"I agree about market share," Celia said, "and I believe we can change that. As to O-T-C drugs themselves, surely they have a little more value than you say.”
Teddy raised his hands as if the answer didn't matter.”A little maybe, but not much. There are a few good things-like aspirin. As to others, the main thing is they make people feel good, even if it's only in their minds.”
She persisted, "Don't some of the common cold remedies, for instance, do more than ease the mind?" "Nah!" Teddy shook his head emphatically.”Ask any good doctor. Ask Andrew. If you or I get a cold, being on the inside track so to speak, what's the best thing we should do? I'll tell you! Go home, put our feet up and rest, drink lots of liquids, take some aspirin. That's all there is to do-until science finds a cure for the common cold, which is still a long hard march from here, the way I hear it.”
Despite the seriousness, Celia laughed.”You never take any cold medicine?"
"Never. Luckily, though, there's lots who do. Armies of hopefuls who pay out half a billion dollars every year trying to cure their uncurable colds. And you and me, Celia-we'll be out there selling 'em what they want, and the nice thing is, none of it'll do 'em harm.”
A note of caution crept into Teddy's voice.”Of course, you understand I wouldn't talk like this to anyone outside. I'm doing it now because you asked me, we're private, and we trust each other.”
"I appreciate the frankness, Teddy," Celia said.”But feeling the way you do, doesn't it sometimes bother you, doing this kind of work?" "The answer's no for two reasons.”
He ticked them off on fingers.”Number one, I'm not in the judgment business. I take the world the way it is, not the way some dreamers think it ought to be. Number two, somebody's gonna sell the stuff, so it might as well be Teddy Upshaw.”
He regarded Celia searchingly..”It bothers you, though, doesn't it?" "Yes," she acknowledged.”Occasionally, it does.”
"Did the brass tell you how long you'd stay in Bray & Commonwealth?" "Nothing was said. I suppose it could be indefinitely.”
"No," Teddy assured her.”They won't leave you here. You'll have this job for a year, probably, then move on. So stick it out, baby! In the end it's worth it.”
"Thank you, Teddy," Celia said.”I'll take your advice, though I hope to do a great deal more than stick it out.”
Despite being a working wife and mother, Celia was determined never to neglect her family, and especially to remain close to Lisa, now five, and Bruce who was three. Each weeknight, on her return home and before dinner, she spent two hours with the children-a schedule Celia adhered to no matter how important were the office papers she brought home in a briefcase for later study. During the evening of the day on which she had her talk with Teddy Upshaw, Celia continued what she had begun a few days earlier-reading to Lisa, and to Bruce when he would sit still long enough to listen, from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Bruce was quieter than usual tonight-he was tired and had the beginnings of a head cold with a runny nose-and Lisa, as always, was listening raptly as the story described Alice waiting by a tiny door to a beautiful garden, a door which Alice was too large to enter, and hoping she would find...a book of rules for shutting people up like telescopes: this time she found a little bottle... ("which certainly was not here before," said Alice), and tied round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words "DRINK ME" beautifully printed on it in large letters.
Celia put the book down while she wiped Bruce's nose with a tissue, then read on.
It was all very well to say "Drink me," but the wise little Alice was not going to do that in a hurry.”No, I'll look first," she said, "and see whether it's marked 'poison' or not.”
....She had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked "poison," it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later. However, this bottle was not marked "poison," so Alice ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavor of cherry-tart, custard, pineapple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast), she very soon finished it off. "What a curious feeling!" said Alice.”I must be shutting up like a telescope.”
And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches high...
Lisa interjected, "She shouldn't have drunk it, Mommy, should she?" "Not in real life," Celia said, "but this is a story.”
Lisa insisted firmly, "I still don't think she should have drunk it.”
Her daughter, Celia had observed before, was already a person of strong opinions. "You're dead fight, honey," Andrew's voice behind them said cheerfully; he had come in quietly and unnoticed.”Never drink anything you're not sure about unless your doctor prescribes it.”
They all laughed, the children embraced Andrew enthusiastically, and he kissed Celia.”Right now," Andrew said, "I prescribe an end-of-day martini.”
He asked Celia, "Join me?" "Sure will.”
"Daddy," Lisa said, "Brucie has a cold. Can you make it go away?" "No.,,
"Why not?"
"Because I'm not a cold doctor.”
He picked her up and hugged her.”Feel me! I'm a warm doctor.”
Lisa giggled.”Oh, Daddy!" "It's uncanny," Celia said.”This is almost a replay of a conversation I had today.”
Andrew put Lisa down and began to mix martinis.”What conversation?" "I'll tell you over dinner.”
Celia put Alice on a shelf until the next evening and prepared to take the children to bed. An aroma of curried lamb floated in from the kitchen while, in the adjoining dining room, Winnie August was setting Andrew and Celia's places for dinner.”at did I ever do, Celia thought, to have such a wonderful, satisfying, happy life?
"Teddy's absolutely right about its being useless to treat colds with anything except liquids, rest and aspirin," Andrew said after Celia told him of the discussion in her office that morning. The two of them had finished dinner and taken their coffee to the living room. He went on, "I tell my patients, if they have a cold and treat it properly it will last seven days. If they don't, it will last a week.” Celia laughed and Andrew poked at a log fire he had lighted earlier, restoring it to flame. "But Teddy's in error," Andrew said, "about so-called cold remedies not doing any harm- A lot of them are harmful, some dangerous.”
"Oh, really!" she objected.”Surely 'dangerous' is exaggerating.”
He said emphatically, "It isn't. In trying to cure a cold you may make other, more serious things that are wrong with you a whole lot worse.”
Andrew crossed to a bookshelf and pulled down several volumes, their pages flagged with slips of paper.”I've been doing some reading about this lately.”
He turned pages of the books. "in most cold remedies," Andrew said, "there's a mishmash of ingredients. One's a chemical called phenylephrine; it's in what are advertised as decongestants to relieve a stuffy nose. Mostly, phenylephrine doesn't work-there isn't enough used to be effective ---but it does raise blood pressure, which is harmful for anyone, and dangerous for those who have high blood pressure already.”
He referred to a page of notes.”Plain, simple aspirin, just about all medical researchers agree, is the best thing for a cold. But there are aspirin substitutes, heavily advertised and bought, which contain a chemical, phenacetin. It can cause kidney damage, maybe irreversible damage, if taken too often and too long. Then there are antihistamines in cold tablets-there shouldn't be; they increase mucus in the lungs. There are nose drops and nasal sprays more harmful than good-" Andrew stopped.”Do you want me to go on?" "No," Celia said, and sighed.”I get the picture.”