Ruth looked at Robert quizzically. “Our exhibition?”
“Why, yes, we need to set up all my photos and research properly so they can be seen by as many attendees as possible!”
“You want me to come with you?” She hadn’t dared to consider that Robert would invite her to join him at the actual congress. In fact, at her mother’s insistence, she had even arranged a dreaded day of shopping with Mona von Bismarck, and that dull socialite only had two topics of conversation: the latest fashions and the wealthy older gentlemen she always seemed to be dating. Having an excuse to skip that was enough to make Ruth gleeful in its own right, but if she was to be at the congress . . . why, it was just too exciting to imagine.
“Of course, my darling. I expect you to be by my side for the entirety of the program. I know how much this interests you. Besides, there are so many demonstrations that we’ll undoubtedly need two sets of eyes just to take it all in!”
Ruth scrambled out of bed and went immediately to the closet. She would likely be the only woman at the convention and needed to dress as professionally as possible. She selected a brown jacket and simple pleated skirt in a dusty rose, with a modest hat to top off the ensemble. As she laced up her oxfords, she laughed to herself, thinking her mother would be appalled by her choice of shoes without a heel, but she would be on her feet all day and didn’t want her mind distracted by discomfort.
Robert explained the basic format of the next several days while they ate a small breakfast of eggs and toast, and then taxied to Gower Street to the University College. As they walked through the columned portico of the imposing institution, the sight of what she estimated to be over two hundred men setting up small demonstrations stunned her. She held tight to the map, worried that she might get lost without it. Robert, on the other hand, strolled casually, smiling and nodding at colleagues and seeming entirely at ease. Having attended the first congress in Bern several years prior, Robert knew many of the European delegates busily preparing to tout their latest research on the floor of the Great Hall.
Ruth was buzzing. Being able to listen, learn, and mingle with this breadth of great thinkers eclipsed every slight from her childhood, every moment she had been locked out of Bernard’s study, every time she had been deemed a “foolish girl.”
“Oh, this is excellent, I think they have put us next to Dr. Egas Moniz!” Robert waved in the direction of an older man who looked quite unwell. “Dr. Moniz?” Striding ahead of Ruth, Robert reached for the bulbous, swollen hand of the man occupying the stall next to theirs. “Dr. Robert Apter. I am honored to meet you, sir. I saw your presentation on cerebral angiography and was quite impressed. I, too, have developed a technique for capturing images of the brain. It is what I will be demonstrating here this week!”
“Well, there will surely only be one method adopted.” Ruth had a hard time discerning Dr. Moniz’s response through his heavy accent, but she had no problem hearing his sharp and cutting tone. How rude. They were colleagues. All research would lead to progress—wasn’t that the point of sharing in a forum such as this?
“Ah, Dr. Moniz, I am sure you are right, but I would love to show you my technique, just to see what you think.” Robert smiled, whistling as he pulled papers and images from his valise. Ruth was proud of Robert for maintaining a friendly demeanor toward this nasty man. As she watched him show some of his photographs to Dr. Moniz, who began to nod more encouragingly, Ruth was impressed, yet again, by her husband’s seemingly limitless confidence.
The four-day congress sped by in a blur. By the time they reached their suite at the Metropole on the final evening, Ruth’s body felt like it was moving through the ocean in an opposing current. It took every bit of energy to amble over to the settee and move aside the pile of the papers she collected during the presentations; once there, she flopped down like a rag doll. Robert, on the other hand, was more energized than ever. He paced the room excitedly, talking without pause.
“I think it is quite clear that the epilepsies are not one single disease but a collection of diseases within the brain.”