Selected Short Stories

By Ludmil Todorov

"These character-driven stories love reality but hate sumptuous descriptions, they sniff out human inconsistencies but do not moralize over them, they speak with humorous lightheartedness but follow the paradox to its bitter source. Petty businessmen, musicians, compulsive liars, support workers, junkies, former military, tram drivers, jailbirds

• Language: English
• Publisher: Accents Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Jun 15, 2021
• ISBN: 9781936628834

Book preview

THE YELLOW SUIT

The ethics commission met to discuss the case of Rumyana Hristova, a paramedic at the Emergency Medical Service. The news of the incident she was involved in soon spread across the country: an ambulance transporting a patient with coronary symptoms waited for Rumyana for a good fifteen minutes, while she did some shopping at a nearby store. It was only after her shopping was done that the ambulance with the patient drove off to the hospital.

The ethics commission met urgently because the case had aroused strong public outcry. The commission consisted of five members who had to interrogate Rumyana and come up with a decision. For obvious reasons, the members of the commission were pretty nervous.

At the center of their discussion, as well as at the center of public debate, was the stupefying fact that while the ambulance and the patient were waiting for her, Rumyana Hristova was purchasing clothes. It was also known what exactly she had purchased: a yellow skirt-suit.

After the chairman of the commission opened the meeting, a chubby female doctor spoke up:

I would understand if, for instance, the paramedic had bought some groceries for home: she didn’t have free time and all – been there, done that – but a yellow suit?!

Just listen to yourself! said another member of the commission, an elderly man about to retire. You’re saying that if she had purchased pasta, she would have been innocent!

Don’t do that, please, the chubby doctor replied peacefully, don’t put words in my mouth.

It turns out that if you purchase pasta, your guilt is lesser than if you purchase a yellow suit. It remains to be determined what the degree of guilt would be if the suit was not yellow, but, say, blue.

Or red, added a middle-aged doctor with a wry smile.

Or red, exactly, the elderly doctor continued, depending on the color of the ruling party at the time, right?

No, no, no, sorry, this is not what I meant. Don’t twist my words, please. Fact is, all the media pointedly report that of all things, the paramedic purchased a suit, not something else. Which goes to show... what?

What?

I don’t know! I’m asking you!

Why us?! said a young female doctor with glasses.

Because you are members of the ethics commission.

Aren’t you?!

I am.

Then you tell us, dear.

Don’t ‘dear’ me, will you please?

I’m just trying to be polite.

Let’s keep it constructive, please, said the chairman of the commission, an elderly man with a big head like a bear. Where were we?

All I wanted to say was, the chubby doctor spoke up timidly, that Mrs. Hristova bought an item that’s not considered a basic necessity.

Here you go again! the elderly doctor interrupted. Let’s not focus on a petty detail, please! If you consider pasta a basic...

Oh, no, please, protested the chubby doctor again, I didn’t say that!

Why are you so obsessed with pasta, anyway? the doctor with the wry smile said.

Let’s not interrupt each other, please! the elderly doctor continued. If for you pasta is a basic necessity, then for our young colleague here maybe a yellow skirt-suit is.

No, it isn’t! the young doctor snapped.

Just an example.

Use other examples, please! the young doctor said.

Anyway, let’s not focus on petty details!

I’m afraid we have no other choice, the doctor with the wry smile intervened. We are expected to respond to the public attitude. And the public attitude is stirred up by the object of Mrs. Hristova’s purchase, which is a yellow skirt-suit. We must, willy-nilly, comply with the public attitude.

This is no public attitude, said the young doctor, this is public idiocy, fueled by the media.

I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that! said the chairman of the commission.

We should be talking about the nature of the violation, not about what Mrs. Hristova purchased.

In order to talk about the cause of this violation, we must talk about what exactly Mrs. Hristova purchased, said the doctor with the wry smile. Okay, let me give you another example. How would we have interpreted this case if Mrs. Hristova had walked into a pharmacy to buy Valium?

Excuse me?!

Valium, yes. Suppose she feared she might have a heart attack coming.

She’s expected to have Valium in her first aid kit, isn’t she? Paramedics do.

Oh, do they? Were you born yesterday, my dear girl? You have no idea how miserable the state of today’s ambulances is. Now, imagine Mrs. Hristova senses a heart attack coming and decides she won’t be able to take good care of her patient unless she gets Valium, so she goes to the pharmacy across the road to get some. Is this act reprehensible or not?

The members of the ethics commission did not reply.

So, the doctor continued, no matter how we qualify the public attitude, we have to use it as a starting point, meaning Mrs. Hristova’s degree of guilt can only be determined after answering the question what exactly she was shopping for while the patient was waiting in the ambulance.

You can’t be serious?! said the young doctor stupefied.

I’m always serious.

In my opinion, the young doctor went on, "it doesn’t matter what exactly Mrs. Hristova purchased. The only thing that matters is that she left a coronary patient in the ambulance and went to buy... whatever it was... she took a full fifteen minutes, as a result of which, the next day the patient died in the hospital.

