Before Us

Chapter 3

SETH

"Seth!" My mother hollered up the stairs for me.

"I'm almost ready. I can't find my— there it is." I hurried down the stairs to be met by my very annoyed mother. She stood with her hands on her hips. Her long chestnut hair had been pinned back in a bun. She wore her professional clothing as she called it. My mother hardly dressed up but when she did, she always looked so beautiful.

"We're going to be late, Seth. Did you really have to bring your camera?" She clicked her tongue in disapproval.

"This isn't just a camera mom. This is my life." I tapped the side of the bag. "I need to document it." She let out a laugh and rolled her eyes.

"Alright, Ansel Adams." Her words dripped with sarcasm.

My name is Seth. I'm a nineteen-year-old freshman in college majoring in Photography and Imaging. One day, I'll be one of the most influential photographers of my generation. I needed to document everything if I was going to achieve this goal.

"Let's go. It's best not to keep Dr. Wilson waiting."

* * *

The drive to the office was one of the longest it had ever been. A fifteen-minute drive had turned into a lifetime or at least it felt that way. I felt the anxiety and worry permeating off my mother. She was never someone who could hide her feelings well. Not to say she was emotional all the time, but when she was feeling something, you'd know it.

"This is it, baby." My mom said in a way I'm not sure she even believed. Her nerves- and mine- were on edge. It had been the same story over and over and I was sure the doctor wasn't going to give us any new information. I wanted to skip this appointment altogether but apparently that was out of the question.

We sat in the waiting room as we always did. These four walls had become my home away from home and in any case — were a part of my life. The white walls were covered in black and white photos of Dr. Wilson and small children. I guess to give off the aesthetic that he was in fact, a lovable family doctor.

In the past six years that I had known him, he had never given off the vibe of being a genuinely nice person. The room was cold. Colder than usual and to me that only meant one thing. The only sounds heard throughout the room were the ticking of the clock and the tapping of my mother's heels against the hard tile that echoed off the walls. She pursed her lips and chewed the inside of her cheek. This appointment was for her as much as it was for me. This I knew.

"Seth Rivera." The raven-haired nurse called. "Dr. Morris will see you now." Doctor Morris? Where was Dr. Wilson? What did this mean? Why weren't we seeing the crabby old man. As much as I despised him, not seeing him felt off. The woman brought us to the end of the strawberry-colored hall and opened the door." The doctor will be right with you." She gestured for us to enter before closing it behind us.

Mom and I took our seats in front of the big mahogany desk. I grabbed a pen from the cup holder and started to fidget with the button, clicking in and out, in and out. It mimicked the beating of my heart as it pounded against my chest.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." Dr. Morris said as she entered the room. Her short curly blonde hair bounced with each step she took. She wore a white pencil skirt with a turquoise blouse. Her lab coat that reached just past her knees had bits of a coffee stain on the edge of her sleeve. She looked a little young to be a doctor but who was I to judge? Maybe she was one of those freaky kid geniuses who knew everything about everything and graduated early.

My mother smiled at her while she nervously tugged on her fingers. A nervous habit I'm sure she picked up over the last six years "I'm sorry. If you don't mind me asking, where is Dr. Wilson?"