The Nun's Story Page #5

I can't have my nurses running off to mass

in the middle of an operation.

5:
00 in the morning?

Have you ever assisted

at an operation before?

Yes. My father's Dr. Hubert Van der Mal.

I see.

You'll say another five A ves

and beg your soup...

for that little display of pride, Sister.

These boys had better be trained to do...

more than just stand around

dropping things.

Yes, Doctor, I'll work with them.

Tighter.

Don't you faint on me.

I won't.

I asked Mother Mathilde

to let the operating sister...

have something to eat before she came in

the morning, but she won't.

-So if you faint on me--

-I won't faint, Doctor...

if you promise not to eat garlic again

the night before an operation.

All right, I promise.

All right, go on.

When you've been at this longer,

I'll explain what I was doing.

Your being the daughter

of Dr. Van der Mal...

I expect you could instruct me.

Please don't mention

my father again, Doctor.

-Good morning, Reverend Mother.

-Good morning.

I wouldn't say their hands are as gentle

as Sister Luke's...

but then whose are?

This is certainly a great step forward.

I'd like to borrow Sister Luke

to organize our boys in the textile mills.

Just a moment, Sister Luke.

I had a telephone call

from the Bishop last night.

He had read your name in the paper

and heard your name on the drums...

about making some innovations here.

He asked me what I knew about it.

I had no answer.

It didn't occur to me to ask for permission.

He also asked me why one of my nuns

was trying to singularize herself.

I've failed you, Reverend Mother.

A superior must know what is happening

in a hospital entrusted to her care.

You have done something very important.

Your only fault

is in not telling me in advance...

and saving me the embarrassment.

-Mama Luke.

-Yes, Emil?

Where are your husbands?

I don't understand, Emil.

Where are the husbands

of the white mamas at the house?

Have you asked Mama Mathilde

about this?

-Yes.

-What did she say?

Something about you all being

the wives of one man.

But I know that can't be right.

Father Andre says it's wrong

to have more than one wife.

Well, it's not easy to explain.

I can understand some of the others

not having husbands, but not you.

The fact is, Emil, I have one.

-Well, I thought you would.

-But he's in Heaven.

I'm sorry, Mama Luke.

I'm very sorry.

Can you do without me

for a few days, Sister?

-What do you mean, Doctor?

-Well, I think we both need a rest.

I'm going up to Lake Kivu

for the weekend to do some fishing.

I see.

Give you a chance

to catch up on your prayers.

If there's an emergency?

Well, send for one of the doctors

in the town.

Keep up the morphine

with the terminal cancer.

But don't touch the dressings

on the skin graft.

You'd better get some rest yourself.

I've been working you pretty hard

in the last few months.

I'm all right. Have a fine weekend.

Did you ever go fishing?

It's impossible to talk to somebody

who's not allowed to remember.

See you on Monday.

Sister, the mission just called.

Father Andre has had a bad accident.

They're bringing him here.

See if you can still find Dr. Fortunati,

please, Sister.

Call one of the town doctors

for surgery immediately.

-Is the leg very bad?

-It's shattered.

The doctor will have to amputate.

They can't reach a doctor.

I left one of the boys to keep trying.

In that case, we'll have to do

the best we can to save the leg.

I'd like to save you from the sin of pride,

Sister, but I'm afraid I can't.

This may take nearly a year

to mend completely.

But you've saved the Father and his leg.

Mother Mathilde and Sister Aurelie

assisted me.

Yes, and all the other nuns praying

for you back at the Mother House. I know.

But you were the one who did it.

It's a photograph of a final x-ray

of Father Andre's leg.

It's just to remind you

what an excellent nurse you are.

Mother Mathilde's making a trip...

up the river next month

to visit the bush stations.

I'm going to send you along, too...

to make the annual leprosy check

on Father Vermeuhlen.

-I see you don't know about him.

-No.

Well, he's known as

the White Saint of the Leper Colony.

The trip will do you good.

And meeting Father Vermeuhlen will, too.

Religion hasn't made him

tense and disciplined.

-A nun is a disciplined person.

-Yes, but not necessarily tense.

As a surgeon, it's not my business

to probe into the mind...

but I'd say that tension is a sign

of an exhausting inner struggle.

The Grand Silence?

Do you realize

that every time you talk to me like this...

I should go down on my knees

before my sisters and proclaim my fault?

I'm sorry.

There's Father Vermeuhlen.

Father Vermeuhlen was

one of the first missionaries in the Congo.

He lived all alone in the bush.

One day he disappeared,

they thought he was dead.

But years later they found him.

Living with a native.

As penance for his sins...

he asked to be allowed to devote

the rest of his life to the lepers.

Well, I'll show you the rest of the station.

It's a makeshift,

but at least they're being cared for.

If left in the forest with their tribes,

they'd be abandoned to die.

Do they realize how ill they are?

Somehow we're all of us

protected from full realization.

How's that rascal Fortunati?

He gave me complete instructions

about you.

All the tests I must make.

Well, we can forget about the tests.

I know they're a nuisance,

but that is the real reason for our trip.

He always said

it was just a matter of time.

Reverend Mother, I'm sorry to ask again...

but may I have permission

to be absent from vespers?

There are some slides I must--

Thank you, Reverend Mother.

What are we going to do about you?

We operated at 5:00 in the morning.

It's now after midnight

and we operate again at 5:00.

I'll be there.

But how many more days

will you be there?

What'll I do if you're not?

You comfort your patients

by listening to their troubles.

Who listens to yours?

I'm responsible for the health

of the patients in this hospital.

And for your health, too.

You go to bed.

I don't know what to do, Doctor. I have TB.

Who says so?

Who told you that?

I just made a test.

It will mean my going back to Europe.

But you're the only one

in the whole Congo I can work with.

I can't lose you.

Let's have a look.

I'm not allowed.

I should call another sister.

Let's have a look.

I'm ready.

You're never wrong,

but let's hope this time you are.

Take a deep breath.

And again.

And again.

And again.

Now cough.

Breathe.

Cough.

Breathe.

We're lucky, Sister.

It's a small summit lesion,

and I think we've got it in time.

You can stand the gold treatment.

It's a bit rough on the kidneys,

but you're strong.

I'll take the responsibility.

-I'll have to tell Mother Mathilde.

-Why?

Obedience. I must.

They'll send you home if you do.

I know.

You're afraid you won't be able to

stand the convent if they send you back.

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote