Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Monday, May 14th, 2017. 9:45 AM. • • •
Waiting was never my strong suit, I hated it as a kid, and I hated it even more as an adult. Nothing good ever came from waiting. It was a cloud of anxiety, just sitting above me, lurking in the back of my mind. I tried to shoo my anxious thoughts away by reading the menu of the brunch place Dr. White had chosen to meet at, but as the minutes dragged and my eyes kept darting to the entrance, my mind began to wander.
The low rumble of the conversations around me seemed to help my thoughts since I tried to concentrate on others words instead of the ones filling my head. The older couple behind me were whispering loudly about their dog, Charles, and his habit of peeing everywhere. The woman in front of me was angrily tapping away at her phone screen, a long blue text bubble was visible on her display, and I wondered who was on the receiving end and what could be that infuriating that you couldn't call and express it over the phone.
Only a few people had recognized me when I walked in, the hostess- a young man and the owner. The owner sat me rather quickly and told me to not worry about paying, that he would get my bill. I knew when I asked why that he would tell me a story about Superman saving him or a family member and even though I knew that, it still hurt to see him speak about how Superman had saved his daughter from a car accident. The owner was an older man of his late fifties who had no hair upon his head but a thick mustache and beard along his jaw and lip. His bright blue eyes smiled at me, thanking me before offering his condolences and hurrying away to help the hostess with a large early morning group.
And just like that, the worry crept up again. To ease my mind, I pulled out a pen and doodle on a scrap receipt from the depths of my purse. I hadn't artistically held a pen in so long it almost felt foreign to me. The sketch was quick and choppy, and just as I began to darken lines along his jaw and add shading to his hair, I heard her voice. Looking up, I caught a glimpse of Dr. White as she ducked inside. Her dark brown eyes scanned the room for me as she approached the young man at the host stand. A quick memory of me breaking down in her office flashed in my mind, and I crumpled the receipt throwing it in my purse as she made her way over to me.
I stood up quickly, smiling, "Dr. White. Thank you for coming on such short notice."
With a wave of her hand, she dismissed my formality, "Annie, I expected you to call much sooner then you did."
I looked at her for a moment before sitting down. She followed suit and set her black tote under the table.
"Have you ordered?"
"No."
"Well, let's eat before we get into the heavy talk."
