A Trip Down Memory Lane
He sat on the uncomfortable plastic chair waiting for news. On his right sat
Debbie; she kept up a constant litany of reassuring nonsense. There would be one
point where she’d run out of breath but that point hadn’t arrived yet. Her grip
on his arm never wavered.
Jennifer sat on his left. She just quietly held his hand, offering her stoic
support. She sat dressed in a classy suit of pale orchid. A sharp contrast to
Debbie’s bright sweat suit of violet and her “Just Try It!” t-shirt. She
wasn’t a stone or uncaring; her silent tears were testimony to how deeply she
really cared.
Sitting at the far end of the room was a grey-haired woman. She scowled as she
attempted to read an outdated magazine. She refused to speak with the three
people sitting across from her. She considered them all sinners, unrepentant in
her eyes. It served them right that they should suffer. She had no idea why
Debbie called her, she really didn’t care. But she would do the Christian thing,
waiting quietly and offering up a few prayers. She doubted her prayers would be
answered.
“Mr. Taylor?” the surgeon called out as he came through the swinging doors.
“Yes,” Justin sprang up from his chair. The women stood up next to him.
“He’s fine,” the surgeon said. Three worried people let out a sigh of relief.
“The nodule you felt was a bit of scar tissue that built up from his original
surgery. It was pressing on a nerve which caused the pain and his other
difficulties. Once the swelling goes down, Brian will be his bad old self in no
time.” The surgeon smiled knowingly at Justin.
“When can we take him home?” Debbie asked, her voice slightly hoarse.
“Probably later on this evening.”
“Can we see him?” Jennifer asked since Justin hadn’t yet found his voice.
“Give us a few minutes to wheel him back into the day surgery recovery room and
then you all can sit with him. He will be sore and grumpy for a few days,” the
doctor began.
“Like that’s any different,” Debbie snarked. Jennifer rolled her eyes.
“Bring him back in a week,” the doctor instructed. “He’ll be fine.” The surgeon
smiled then walked back through the doors.
The women hugged then enveloped the young man into their arms. All three were
sniffling with tears of joy. When they broke apart, Jennifer began to search her
purse for tissues. Debbie turned to smile at the grey-haired woman but Joan had
disappeared. She shrugged her shoulders then gratefully accepted a tissue from
Jennifer.
“I told you he’d be all right!” Debbie pronounced. “Nothing can keep that
son-of-a-bitch down.”
“Yeah,” Justin agreed as he shuddered from the memories. Brian remained cancer
free.
A nurse waving at them caught Jennifer’s eye. “Come on, sweetheart, let's go see
the beast,” Jennifer teased. Justin laughed, his smile lighting up the dingy
room.
Linking arms, the three took a deep breath then walked into the recovery suite
to visit with the waking beast.
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