Waiting

The man paced the hospital corridor outside the waiting area, straining his eyes down the long hallway towards the door to the OR. Through the waiting room doorway, as he passed, he could see his wife sobbing quietly, a box of tissues on her lap. He took a few steps toward her but was distracted by the sound of the automatic doors on which his attention had been previously focused. His teeth clenched. He turned, apprehensively, to see a tech emerging with a cart full of supplies. Shoulders sagging, he returned to his pacing, only to catch sight of his wife, once again.

“I should go to her,” he thought but he remained frozen in place staring at her, still straining his ears for the inevitable sound. The ticking clock on the waiting room wall reverberated in his head, like gunshots on a battlefield, “A battlefield,” He thought, “My son, the soldier… I should have discouraged him…” As if hearing his thoughts, his wife’s sobs became louder and increased in intensity, “I should go to her…”

The door sounded again and the man turned expectantly. This time, finally, the doctor emerged. The man felt his heart stop beating. In fact, everything stood still… Everything except the doctor whose measured steps echoed as she made her way down the long corridor, her face an unreadable mask…

Originally published for Instagram’s Romance Writer Challenge June 2019, Day 21 “Show Don’t Tell”