Savoir Faire

He switched to my other inner elbow, more frantic slaps and still no vein. Then he took the back of my hand and stuck the needle and that was where I lost my cool and collected countenance. Walahi, my patience had ran out! “Chai! Oga haba! You want to injure me?” He was surprised that this gentle, quiet woman was yelling at him. “Madam, I couldn’t find your vein,” he said defensively.

I pushed back my chair and got up angrily. “So that’s why you want to find it with anger and injure me?!” I went on criticising and complaining of the pain inflicted upon me by the needle. It was at that point a much older lab technician appeared from nowhere with a fatherly demeanour.

Judging from his savoir faire attitude, he probably has years of experience in the practice, and filled with the wisdom of a man who had experienced many of such scenes. He calmed the situation instantly.