Short story. In the hospital corridor

IN THE HOSPITAL CORRIDOR


The woman wriggles around in her armchair. 'That's better,' she sighs. 'I'm too old to walk far.' She looks at the man in the other chair. He just grunts, stares out of the window. 'Have you been waiting long?' she asks.

Now the man has to look at her: 'Maybe half an hour.'

'You shouldn't sit here in the corridor. They won't know where to find you.'

'My boy is having an operation.'

'They're very good here, much better than in Auckland. But you should wait in a waiting room.'

'He's still in the theatre. I'll wait here till about ten o'clock.'

'They don't have very nice chairs in the waiting rooms,' the woman explains. 'They are all stuck together, always four or six chairs all stuck together. That way they can keep the place more tidy.'

'I suppose so.'

'I like these chairs better. These are nice and comfy. And they're not stuck together like in the waiting rooms. Much bigger too.'

'Nice upholstery.'

'They're very big, like in the lounge of the home. There they've got big chairs too. Good for fat people. There are too many fat people around now. That's because of all the fast food. And because of all the fancy cereals. You look in the supermarket, all different kinds of cereal. And all different kinds of weight watchers cereal. But people still get fat.'

'That's the way of it nowadays.'

'People didn't get so fat when we were young.'

'No.'

'That car shouldn't be parked there. That's where the bus stops. They have changed the bus route. When you want to go back to town they take you all the way to the cemetery first and then all the way back again. The busses can't turn right out of the hospital entrance. Only left. To the right they have to get across all the traffic.'

The man looks out of the window. He nods: 'It must be difficult for those big busses.'

'You can also catch the bus across the road on its way back. But there is no pedestrian crossing, so most people catch the bus here instead.

'I'm sure that's safer.'


'They are going to make a bigger parking lot. And then they're going to build a new wing. For mental patients. For people who can't think so good. Not for really ill people, only for when they can't think very good any more.'

'Yes, I heard about it.'

'They'll pull down the building over there first, it's getting too old.'

'That's what it said in the paper.'

'They should build another cafeteria instead. This one is no good. Too expensive. Their coffee is horrible and it costs too much. If you have to wait long you should go to the staff cafeteria. You just go down one floor and then it's around the corner from the lift. It's for the staff, but they don't mind other people. They're much better and much cheaper.'

'I should have known that earlier.'

'They're much better. They serve soup for lunch. And they're cheaper than the one here next to the entrance.'

'I'll try them out next time then. Thank you.'

'I like watching people. They all have their own ways. They're all different. I like that. Not like in the home. There they're all the same. They just sit in their chairs and watch telly.'

'You live in a home?'

'Yes, just down the road. It's horrible.'

'Don't they look after you?'

'No. It's always the same. It has always been the same, all those years.'

'Are the staff not nice then?'

'No, they're horrible.'

'In what way?'

'They're just horrible. That's the kind of people they are. They're just horrible people.'

The man looks at his watch.

'Have you been to the library, to the new building? It's very nice. They got lots of books. And they have a nice cafeteria too. You can sit next to the windows and you can watch all those people.'

'Actually, I've never been there. I'm not the reading kind.'

'I'm not either. I go there to watch people. I like watching people. They all have their own ways. I like that.'

'It's been a horrible winter. Too much rain.'

'And too much wind.'

'Too much wind and rain.'

But not very cold.'

'It's been a hard winter.'

'Harsh. Harsh is the word.'

'Yes, harsh. It's been a harsh winter.'

'I don't like watching telly. They're always watching telly at the home. They just sit there. They don't watch real people. That's why I always go to the library. To watch real people. They all have their own ways. Not like on the telly.'

'No, I suppose not.'

'They're selling flowers at the entrance. They're onto a good thing.. People buy them when they visit their friends in the wards. They always forget to buy flowers in town, so they buy them here.'

'I forgot to buy flowers too.'

'They don't have enough vases in the wards. The nurses try hard, but there are never enough vases.'

'It's almost ten o'clock, I think I'll go up to the ward. Maybe my boy is out of the theatre now.'

'They're going to build a new wing for mentally ill patients. Not for really ill people, only for when they can't think so good any more.'

'I hope my boy will be all right.'

'I'll go down to the staff cafeteria now, there are always people to watch there.'

'Don't you have to see your doctor? They won't know where to find you if you stay here in the corridor.'

'I never see a doctor. Whatever for? I don't believe in doctors. I'll go to the staff cafeteria now, and then I'll go to the library. There are always a lot of people there. Nice people. And they all have their own ways.' The woman nods. 'First I'll go to the staff cafeteria, and then I'll go to the library. It's still a good life, come to think of it.'