TaglineJess realized that John Garrett might turn out to be just what the doctor ordered!
In a Nutshell
Jess is a reporter for the local paper and she has to do an interview with a doctor before her father's 60th birthday party. Later, she meets the doctor at the party.
Observations
I thought the "pink looks good on you" joke was cute and endearing. I liked the ending a lot and how Dr. John Garrett knows what he wants and isn't shy about letting people know.
However, I thought that the confusion about the name was (sorry!) a little weak. Jess, to me, is a female name. I had to actually think a couple of moments to think of what Jess would be short for if it were a man. Jesse, I guess. Whereas, Jess, in my mind is short for Jessica or Jessie. If you're going to go for the unisex name misunderstanding, then I would choose one like Chris or Alex.
I also stumbled a bit when she finished the interview and went to get a bottle of champagne. Early in the story there was some concern over her being late to the party because of the interview. But then she takes the time to get the champagne. My thought is, poor planning, Jess. It's your dad's 60th. You shouldn't wait until 20 minutes before the party to think about a gift (if the bubbly was the gift.)
Photo Credit: CDC via Wikimedia Commons
12 comments:
I didn't get to read this story but sounds interesting. I agree that Jess is a female sounding name to me, so not sure why someone would assume it was male.
I was wondering how you would review this story, Kate. I got the impression that John was a man of the father's age, though I guess he was just a successful younger man. He certainly was touchy feely toward a professional interviewer. Not to my taste, I'm afraid.
Have to agree, the age of the man wasn't made clear and I pictured someone much older than Jess. Also didn't like his familiarity with her on a first meeting. Found all those touches quite creepy, in fact.
Yes! I forgot to mention the slightly creepy touches. It was a newspaper interview. No need to touch the reporter!
I knew he'd be the new partner they minutes it was mentioned. Jess didn't bother me as a male name, I guess because I thought of Uncle Jesse from TV about the widower with two girls. Can't remember the title but John Stamos played Jesse.
Must go back and look about the creepy touches.
I do agree about shopping for the champagne on the way to the party. She'd have had it in her car already.
Oh, I also didn't get the idea he was that much older. I thought he was newish doctor who excelled in his field. Or maybe I thought she was a seasoned reporter because of the Dad's age.
I went back to read this story over again, thinking perhaps I had missed something. Well, Jess may be 40 for all we know, and Doctor Garrett could be 50 and still doing all the medical work around the globe. We are never told. Certainly his remark that "I'm ready to slow down" would make one think that he is close to retirement age. The only hint we have that Jess has a connection to medicine is the phrase, "considering your background." Even though her father is "a prominent figure in the community," we are not told he is a doctor or runs a medical facility, or whatever, and is looking for a partner until the end of the story.
Then, when John kissed her hand instead of shaking it, I thought, "Ick!" That sort of thing is just not done at a professional level, or anywhere on the American social scene so far as I know.
I get the feeling that the WW editors are experimenting with fiction that is more outside their usual themes. I can celebrate that, but sometimes it is not successful.
This story was a little ho-hum for me, but I never asked myself why. It wasn't the name--when I saw the name "Jess" I thought of Jess Oppenheimer, producer of the old I Love Lucy shows (of which I'm a lifelong fan). Teeheehee.
After reading all the comments, I really wish I would have seen the story.
I'll send you the scan, Sandy. If you miss any more, just email me and I'll send them over.
Thanks to Chris sending me the scan of the story, I have finally been able to read it myself. My judgement might have been clouded by reading the comments first, but I pictured the doctor as much older than her as well. I didn't enjoy this story as much as I usually do. The characters just didn't appeal to me.
I think it is wonderful that we can share these stories with each other through the world wide internet. Right now my email is inoperable, but I hope to get it back soon. Thanks to Kate whose blog is not only a learning tool but also a source of community.
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