Points from a waiting room.

(all points bar the last one transcribed from the last two pages of my Pocket Posh Crosswords Book)

[-] If you're taking a cab ride to the hospital at 5:30 am, hope the cabbie is not playing the all-Ominous-Latin-Chanting station on the radio (he totally was).
[-] The interview office has 3 separate paintings of the same lake from different angels. Somewhere, there is a painter endlessly circling a body of water, hoping to be in a waiting room's interview office.
[-] 7:03: Fluorescent hospital lights make you notice every single hole in your shoes.
[-] I'm petrified to put my headphones on, in case one of the roaming nurses call my name.
[-] News on the TV above my head is alternating between a Blackhawk crash in Cameroon & Joanne from Masterchef getting "hate mail" on Facebook.Said hate mail was people saying "I hate her, I wish she would get voted off." The response of the anchor? "I thought Facebook had cleaned up. Maybe it should be cleaned out." Yes. Because expressing a preference for a television show is grounds for the closing of a site.
[-] Finally moved away from the TV. Now people next to me are discussing some National Secretary and Keating advisor. I've begun my second crossword.
[-] My stomach keeps churning with acid whenever I let my mind dwell on what's actually happening in the operating room.
[-] I have a strange urge to punch people who don't know how to sit quietly.
[-] The sun is up. I wish I smoked so I could stand outside the door and puff nervously.
[-] 7:42 That guy next to me STILL has the nervous chatter going. Admittedly, he's less annoying than the news. "He went down like a fackin' fart in a church."
[-] Finally put on headphones, half-off the left ear just in case.
[-] Started watching Funny People, giggled for a second, then decided to watch something else, so people wouldn't look at me.
[-] A nurse approached from behind me and I felt my stomach drop away for a second.
Switched to watching Max Payne. Fits my dismal mood better (I don't deserve a good movie).
[-] 8:00. Found an old payslip in my bag. Drew stars and scribbles all over it.
[-] Come on. Come on, come on, come on, come on.
[-] Nurse: "Christopher Cross?" Nervous Talking Guy, without sarcasm or irony: "Wait, Chris Cross? He was a pop star! He was in Kiss, right? And wore clothes backwards." [note: 1 Christopher Cross. 2. Peter Kriss 3. Kris Kross.]
[-] Just had a morbid thought so bad my vision shivered and I nearly slid off the chair.
[-] 8:27. Sketching. Half watching movie. Thinking about tattoos. Need to go to the bathroom. It's now been long enough that I'm worried I'll miss the call for me if I go.
[-] 9:00. My stomach is cramping (stress? hunger?). I've had no news.
[-] I'm wearing one of the plainest shirts I own. I couldn't bear to wear anything with a stupid saying on the front in case the news was bad (see BtVS, "The Body").
[-] Old Man next to me just farted. Long and rolling.
[-] 9:45. Finished Max Payne. Now reading latest Sookie Stackhouse but can't concentrate. Really starting to worry. I'm 10 minutes from asking them at the desk what's going on.
[-] Just got a call to be a referee for someone for a job. Not. A. Good. Time.
[-] 10:20 Finished my book. Haven't asked yet. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. For all I know, they haven't even started the procedure.
[-] 10:35 Just heard the nurse give someone a hard time for wanting hospital information, when they just check people in here. I can't ask now. FUCK.

Thus ends my transcription, but not my story. So finally, after staring at nothing for an hour. Literally staring at nothing until 11:30, and watching the nurses come in and out, I grabbed one and asked if there was any news on Tanja Brown. You know, the wife I checked in 5 hours ago. She checked the computer and said "Oh, yes. It'll be another hour or so."
"What?! She hasn't had the surgery yet?!"
"No, no, no, she's had the surgery. she's in recovery."
"So it's all fine."
"Oh, yes! She's just fine. We'll be sending her up to ward 7W2 in about an hour, so you can go wait there if you want."
She was then speaking to a Lucas-shaped dust cloud. I bolt up to Level 7, where I suddenly meet Tanja's parents. The parents who were meant to call me to see how it's going before coming into town. Then the nurse at 7W2 says "Oh, we actually don't have the beds for her here. We're redirecting her to 6E1." So we all rush down to 6E1. The nurse at 6E1 looks confused at all this because Tanja's not out of recovery yet, so there's nothing for us to see, and she recommends we go get coffee. We do. Later, I get a message that Tanja's actually going to Level 7 again, so we should go there. At 12:30.

It's all fine and okay, and poor Tanja was so pale and sleepy. The thought still burns in my brain, though... would they have left me dying from my own fear in that waiting room with no news for 6 straight hours had I not plucked up the courage to ask*?


*I'm not bagging out RPAH, they've been nothing but good to Tanja and the actual medical stuff has been without fault. But geez! 6 hours?!