Warning: Language could be rough. People could be mean. The gelatin dessert might be thin.
WAITING ROOM
by Phair
Beth woke with a start. The daylight streaming in her bedroom window told her she overslept. It was no wonder. The previous night’s commotion had taken a toll on her. After she had settled down Stu and Lindsey, Beth called her producer to tell him she would miss the next day’s taping. Armond exploded at the news. He assumed it was a contract negotiation ploy. He refused to believe it was a legitimate family health crisis.
“Stu is Dylan’s father so he’s Dylan’s problem. Tell that fucking useless husband of yours to take care of his own business and leave you to yours!” Armond fumed.
Beth tried to explain the situation without giving any specific details. The gaps left Armond smoldering. At first he threatened then he cajoled then he returned to more threatening. Beth tried to reason with him for more than an hour. She finally gave up and told him to call her lawyer.
Then Beth spent more than two hours on the phone with Harvey reviewing her legal options. Beth vaguely remembered saying good night to him and asking to speak to Nikki. She could hear the couple arguing behind the cupped receiver. In spite of Harvey’s pleas, Nikki refused to speak with her mother.
“Beth, I’m sorry. She just not ready to talk to you yet,” was all Harvey could muster to say before the line went dead.
Beth drifted off to sleep with the phone still clutched to her chest and tears streaming down her face.
“Well, at least, you not only feel like Hell you look like Hell,” she reassured herself as she checked the mirror.
Within the two minutes since waking, Beth had peed, washed her face, combed out the snarls in her hair, and dressed in scruffy but sweetly comfortable clothes. She allowed herself a whole minute to blow her nose. It was very stuffy. Contacts forgotten, Beth grabbed her glasses and headed for the kitchen to get juice and a breakfast bar. Then she would go get her father-in-law ready for the day at the doctor’s.
“It’ll take Dad forty-five minutes to wash, dress, and eat. It’ll take me another ten. Then forty five or fifty minutes to get to the hospital so…” she tried to figure the time in her head as she trudged down the stairs, “…earliest appointment we could take would be almost noon.” Her heart sunk. “Crap, they’re gonna want to keep him overnight. How did I oversleep? How could I do that to him? I’m such a…”
Beth stopped in her tracks at the doorway to the kitchen. She was having trouble fully appreciating the scene before her. A washed and dressed Stu was at the kitchen table reading the paper. Puddles was chomping away on his breakfast. Lindsey, dressed for the day, stood at the stove cooking breakfast. Beth guessed by the pleasant smells wafting her way it was bacon, eggs, pancakes, and coffee. Beth hummed in content when she caught the rich scent of fresh ground coffee.
“Lindsey?” She finally managed to croak.
The girl checked over her shoulder before answering. “Hey, Beth. We were gonna let you sleep to the last possible minute. It was a long night for you. But, since you’re up, could you get juice for Grampa and me. And, for you too if you want some. Breakfast is almost done then we’ll be ready to go.”
“Go?” Beth repeated dumbly.
“Um, yep. Grampa and I were up early so we already called his doctor. Grampa told him what happened. So, he’s got an appointment is at 11am at West Metro. We need to go in through the emergency room though. His doc wants to put a rush on all the tests.”
“More expensive that way,” Stu called out from behind the newspaper. “They get you coming and going, I’ll tell you Bob!”
Lindsey continued without addressing Stu’s comment, “The visiting nurse already came by to get his blood, urine, temperature, sugars, heart beat, oxygen, and such. He thinks it might be an infection. Urinary tract or something? Grampa’s doc should have all the results by the time we get the hospital. Might cut down on the waiting. So, sit down and have something to eat and then we’ll go.”
Lindsey carried the stacked and full plates to the table. Beth followed her. Lindsey set the plates around the table with an ease only practice brings. Beth was numb as she sat at the table.
“Lindsey, you did all this?” Beth asked in a whisper.
The girl shrugged. “He couldn’t sleep after you went to bed. So, I stayed up with him. We played cards and chess then when it was a descent hour we called his doc.” Lindsey hushed the reply. “Beth, eat your breakfast before it gets cold. It could be a long morning.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Beth mumbled and stuffed her mouth full of fluffy pancakes.
