She sits by herself, trying as hard as she can to blend in with the locals. This isn’t the first time she’s escaped her home town; running from demons and ex-lovers. Samantha or Sammy as her friends call her, is often filled with remorse. She doesn’t intentionally cause harm, but when she does it, she leaves a wake of doubt about ethics. When people talk about her, and they do talk about her, it’s always a singular theme that makes her a villain; she’s intelligent, perhaps too much so.
This time Sammy left in a hurry. She was fleeing a past no one would understand. Evan was not to blame. It’s true he was a Greek god with an ego to match his perfect jawline, but he was flawed and Sammy knew it. She’d warned him to stay away, let her move on and forget him. But Evan didn’t listen and he didn’t care; Evan had two goals: the first was to bed Sammy and the second was to hold her up like a trophy. The latter would be impossible, the former more complicated. Sammy didn’t give-in to good looks and promises; her desire for a conversation that went beyond money and small talk, made Evan seem petty. In fact so much so, that he faded into a background of discarded has-bins.
Here she sat, alone; questioning her choices and her future, but not her mind. She knew she’d find a way out. It wasn’t the law she was running from, it was her mother. Sammy’s mother Felicia was beautiful, quiet, and dangerous. At first meeting you would never suspect how horribly driven this woman was. And Sammy always covered for her; making excuses, being her alibi, and hiding her secrets. Felicia was a brilliant surgeon. Top of her class at Johns Hopkins Medical School and one of Duke University Hospital’s leading researchers. Felicia’s singular goal was to perform as many vasectomies as possible.
That lofty goal in and of itself wasn’t so bad, it was her desire to perform the procedure without the men knowing it. Sammy was her enabler; hiding the truth became more difficult as each procedure was performed. Choosing her victims was easy, anaesthetizing her victims was easy, performing the surgery was easy — relocating the sleeping men to their beds with no memory of the situation wasn’t so easy. Securing propofol was the difficult part; ensuring the scumbags could land in the twilight zone having no memory of how they got from the couch in Sammy’s apartment to their own bed. And the pain, what was that pain? And what brought it on?
Felicia had an impeccable reputation — never botched a surgery; no malpractice lawsuits. Sammy knew what her mother was doing was wrong, but Felicia was convincing. Having the satisfaction of knowing these lowlife men would never sire children was incredibly satisfying for both of them.
The fear of getting caught was a constant. Would they snip the wrong guy? Sammy didn’t like living on the edge. Barbados was only a temporary refuge. Lately, there were two men her mother had her eyes on and Sammy wasn’t certain she was right about them. There were only two character flaws Felicia regarded as criteria. The first was a man who lies, and the second was a man who wouldn’t go near a child. She relied on Sammy for information and a steady supply of unknowing victims. Perhaps it’s unfair to call them victims, patients is a better description. Patients being treated for the betterment of society. The two knew they were only making a small dent, but each contribution to a better future made it worthwhile.
Thus far, no one had suspected Sammy. Yes, there had been phone calls about some pain and discomfort, but Sammy made it clear that one she had no idea what might have happened to their private parts, and two, she assured them that when she’d last seen them, they seemed fine. Most were too embarrassed to even say something. The men did sense that there was something off about her, making a second date improbable.
About a year ago, one guy did contact Sammy a few weeks after their first date. He’d said he wasn’t well, explaining that this was the reason he hadn’t been in touch. Sammy told him that too much time had passed and she was no longer interested in seeing him. She always tried to teach them a lesson, as she let them down.
It wasn’t that she and her mother hated men, mind you; they felt strongly that bringing children into the world is a privilege that should only be extended to those deserving of such.
A week in Barbados helped Sammy clear her head. She decided to tell her mother that their mission was becoming too dangerous; therefore, it needed to stop. Felicia would, at the very least, be disappointed.
After flying home to North Carolina, Sammy asked her mother to come and see her at her apartment. Felicia agreed to stop by the following day. Sammy felt resolute about her decision. She hoped her mother would be agreeable. To her surprise, Felicia was angry and argumentative. She threatened to find someone else who would help her. Felicia shared that she was hoping to train other women and surgeons to further the cause. She left Sammy in tears; not saying goodbye and slamming the door.
Sammy decided to allow a few days to pass before she contacted her mother. Unfortunately for the two of them, the law made the decision for them. Their last patient woke up remembering being dragged by the two women. He went to his doctor and explained the pain he was feeling in his groin area and learned that he had undergone a vasectomy without his consent or knowledge. He contacted the police and the police leaked it to the media.
Most lauded the two women as heroes. It is estimated that mother and daughter had performed 36 vasectomies in Raleigh and several others in neighboring cities. Felicia lost her medical license. Although they are awaiting trial, few expect them to serve jail time; after all, most of the men did not wish to press charges and nobody died.
Fiction folks, fiction. The photo is as far as I’ll go with AI.
State of Mind
The Supreme Court ruling on Trump’s tariffs provided some hope this past week. It seems like all we have are these small victories for now.
Paco is finally doing well. There are no signs of the bacterial infection and he is finally off of the antibiotics. This has been an 11 month battle I’m hoping never to fight again.
The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.
Harriet Ann Jacobs
I hope you like the new design; change is good.
Papagni Pages 