The Thermometer

It sits with three of its brothers, upright, in white plastic cup. At the bottom of the cup is spread an orange stringy material, which is almost identical in appearance to pumpkin innards. The orange, I am told, is a disinfectant.

We carry the cup from bed to bed. I pick up the thermometer and give it two jabs: first into the orange stuff, and then into the patient. I tell myself, as I do this, that I am practicing good hygiene.