Lindsey decided the only thing worse than sitting in a hospital bed as a patient was sitting in the waiting room as a family member. In the two hours since they arrived, Stu was whisked away from them and hidden behind the “AUTHORIZED PERSONEL ONLY” doors. Lindsey and Beth were left to wait in uncomfortable chairs surrounded by old magazines.
“You know, Lindsey, I’ve been meaning to ask you…” Beth began to say.
Lindsey cringed as she thought to herself, “Please God, don’t let her start talking about sex again.”
“…how are things going with the college applications?”
“Whew,” Lindsey mentally sighed in relief. “I had to defer my acceptance until at least the winter semester but it might be more like next fall when I’ll be able to go.”
“Where do you think you’re going to go?”
Lindsey smirked at the question. “It has to be state school. It’s all I can afford.”
Beth frowned a bit before asking, “Did you only apply to one school?”
“I know it was kind of stupid to apply to any others but I did want to see if I could get in. It was a lot of money to spend on just my ego but,” Lindsey shrugged too embarrassed to go on.
“Where else did you apply and did you get in?” Beth pressed the issue further.
Lindsey’s face got very red. “You got to promise not to laugh. I got accepted to community college and state college. Then I applied to Northeastern and got accepted. And, Emerson.”
Beth was a bit surprised by the final choice. “I didn’t know you were interested in Theatre. Did you get accepted?”
“Well, yeah but…,” it was just like wishful thinking. Do you have any idea how much it costs just to go? Then there’s books and fees and living in Boston and…,”
“…and Oreo’s for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”
“Huh?”
Beth explained, “It may have been a few years ago but I did go to college. It was ridiculously expensive then. Now, it’s like taking a mortgage out on your future.”
Lindsey was nodding in agreement.
“But, not going to college or getting some kind of education after high school makes the rest of your life that much harder. I got to tell you, Lindsey, life is hard enough without making the obstacles any bigger. If you have a chance you should make a try for it.”
“Did Nikki go to college?” Lindsey blurted out. The hurt look on Beth’s face made her regret asking. “I’m sorry. Ain’t none of my business.”
“Don’t be sorry. You can ask questions about Nikki. And no, she didn’t go to college. When she graduated from high school the plan was for her to go to Brown. However, once she turned eighteen that summer, she informed us she would be hitchhiking around Europe for a year. Then she would come back and go to college with world experience. As far as I could tell, the only world experience she ever got was to access Western Union and sample foreign beers in their native lands,” Beth tried not to sound too disgusted.
“What about when she came home?” Lindsey was fascinated. “She went to Brown?”
“Nope.” Beth shook her head, “She was home for two weeks and tells me she met a really nice guy. She’s sure I’ll like him and they’re getting married that weekend in Vegas.”
“Holy Crap!” Lindsey let out a nervous laugh. “What did you do?”
Beth sighed. “Nothing. She was almost twenty. My arguing with her would only close all communication down. Of course, when I found out she was going to marry my lawyer who was ten years older than her…let’s just say, I was not happy.”
“Did you go to the wedding?” Lindsey could not keep from asking.
Beth actually laughed out loud. “I was the Matron of Honor. Her father refused to go. Stu went and walked her down the aisle.”
“I can’t believe you’d do that for her when you didn’t approve,” Lindsey said.
“That’s the hard part about being a parent. You have to support your kid when they’re right and wrong and making mistakes. If things turn out great you look like a hero. If things blow up in their face, you have to be ready to pick up the pieces without a bunch of I told you so.” Beth chuckled, “It’s a tough job. I still can’t figure out why so many people want it.”
“Well, some of those people end up changing their minds,” Lindsey muttered.
Beth looked at her step daughter and could only reply, “Yeah, I know.
They were well into hour three when Lindsey made a coffee run. She was heading back to the waiting area with the steaming cups when she heard Beth laugh.
“Oh, maybe he’s finished and we can go home,” Lindsey decided to be hopeful.
