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called but no doubt it has to do something with struggle. an
elderly woman rifling through her purse asks me if I have a
cigarette. “no.” I simply say. afraid that if I add “I don’t
smoke.” I’ll be unable to keep the disdain from my voice.
She finds one buried in the bottom of her bag and goes out
into the heat to smoke it. she came in here when her adult
mentally challenged son collapsed on the floor and didn’t
get up. It took her twenty-five minutes to load him into the
car. He looks fine now. Routinely getting up from his seat
to change the channel until she barks at him to settle down.
The doctors obviously think he’s ok as well because they
make him wait. a woman sits behind a panel of glass which
she lifts every time a warm blast of air enters the room and
somebody approaches her. she doesn’t look them in the
eye, only shoves a clipboard in their direction and lets the
pen attached dangle over the counter. When they go to sit,
she brings the glass down. once again separating herself
from the people outside.
a young mother tries to entertain her son while they wait
for his father. The little boy is reading my First Barnyard.
“What’s this?” I ask him, pointing to a chicken, but I’m too
much of a stranger for him to give me an answer. Three
hours from now, when he is flattening the straw of his juice
box and cracker crumbs cover his shirt, I’ll point to another
animal and ask him again. he’ll glance quickly towards his
mother before shyly answering “cow,” and we’ll smile. he
distracts me from my thoughts by bouncing up and down in
his chair. he is sick of waiting. he runs over to the drinking
fountain and presses it sporadically splashing water on his
face, while a whirling noise signals that the water fountain
has to recharge. his father will eventually come through the
door with stitches on his eyebrow which the wife touches
gently, and then they’ll leave. They are done waiting.
blue moon
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