The Opening Scene

The tale begins with Angela Anson, our vibrant protagonist, caught up in playful antics with her duo of friends. They mischievously adopt the personas of renowned fictional doctors, their banter echoing across the city hospital's loudspeaker where they serve as social workers. In the vibrant backdrop of 1960s San Francisco, shadowed by the Vietnam War and the burgeoning counterculture, Angela—a determined yet struggling actress—finds herself amidst this chaos. Her recent assignment on the women’s ward unfolds, although she lacks the formal qualifications for a social worker. The ward's atmosphere, charged with the weight of fragile lives and impending decisions, deeply affects Angela, revealing to her the broader plight of women. She questions her resilience in facing such a challenging role.

Bittersweet Encounters

Angela finds herself tasked with delivering grim news to a middle-aged alcoholic woman, informing her of a transfer to a dismal facility known as Laguna Honda. Clinging to hope, the woman insists her daughter will intercede, yet the daughter remains absent. This stirs Angela’s own memories of hospital visits to her mother, evoking the pain of fractured familial ties. Despite her attempts to offer the woman comfort with alternative solutions, it all proves futile. Witnessing the woman’s tormented struggle with alcohol withdrawal, Angela sees a desperate attempt to flee her reality.

Another patient catches Angela's attention, a frail old woman reminiscent of a once-beautiful aunt from her childhood. As Angela tries to envision the lives these women led in their youth, she finds herself unable to bridge the gap between then and now. When she shares these musings with Nancy, the head nurse, she is met with indifference.

Reflective Conversations

In a candid moment, Angela divulges her theories on women and beds to Dan. That evening, she defies hospital regulations to assist a teenage girl, fresh from a suicide attempt, with a bedpan. This act of rebellion sparks recollections of her own battle with despair at sixteen. She later visits the psychiatric ward, observing a psychiatrist she dubs "The Judge," assigning patients. This evokes memories of serving him during her catering days.

Stories of Resilience

Angela escorts a petite woman discharged after battling pneumonia. This woman, a cleaner, had been accompanied by her young son, marked by an extra finger on each hand, with no one else to care for him. A curious young doctor inspects her hands, probing about the son’s condition, to which she attributes a curse. Angela later voices her concerns to Lew over the doctor’s lack of empathy, only to be cautioned against taking too deep a breath in such an environment.

Glimpses of Fate

An elderly Gypsy woman offers to read Angela’s palm, predicting a long life and questioning her as a "wayward girl." The next day, the woman’s condition worsens, prompting her large family to gather around. By afternoon, the Gypsy woman has passed, and her children request a candle. Angela’s search for one leads her through the hospital and to a nearby store, but her quest remains fruitless.

Reflections and Realizations

That night, Angela finds herself in contemplation, narrating her life's journey through the various beds that have shaped it—the lint-filled bed shared with her current lover in a basement, the bed of her adolescent love at fourteen, and the solitary bed at a home for unwed mothers. Her thoughts meander to her son given up for adoption, contrasting sharply with the devoted son of a patient. Imagining herself as an elder recounting her tale to a young social worker, Angela ponders the profound symbolism of beds in women's lives. Spotting a candle in her room, she considers bringing it to the hospital.

A Symbolic Gesture

The following morning, Angela enters the ward, a lit candle in hand. Nurse Nancy inquires about it, and Angela explains it's for the Gypsy woman’s family. Nancy dismisses her intentions, noting the other women’s obliviousness to the Gypsy woman's absence. The story concludes with the nurse extinguishing the candle and offering Angela a subtle, ambiguous touch on her elbow and back.