She rounded the corner expecting to see Beth with a doctor or nurse. Instead, Beth was talking with The Right Reverend Cornway. The two seemed to be having a very pleasant conversation.
“Motherfuckingpissbuckasschompingdickhead!”
Beth heard the familiar voice mumble but couldn’t make out any of the words. “Oh good, you’re back. Honey, come over here, I want you to meet somebody.”
Lindsey felt like everything around her was moving frame by frame on a film reel. The Reverend was slowly turning to face her. Beth was smiling. Lindsey was frozen in place. She wanted to run away but her feet seemed to stick to the floor. In a few seconds it would all be over. Beth would finally hear how horrible Lindsey was. Any chance of family and happy home with Stu and Beth was going to be dashed as soon as the Reverend opened his mouth.
“The Reverend and I are working on a project to raise money for the pediatric wing. We…,”
“Her?” The Reverend sounded alarmed as he pointed an accusing finger at Lindsey. “Mrs. Pretty, I know I’m not your spiritual counsel but I must caution you about this young woman.”
“Excuse me?” Beth stepped forward and placed herself between the Reverend and Lindsey.
“This unfortunate child is the product of an adulterous affair. Conceived in sin, she has not sought forgiveness for her shame. She has not been washed clean. She has not accepted Jesus…”
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!” Beth yelled. “Perhaps, you would allow me to introduce my step daughter, Lindsey.”
“Mrs. Pretty, you can’t be serious? You can’t be condoning of this abomination?” The Reverend was stunned.
“Abomination? Have you lost your mind?” Beth shouted as she wrapped an arm around Lindsey’s shoulders. “Lindsey’s done nothing wrong. You want to preach then go find her mother or my husband…”
“Her mother has found forgiveness in the Lord,” the Reverend gave a sickening smile. “Mrs. Pretty, by coddling the girl you’ll prevent any chance of an eternal mother/child reunion.”
“That’d be a good thing,” Lindsey said.
The Reverend shook his head, “You won’t be so funny burning in the fires of Hell…,”
“Enough!” Beth held up her hand to stop the Reverend in mid sentence. “I’m going to have to reconsider my commitment to your fund raiser. There is no way I can work with such a narrow minded...,”
The Reverend began to stammer, “You can’t be serious. The fliers are finished. I’d have to reprint them. It’d blow the budget. I might as well cancel the entire event. Hundreds of unfortunate children depend on the money we raise. Mrs. Pretty, you can’t turn your back on those children.”
“Reverend, I’d turn my back on thousands of children to protect my own kid! I’m not going to expose my daughter to any more shit from you…,”
Lindsey dropped both the cups in her hands.
“Honey, are you okay? Did you burn yourself?” Beth asked in near panic as she focused on Lindsey’s paling features. “Are you going to be sick?”
Lindsey kept staring between Beth and the defeated Reverend sulking away. The girl finally found her voice.
“Did you mean that?”
“Mean what?” Beth was inspecting Lindsey’s reddened finger tips to see if they were actually burned.
“Dau…dau…daughter. Your kid.” Lindsey was trying to force her voice louder, “You said, I was…your…”
“My kid, yeah, and…” Beth was only half listening as she lead Lindsey to a chair. “You don’t seem to be burned.”
“Beth, did you really mean it?” Lindsey asked in disbelief.
Beth replied. “Of course. We’ve been over this before, Honey. We’re a family. Dylan and Nikki will figure that out too and come back around. Someday.”
“You really do mean it,” Lindsey accepted the notion. “Wait, what about the fund raiser. All those kids need that money!”
“I’m not sacrificing you for anybody. My family comes first,” Beth was adamant. “The nerve of that guy. Who does he think he is anyway?”
Lindsey swallowed hard before answering the rhetorical question, “He’s my mother’s husband.”
“Well, he’s doing a fucking terrible job of it.”
Lindsey blushed profusely before asking, “I thought you said not to curse?”
“You were waiting for the ‘perfect opportunity’ to say that, weren’t you?” Beth answered back with a half smile.
“Yep!”