I totally agree with all you said, except for the line, as a result of which, the chairman of the commission interjected. If the patient had died right away or shortly after he’d been taken to the hospital, then yes. But he died 20 hours after he was hospitalized. Good, we seem to be finally getting somewhere! Now, let’s see what Mrs. Hristova has to say.

In a little while, a middle-aged woman entered the room. She was wearing a yellow skirt-suit. She looked pretty scared.

Are you dressed like that on purpose? the chairman of the commission asked sternly.

The woman swallowed and said, No, not on purpose.

Don’t you have anything else to wear?

I do, but I wanted to show you what I bought.

So that we could admire your purchase, is that it?

No, not at all!

You come here sporting your new outfit, yet you insist you didn’t do it on purpose. I don’t quite get you?

I wanted to show you what I bought as the newspapers wrote it was a suit that cost 300 leva, while, if you take a close look at it you’ll see it’s an ordinary little suit that costs only 38 leva.

How do we know that?

I’ve kept the receipt. Here! The woman opened her purse but the chairman stopped her.

Mrs. Hristova, I don’t care about your receipt. The fact that you’ve come wearing this particular suit is to your detriment. Furthermore, it’s to the detriment of the whole medical profession. You don’t seem to be aware of your guilt and your outfit proves it.

I’m totally aware of my guilt, doctor.

Were there media people in front of the building?

Yes.

Did they ask you questions?

They did.

What did they ask you about?

The suit.

What about it?

The same question you asked: whether I was wearing it on purpose.

What did you tell them?

What I told you: it’s not on purpose.

Why do you insist on everybody knowing how inexpensive this suit is?

Because all the papers wrote...

Mrs. Hristova, you don’t seem to be aware of the gravity of your predicament.

I am! I promise! the woman said, bursting into tears.

The room fell silent. The woman fished a tissue out of her purse, dried her eyes and said, Sorry!

Okay, the chairman said, I’ll ask the ladies in our commission to guess the presumptive price of this suit.

The other members of the commission looked at him in astonishment. He winked at them and said:

Let’s lighten up a bit, or Mrs. Hristova won’t be able to answer our questions.

The chubby doctor responded to the chairman’s invitation and approached the woman, who got up from her chair. The chubby doctor examined the suit closely, felt the material with her hand, and concluded:

It does look inexpensive, indeed.

Thank you, doctor! the chairman said. Any questions?

Mrs. Hristova, the young doctor said, were you sure the patient had a heart condition, and if you were, in what way exactly did you come to that conclusion?

First, I took his blood pressure...

Which was...?

150 over 100. Ish.

I beg your pardon?

The top number might have been a bit higher, but the bottom did not exceed 100.

Mrs. Hristova, this reading does not indicate an immediate threat of a heart attack.

He was not at risk.

A while ago, you said something else!

I didn’t. He often calls an ambulance, because he has already survived a heart attack once. I myself was sent to see him three times. He was never in a state of pre-infarction, but as he’s afraid of recurrence, he keeps calling us.

Can anyone confirm your statement that the patient was not in a pre-infarction state, Mrs. Hristova? the chairman asked.

His wife can, but she won’t: the family is now suing me.

Well then, why did you decide to take him to the hospital in the first place, when you knew he was not in critical condition?

Because if I didn’t, he’d start shouting and then he could really bring on a heart attack.

Did you transport him to the hospital each time?

I did.

Even though he was stable?

Yes.

Mrs. Hristova, you’ve been working in emergency care for a while and you know there’s a shortage of ambulances and teams. Why did you drive a stable patient to the hospital not just once, but a staggering three times?

Out of fear, Sir

Mrs. Hristova, you are a medic, what do you mean by ‘out of fear’?

Each time, he’d grab a knife and threaten to kill his wife and me if I didn’t take him to the hospital.

I see! Tell us now, how exactly you purchased this skirt-suit?

I saw it in a shop window and since I’d been looking for a suit like that for a long time, I went to buy it as soon as I loaded the patient into the ambulance.

You took a full fifteen minutes in the store. Did you have to wait in a line?

No, but I had to try the suit on, that’s what took so long.

You tried it on?

Yes. The small size didn’t fit...

Mrs. Hristova, do you realize how ridiculous this is?! You have a patient waiting in the ambulance – you claim he is stable, but no one can confirm your statement – and while he is waiting, you are trying on suits in the store? Do you realize that even if the patient was stable indeed, what you did is totally wrong?

The woman hung her head and said nothing.

Mrs. Hristova, answer, please! Do you realize that?

I do, Sir.

How would you defend yourself?

I can’t. Fact is, the man died.

Can you consider that this might be as a result of your inconsiderate action?

It doesn’t matter what I say: the man died.

The room fell silent.

Fine, the chairman went on, what happened on the way to the hospital? Where were you sitting: next to the driver or in the rear compartment?

Next to the driver.

As you assumed the patient was stable?

Yes. But then, suddenly, he began banging on the partition.

How do you mean?!

He was banging with his fists.

"Go