like you said, it's not often I get to talk with doctors such as yourselves. Just my Ma."
"Of course, Colleen," said Dr. Ferguson, understanding. "I know what will cheer you up. Felicia, tell her about the practical joke you played in chemistry class."
:
:
A/N – While it is true that most hospitals of the era did not allow woman doctors to practice medicine inside their doors, I couldn't find any proof that women were forced to sit in the back at clinical lectures. However, there is one well-documented case of female medical students being harassed at a clinical lecture at a hospital by their male peers in 1869 (known as "The Jeering Episode"). And women obtaining higher educations alongside men was still a novel concept. Thus, it's entirely possible that male doctors might have segregated their female counterparts in the back to keep social decorum or maintain an air of superiority and preserve the hospital as a "man's realm."
: