Diary of an Ugly Duckling by Langhorne, Karyn (general ebook reader .txt) 📕

shone, her skin was far lighter

than in the places presented to the world, giving her

an odd two-tone appearance. Dr. Jamison was right:

There was work to be done. Whether it was for this

reason, or because of her near nakedness, the cam-

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eras weren’t allowed in the room . . . and this was

something for which Audra found herself deeply

grateful.

But as soon as the examination was over, there

were the cameras again, stationed in Dr. Brem-

mar ’s office, already in position to record the dis-

cussions to come. There was no conversation at all

for the time it took for each of them to be fitted with

a microphone—both docs submitted to the proce-

dure like old pros—and no conversation while

Dr. Koch and Audra took seats behind the desk, as

though this were just another doctor-client pow-

wow. Dr. Bremmar stood, leaning against the cor-

ner of his desk, the better to gesture toward another

computer screen showing front and rear images of

Audra in a pair of gray workout shorts and tight-

fitting Jogbra.

“We’re scheduling your first surgery for Friday,”

Dr. Bremmar was saying, bouncing slightly on his

toes, as though the prospect were the most exciting

thing to have happened to him in weeks—perhaps

months. And as if his body language weren’t enough,

he actually said the words, “Your case presents some

fascinating challenges and opportunities and I have

to tell you, I’m very, very excited about it. Both of us,

right, Dr. Koch?”

Dr. Koch muttered something that sounded like

an affirmative and took a loud slurp of coffee, star-

ing first at Audra, then toward the cameras.

“Because of the variety of procedures to be per-

formed, we’ve decided to stretch them out over sev-

eral days. We’ll begin with the liposuction. First I

have to tell you how pleased we are with your

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weight loss and”— he turned toward the cameras a

little, as though offering his next comment specifi-

cally for their benefit—“with the restructuring

we’ll perform surgically, when you lose the remain-

ing weight after the procedure, you should see

some dramatic changes in the shape of your body.”

He nodded a bit as though satisfied with himself,

grinned big and fixed his attention fully on Audra

again. “We’ll do the legs, tummy and hips first.

Dr. Koch will perform that surgery. Then the fol-

lowing day, he’ll begin work on the breasts and up-

per arms. Then finally, we’ll do the face: nose, chin,

cheekbones, eyes.” He stretched a forefinger lov-

ingly toward her face, as though already imagining

the finished project. “You’ll be under general anes-

thesia for each procedure and there will be some

risks associated with the process, you understand.

But there are greater risks with trying to perform

this many complex procedures simultaneously, so

all in all, we think breaking the surgery into seg-

ments is the smartest protocol, isn’t that right,

Koch?”

Another grunt.

“In all the procedures, we’ll work to disguise

any scarring that might occur by working with the

natural folds of the skin. We’re counting on your

continuing . . . uh . . . therapies . . . with Dr. Jamison

to further prevent any other dark scarring in the

process, but it’s still a risk. Now, do you have any

questions for us?”

Audra blinked at them. Three days of surgeries.

Three days under the knife . . .

“You want to do three separate surgeries . . . in

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189

three days,” she repeated slowly.

Dr. Bremmar nodded. “Actually, we’ll do several

different surgeries on each of the days. But basically,

that’s right. But don’t worry. We’ve done this sort of

thing before. Not often, of course. But given the time

constraints of the show—”

It sounded like a hustle, a con. It sounded like

something an inmate would say to shift responsibil-

ity or conceal the truth. An inmate . . . or a child.

“How long would you take to do that much sur-

gery if there were no . . . time constraints?”

Dr. Bremmar’s smile slipped. “Uh . . . well . . . it

would vary, depending on the patient and schedul-

ing and uh . . .”

“I’d wait at least six months. If there were no show.

But like he said, we’ve done it before. With good re-

sults,” Dr. Koch interjected in a flat monotone of a

voice, then took another sip of his coffee and looked

at them as though he’d never spoken at all.

“Very good results,” Dr. Bremmar seconded.

“I’m sure,” Audra murmured.

“Of course, there’s greater patient discomfort

when multiple surgeries are performed in quick suc-

cession—” Dr. Koch began.

“Sometimes,” Dr. Bremmar corrected, as though

this were an important distinction.

“Sometimes,” Dr. Koch agreed.

“Discomfort, huh?” Audra rolled her eyes.

“Sometimes, huh?” She shook her head. “Come on,

guys. You can’t kid a kidder, all right? What you’re

really saying is that this is going to hurt like hell,

right?”

The two doctors exchanged a glance, and Audra

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Karyn Langhorne

waited, expecting their insistent denial. But to her

surprise, Dr. Koch broke into a deep-throated laugh

and Dr. Bremmar’s ubiquitous smile spread wider

across his face.

“Pretty much,” Dr. Koch said.

“You betcha,” Dr. Bremmar agreed. “Any other

questions?”

“I wasn’t expecting you.” Audra held the door

open wider so that Shamiyah could enter the small

apartment. It had to be close to midnight, and in-

stead of being shocked or disturbed by the sound

of the doorbell, Audra felt an unexpected relief.

She was used to the noise of life in an apartment

filled with the drama that was her mother. By com-

parison this space was lonely, empty. “I was just

considering shutting off the TV and going to

bed—”

“Sorry. This won’t take long.” Shamiyah sank

onto the foot of the bed and lay back, kicking off her

strappy black sandals with a sigh. “That feels good.

I’m beat, I tell you, beat.”

“But you came by just to see how your favorite

Ugly Duckling was adjusting?” Audra lay the back

of her hand against her forehead and gave her a

sappy, Hollywood diva-style sigh. “How touch-

ing.”

“Well . . . not exactly,” she said, suppressing a

yawn. “I spent the day putting together another

Ugly Duckling episode. Camilla