Until Then

Chapter 3

The only other person in the room gets a phone call and packs up his bags, stepping out of the space to take the call and maybe visit his loved one. As soon as he is gone, Quinn sinks down lower in the uncomfortable chair and puts her feet up on the table in front of her. Something is clearly weighing heavy on her shoulders. She stares for a long time up at the ceiling light, slowly eating one M&M at a time.

I notice she's wearing pins along the lanyard her badge is attached to. There are tons of them, some Disney characters, some funny little sayings or movie quotes. It's an interesting chaotic collection and I'd like to explore it, but I can't keep my eyes on it when her face is so beautiful. She has green eyes and long dark lashes, but she isn't wearing a speck of make-up. Her hair is braided, but thin little strands have escaped during her shift and she seems in no hurry to tuck them back.

I lean forward, wanting to reach out and run my finger along the crease in her forehead. She looks stressed out and exhausted. I wonder what she's been through today and if she's close to getting to go home yet. I hear a child's voice in the hallway just outside the now open door of the waiting room. A little boy who can't be much older than six or seven peeks his head inside and then continues his playing as he comes in. He's trying not to step on the lines in the floor and it makes me smile to watch him so happy.

"Are you her friend?" He asks me and I'm taken aback that he can see me. Quinn doesn't hear him. She just pops another M&M into her mouth and continues to stare up at the light as if it will eventually answer all her questions.

"No. We don't know each other," I answer. The boy moves over and sits in the chair beside her. His little body is perched at the very edge of the seat so his feet can reach the ground. He sets his hand on top of hers for a second and then looks back at me.

"She's a cool lady."

"Yeah?" I'm puzzled that she didn't feel his touch or hear him speaking. It can't be that he's dead too. "You know her?"

"She was my nurse. She's really good at Uno, but I can beat her at Connect Four." He seems proud of that and I laugh.

"You're all better now?" I ask him because I can't see anything that would indicate he's still sick.

"No, silly," he says with a cute little giggle. "We're dead." He motions between us as he swings his little legs out and falls back into the seat all the way. "I just come see her sometimes and my friend Joseph is still here. It's almost his time so I come to play with him while he sleeps."

Quinn closes her eyes and lets out a big sigh. The little boy copies her and then giggles again, this time jumping out of the chair and back into the middle of a square of tile as if his game never ended.

"Why are you still here?" He asks me curiously.

"I don't really know." And I don't. I have no idea how any of this works. "Why are you still here?"

"I promised Joseph I'd come back for him. We're going to play in the light together when he's ready to go. He says his dad isn't ready for him to leave yet." He hops to the next tile and wiggles a little as he tries to balance on one foot. "See you around. What's your name anyway?"

"Kenneth, but people call me Pines." I point to my nameplate on the pocket of my uniform. "What's your name?"

"William, but Quinn used to call me Thor." He pretends to use his large hammer. "Take care of her. Joseph is getting pretty sick so I won't be coming back much longer." Then he turns around and hops out of the waiting room, stopping for a second to set something from his pocket on the floor.

Quinn is still resting peacefully in her chair, her breathing slow but I know she's still awake. A phone in her scrub pocket rings and she sits up to answer it. I listen to her sweet voice as she tells the person on the other end of the line she'll be right there. Then she laughs and says, "I snuck you a pudding last night! You eat so much of it you're going to turn into pudding."

She's still smiling as she listens and then she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth and rests her head on her hand as she chuckles softly. "Okay, you win. I'll bring you a pudding, but if we get in trouble we're blaming Nurse Betty." She hangs up the phone and stands up. Just like that she's back to work, and I know I won't be able to leave here until I can see her again.

When she steps into the hallway, she bends down and picks something up from off the floor. I move so that I can see what it is. She holds the tiny pin between her fingers and her face is a complete mix of emotions. Her eyes tear up, but her lips form a smile as she spins the tiny Thor hammer between her fingers. She takes it into her palm and squeezes it tight, holding it to her heart for a minute before pinning it back onto her lanyard. I still have no idea why I'm here, but I know I'm going to want to spend every free moment watching her.

**Please remember to vote and share! It really helps me.  Thank you. Hope you're loving it so far. If you had a tiny pin to represent you, what would it be?*****