“And how are you this morning?”
Anna looks at the clock. “Christ. I guess it is morning, isn't it?”
“Right up until noon.” The nurse offers a completely neutral gaze. “Just fill that out, bring it back up to me and have a seat.”
“Does snake bite get us any free passes?”
Now she offers you the same passionless look and glances briefly towards the half full waiting room. “You will be prioritized based on your paperwork.”
You find yourself amongst the sick, wounded and unemployed for about an hour. One man in a cowboy hat tells you the story of his best friend's brother, who was crushed by a tow truck and has been in intensive care for the last four months. After that, a grotesquely obese woman comes rocketing in on a wheelchair, trailed by two only slightly less fat friends. The triage nurse steps away from the counter and to take a closer look.
The fat woman whelps like a dying dog. One friend appears glued to her cell phone, shouting out the mundane events of car ride as if it were the subject of a Wagnerian opera. The other friend is barking out what sounds like a detective novel that may or may not have some relevance to the wheelchaired woman's medical history. Eventually, all three of them disappear behind the metal swinging doors.
You give Inky a nudge. “That's how you do it. Just start screaming and Anna and I will act like morons until you get in.”
Comedy, tragedy. Is that all there is?
No comments:
Post a Comment