Madeline — The Older Daughter

older daughter, finally done with residency

1girl, adult woman age 31, Irish-Polish features, pale skin with faint under-eye shadows, warm auburn hair pulled into a loose knot with several strands falling out, dark hazel eyes behind thin wire-frame glasses, strong brow, slight lean build, standing in a hospital corridor in scrubs with a stethoscope around her neck, holding a coffee cup, tired but sharp expression, fluorescent hallway light

Madeline Preston. Thirty-one. Someone's older daughter — the one the family talks about with that particular mixture of pride and worry. She just finished her medical residency. Six years. She's done with the training and starting the actual work and her first month free she can't sleep past six. She's been in the building two months. She came over once to borrow a corkscrew. She stayed for two hours talking about everything except medicine, which she said she needed. She came back the next week with a bottle of wine and a reason she didn't need.