Bated Breath...

A very chubby woman of about fifty to fifty-four years of age was sitting on a chair inside the booth. She was wearing a nurse's uniform that looked to be too small for her. She was also wearing a short, black wig that looked ready to fall off at any time. She was one of the few white nurses Sineas had seen so far. Behind her were shelves stacked with countless files. She slowly chewed a piece of gum, slurping and smacking it like she was willing to do anything necessary to get the last bit of flavour out of it. She was leisurely turning the pages of a magazine on her lap. Coincidentally, it was a fitness magazine.

Sineas leaned his head towards the small window, his fingertips on the small counter. 'Morning,' he said.

She ignored him. She turned another page. "Abs that will drive him nuts!", the title on the left page claimed.

You're going to need a lifetime of sit-ups to achieve that, you fat bitch! Sineas thought. 'Good morning,' he tried raising his voice a little louder.

Like a potbellied sloth getting ready to climb a tree, she raised her head up at him. She gave the gum a break. 'Can I help you?' she asked.

He leaned in closer. 'Yes, I'm here to see a patient of yours. Priscilla. Priscilla Murphy.'

She glared at him a little longer. She smacked her gum once. 'And you are?'

'Sineas Murphy. I'm her son.'

She leaned back in her chair and reached for about a dozen files. She slammed them all onto her lap. The sound was like thunder, the excess flesh on her thighs wobbling like jelly. She threw one file after another onto the floor beside her as her eyes navigated the names on the files. She was taking her time.

'Murphy. Priscilla Murphy,' he said again, thinking that perhaps she had forgotten the name.

She finally stopped on one file. She looked up at him. 'Identification card?'

The question caught him by surprise. 'Excuse me?'

She smacked her gum twice, sploshing droplets of saliva onto the floor. 'You are eighteen, aren't you?' she asked him.

'Y…Yes, of course.'

She held out her hand, waiting for the I.D.

He began to rummage through his pockets.

She smiled. 'You didn't bring it, did you?'

He continued to fumble around. 'I did, I just…'

She sighed in boredom. 'Relax, kid,' she made what could have been her version of a grin. 'Pree is a legend in this place. She a sharp one, your mother. She gangster.' She looked towards the corridor behind Sineas. 'Beth!' she called another nurse.

Another heavy hitter came jogging towards the booth. She was just the same size as the receptionist, give or take one or two pounds. She had a neatly combed afro, bushy eyebrows and a mole the size of a mole on her left cheek.

'Yes, Nurse Flo?' Beth stood at attention.

'Take this kid to room eleven.'

Beth's eyebrows went up in surprise. 'Flo?'

The receptionist, Flo grinned. 'He's Pree's son,' she informed her.

Beth smiled when she took one quick look at Sineas. 'O-kay. This way,' she motioned him towards her as she headed for the corridor.

The corridor was extremely dark and cold, but thanks to his room, Sineas could see everything in it. It was narrow and to the sides were the patients' rooms.

A few seconds later they stopped by a door with the number "11" just above the door. This door was to the right side of the corridor.

Beth reached into a fanny pack tied around her waist and she pulled out a handful of keys. She stuck one into the keyhole and began turning it. The door immediately unlocked. She looked over her shoulder at Sineas. She was smiling. 'Are you ready, Sineas?' she asked him.

Sineas wanted to turn around and run. He wanted to run forever until he got to Malrich, straight into his room and under the covers. He had not seen his mother for more than eleven years. Eleven years! Who in their right mind would remember anyone after eleven years? Even if it's your own son, that kind of abandonment cannot be forgiven.

'Sineas?' Beth again.

He tried to suppress the bad thoughts. He took a long breath. He nodded.

She turned the door handle and let the door open. It opened so slowly, like it was meant to inspire his fear.

Sineas nervously stepped in. The atmosphere changed colour. The room was very small. A small, brown sofa and a small footstool were the only furniture in the room. The sofa was placed against the right side of the wall from the door and the stool was in front of it. On top of the stool was a neatly arranged deck of playing cards. Sitting on the left arm of the sofa, with her back turned to him was Sineas' current greatest fear. He could only see her back. Only her back. She was wearing the white patients' clothing: a white long-sleeved shirt with white pants. He could see her tall, massive afro. That was one of the physical features he remembered most about her.

'I already took my medicine. This morning, remember?' she said without bothering to turn around.

'You have a visitor, Pree,' Beth informed her from the door.

'I don't have anyone, Bethany. No one.'

Sineas' heart ached when she said those words. He could no longer contain himself. 'Mama. Mama, it's me.'