It was Sunday. “Don’t blow in my ear!” Cassandra yelled. “I have very fragile skin. If you blow in my ear, it might break my eardrum.” Travis laughed. He didn’t believe her. He had seen too many movies and read too many books where the guy blew in the girl's ear and the girl ended up marrying the guy.
So he blew in her ear. She cried out in pain. “You're kidding,” he said, startled. But the look on her face said that she wasn’t kidding. Something’s wrong, she told him. He apologized profusely. She put her little finger in her ear; when she pulled it out, there was moisture on her fingertip. She said she could hear a whooshing sound. He felt sick. He couldn’t believe that he had just injured her. This had never happened in any movie or any book. Yet it was happening to her.
She felt dizzy. She ran to the bathroom and threw up. “I’m so sorry, honey,” he told her. Very quietly, she said it was okay. She wanted to go home. He walked her out to his car. She said the whooshing sound was not going away. When they got to her place, she got into her bed and lay down. She asked him to please leave, as she wanted to try to sleep. He apologized again. He got back into his car and returned to his apartment. What a jerk I am, he said over and over. What a jerk.

Two days later, Cassandra was still feeling uncomfortable. The whooshing sound was constant, and she still felt dizzy and nauseous occasionally. Travis had already made an appointment with Dr. Schwartz for Wednesday. On Wednesday, Dr. Schwartz walked into the examining room in his shorts and sneakers; he was semi-retired. Travis told Dr. Schwartz what had happened. Dr. Schwartz listened, and then looked in Cassandra’s ears.
Yep, he said, her left eardrum was punctured. Travis felt like killing himself. “How could this happen?” he asked. “I’ve had lots of girlfriends. They blew in my ears, and I blew in their ears. This never happened before.” Dr. Schwartz said that it was unusual, but that it did happen from time to time. What could be done, they both asked the doctor at almost the same time.
He told them that they had two choices: surgery, or waiting. The surgery would cost about $2,000. Waiting would cost nothing. He suggested that, if Cassandra could bear the discomfort—she must keep that ear dry at all times—for about two months, the eardrum should heal itself. Surgery, he said, might be advisable after two months, but he wouldn’t recommend it now. He could prescribe her some medication to ease her discomfort. They agreed to wait. They thanked Dr. Schwartz, and Travis drove Cassandra to Rite-Aid to pick up the medication. He apologized to her again. She said that they must pray every night for her eardrum to heal.