Читать книгу After the Horses - Jeffrey Round - Страница 12

Slow Train Coming

Dan’s day-timer lay open on his desk. The page was blacked out from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. that afternoon, as it was every Tuesday. It was time for his weekly meet-up as he accompanied one of his oldest friends in the city while she endured her chemotherapy appointment.

He got in his car and headed downtown. No matter what time of day he arrived, shadows covered the outside of the hospital on Elizabeth Street, the least interesting of several medical buildings on hospital row, like a plain elder sister ignored in favour of her younger, prettier siblings.

The elevator was crowded with worried-looking faces. Dan imagined cartoon thought-bubbles over the heads of the various riders, with words like: Please God, I can’t live without him! Or This can’t be happening to me, or I hope she dies soon — I need the money.

They rose in silence as the elevator made its way to the sixth floor. A bell pinged and the doors opened.

“Chemo ward,” someone called out a little too cheerfully.