Just Over The Mountain Read Online Free PDF Page B

periodical. In fact, Dr. Cohen was excited enough about the potential for Jurea’s facial reconstruction that he had decided to come to her, to Valley Hospital, and do the first surgery right away.
    “The first surgery was the most taxing for Jurea,” June told her father as they walked toward her room. “Dr. Cohen sheared away some bone, inserted a plastic prosthetic piece under the cheek, reshaped part of her chin and removed considerable scar tissue. It was the most invasive. The consecutive surgeries will probably be concentrated on eliminating surface scaring and dermabrasion.”
    “Will the whole family be there?” Elmer wondered.
    “School hasn’t started yet, so I expect they will.”
    The surprise was finding John Stone present. “Who’s running the shop?” June asked her partner.
    “You didn’t think I’d miss this, did you? Jessie can handle things for a little while. Besides, I want to stop in and see Charlotte after.”
    Jurea sat upright in the hospital bed, half of her head covered with a thick, bulky bandage. What showed of her face and arms looked tanned against the stark white of the sheets and hospital gown. June went first to her, asked her if she was nervous, then greeted each one of her family individually. If Jurea looked nervous,Clarence looked terrified. Sixteen-year-old Clinton and fourteen-year-old Wanda, however, appeared excited. For these two, their odd little family was only beginning to take on some semblance of normalcy.
    When June had first met them they were isolated in a small backwoods shack, Jurea hiding her morbidly scarred face and Clarence sheltering himself against the paranoia and post-traumatic stress disorder he’d brought back from Vietnam. With the introduction of counseling, a good antidepressant and a visit with a plastic surgeon, there was hope for this family. And they’d come out of the woods to rent a little house in town so the kids could finally attend classes in a public school.
    “If there’s one thing I’ve learned,” Dr. Cohen said, flying into the room with a dressing tray he carried himself, “it’s show up early on the day you say the bandages will come off! Hello, everyone. Are we all ready?”
    No one answered. They all held their collective breath.
    Dr. Cohen was practiced at even this. He didn’t waste their time, but applied his scissors to the surgical dressings. He cut straight up from the chin to the scalp and the bandage broke away. An eye patch was all that remained in place, for Jurea’s eye, perfectly normal they’d discovered, had been closed by the scar and would be hypersensitive to light.
    There were many imperfections and even some thick and heavy stitching, but this was the first time sinceJurea was five years old that her face had a normal shape. First time she had a cheekbone, an even chin, bone where her eyebrow should be and a cranium shape that formed a temple. Her face was almost symmetrical. And even though there was stitched incisions, harsh redness and some swelling, the improvement was almost too dramatic to believe.
    The silence in the room said it all. The quiet was reverent.
    “Mama,” Wanda finally said. “You’re beautiful.”
    Dr. Cohen produced a hand mirror immediately. Jurea took it tentatively. It shook as she held it unsteadily. “My heavens,” she said in a breath. Her trembling fingers rose to her cheek, touching carefully.
    “It’s a small, plastic disc, inserted under the skin to give you the shape you need,” Dr. Cohen explained. “We’re going to let the doctor of ophthalmology remove the eye patch and test you for vision impairment but, Jurea, underneath all that scar tissue, the eye appears to be normal. A few more surgeries, far more minor than this one was, will smooth out all the rough edges and give you a better finished product. A more beautiful face.”
    She looked up at him, her fingers lightly touching her new cheek. “More beautiful than this?” she asked, stunned.
    He