C The Wait

The Wait

Sarah shifted uncomfortably in the dark grey plastic seat. Scratching
her leg irritably, she looked up at the clock on the opposite wall. Ten
minutes to go. She breathed in out and slowly whilst counting to ten.
She'd been told it worked. It didn't. The white, windowless walls
loomed over her. 'Not really white?more of a grey really. Why is
everything here grey?' she whispered, not wanting to disturb the
cloying silence in the room. She ran her fingers through her hair and
shifted again, trying to get comfortable. She knew it was hopeless. How
could she possibly be comfortable now? Here? The door opened and

* * *

Sarah stepped through into the downpour. Frowning, she held her face up
to it and let it trickle down her cheeks, over her eyes. She'd always
loved the rain, ever since she was little. Sarah walked away down the
drive, searching through the detritus of her bag to find her umbrella.
She couldn't turn up completely soaked, that would just make things
worse for her. But that was only if things could actually get any
worse, which she seriously doubted. She had no idea how she could have
been so stupid as to end up here in the first place, in this mess! Just
when her life had been going so well. She thought she'd got this behind
her, that it was over, finished, done with, finito.
It took her ten minutes to arrive. She stood outside the building,
people jostling past her in their own private worlds. The rain poured
down in one huge sheet and to Sarah it felt like the Pacific was
falling from the sky. She took a deep breath and pushed through the
crowds to the heavy door. Slowly, ever so slowly, she reached out her
hand and turned the thick brass doorknob. She found herself in a large,
empty entrance hall, with huge marble pillars supporting the echoing
ceiling. She crossed over to the stairs and began to climb them. Her
hair was soaked despite her umbrella, hanging down her back in long
blonde rats tails. Her trousers dragged along the floor, leaving tiny
rivulets of water behind her. Sarah didn't notice any of this; she
merely climbed the stairs.

* * *

'Miss Letterman? Excuse me, Miss Letterman.'
Sarah looked up blearily. Her cheeks were still wet from the rain - or
tears - and she wiped them with the cuff of her black shirt. 'Yes?' she
asked despairingly. It wasn't as if she didn't know what was going to
happen, but she wanted to preserve this moment forever. The small, thin
secretary, dressed in a black knee length skirt and crisp white shirt,
staring almost amusedly at the bedraggled creature that sat before her.
The grey clock that hung on the grey wall, opposite the grey chair with
the grey table, its second hand spinning round and round, sometimes so
fast that it was a mere blur, and then slowing and slowing and?For a
second it seemed to Sarah that she was standing outside this room,
staring at her own body, frozen in time. She supposed she could have
turned and ran she could have never come. But she couldn't avoid it
forever, she knew that, probably better than anyone. And it would be
better for her if she just accepted that.
'Miss Letterman, they will see you now.'
Sarah noticed the American habit of saying her name over and over
again, as if she had to remind herself every two sentences who she was
talking to. Sighing, she stood up and pushed past the secretary.

'Sit down, Miss Letterman.'
Sarah stayed standing.
'Miss Letterman?'
She stared at the three figures before her, searching their faces for
some compassion. Suddenly she realised they had been talking to her.
'Uh?y-yeah?'
'Miss Letterman, we have some news for you.'

Sarah walked slowly out of the office. Her hands were shaking, her damp
hair hung over her face and her jacket cuffs hung down fro her wrists,
dripping water.
It had taken all of ten minutes.
She pushed the heavy front doors open and walked out into the bright
afternoon sunshine. The downpour had rained itself out, and the puddles
on the streets were getting smaller by the minute. She stopped outside,
and raised her head in bewilderment. What had just happened?
She'd?it?

A huge wave of relief washed over Sarah, engulfing her in its calmness.
It carried her home, her mind spinning in its whirlpools and eddies.
She felt an enormous sense of serenity in the realisation that

It was over.