Me After Meeting You

Amber could understand her behavior, as it was the almost instinctive nature of a female to prevent their mate from going after fresher meat. Thus Amber remained very self-aware throughout the entire lunch, making sure not to proactively start up a conversation with the husband.

She felt that her behavior clearly showed that she wasn’t interested in him, but halfway through the lunch, the wife started crying out of nowhere.

The other three were all startled, and Amber’s classmate turned angry after he recovered from his initial shock. As he looked at Amber and Susan awkwardly, he ground his teeth and reprimanded, “What’s the problem with you?”

But that only made his wife start crying more violently. She didn’t make any noises, and just laid down on the table looking particularly upset, completely unresponsive to her husband.

Her condition didn’t improve even after everyone tried to pacify her, and Amber’s classmate became extremely infuriated. He even hoisted her up and said, “It looks like we can’t continue this lunch, so we’ll be leaving first. Amber, I’m sorry about this. Let’s catch up next time.”

He was right about to leave right after speaking, but Amber’s heart felt unwell when she got a glimpse at the wife’s face. She stopped him. “Wait. Give us a moment, as she might not be feeling well. Let’s let Dr. Susan talk with her alone first.”

And then she forced him to let go of her, pulling him outside.

Amber’s classmate was spinning in circles outside. “I really don’t know what’s up with her, always going crazy like that!”

Amber glanced at him from the side. “Was she always like this?”

She received a glare back from her classmate. “Of course not! If she acted like this in the past, then I wouldn’t have married her! However, after she got pregnant, I don’t know what happened. She just keeps crying.

Even when I tell her that crying too much will hurt the baby’s development, she continues to cry! If I tell her that it’ll hurt her to sit for too long, she cries! If the baby messes around at night, then even before the baby starts bawling, she cries! I really can’t stand it anymore!”

“Besides crying, has she exhibited any other abnormal behavior? For example, suicidal thoughts.”

Amber’s classmate casually responded, “No. She did mention it a few times when she got upset, but those were just words spoken out of anger.”

Amber was speechless by his callousness.

She turned around and reentered the restaurant again. Susan was still trying to calm down the new mother, and when she saw Amber enter, she discreetly shook her head.

Amber kneeled down by the mother’s side. “Shall I have someone pour you some water and help you wash your face? It’s all dirty from crying. You won’t look nice like this.”

And then she called a waitress over to do just that, helping her clean up. The mother cooperated this time, but she obstinately did everything herself, refusing any of Amber’s help. When she finished, she started tearing up again upon seeing her swollen eyes in the mirror.

Then, she looked at Amber and said, “I know you. He always talks about you. He even has your photos at home, and always says that you were his first love.”

Amber and Susan were both shocked by this revelation, with both of them left dazed and open-mouthed.

When she regained her senses, Susan started laughing at Amber. As for Amber, she continued to look earnestly at her classmate’s wife as she consoled, “One’s first love never lasts. You’re the lucky one who ended up marrying him in the end.”

“Ha!” Upon hearing this, the wife started laughing mirthlessly, her face revealing an ashen expression that Amber was all too familiar with.

“Lucky? But why do I feel that I’m pitiful?” She looked at Amber forlornly. “I used to be just like you, wearing beautiful clothes, smiling easily and naturally ….”

And then she broke down into tears again.

This time, even Susan stopped smiling, her face quickly turning severe.

Amber went out and told her classmate, “Your wife might be suffering from postnatal depression. I recommend that you take her back to the hospital.”

Common people like her classmate, however, were largely unaware that such mental problems even existed. As soon as she said this, her charming and witty classmate even replied, “What? She’s depressed despite having such a good life? Is she crazy?”

Susan said from the side, “From your words, with a husband like you, it’d be abnormal if she weren’t depressed.”

Without any further ado, Amber brought both of them back to the hospital and added the wife to her list of patients.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

After the check-up and interview, she conclusively identified it as a somewhat more severe case of postnatal depression. Her classmate’s wife was mired in very heavy thoughts, and had even tried to kill herself a couple of times before.

“Don’t think that jokes are just jokes. Every joke has a grain of truth within it. To patients suffering from depression, jokes about wanting to die, wanting to kill someone, and wanting the world to end are all matters to be taken seriously.”

On the first day of class, Amber used her classmate’s wife as a case study for her students. “The patient’s husband made the worst possible mistake by assuming that the immediate months after childbirth would be a pleasurable time for the patient.

This is because he thought that she would merely sit in bed and rest while he provided food and drinks for her, and thus that her depression was just her being unreasonable.

In practice, however, many new mothers feel emotional pressure due to the pain, anxiety, and the shift in attention from close family members. This pressure is sometimes alleviated by their newborn baby and their love for their family members, but can otherwise lead to depression of varying severity.

“Thus, as gentlemen, I hope that all of my male students will be understanding and caring with their wives when they become fathers. Though you won’t be able to alleviate all of their pain, you can at least give them all of your encouragement and love.

For new mothers in this time of duress, every bit of tolerance and doting from their most intimate partner can become a piece of salvation. And as doctors, you must remember to be good listeners. Any doubt that you show may push your wife closer to the abyss.”

The classroom was silent for a while as the students tried to absorb as much of Amber’s words as they could. A couple minutes passed before a student asked, “Professor, what happened to this patient in the end? How did you deal with it?”