In the waiting room, the wives sat with their backs to their husbands, who sat with their backs to the wives. Everyone stared ahead blankly. When Katherine arrived, she looked at both rows and said, "Hey!" and they seemed to snap awake. She held her palms up to ask, "Where is he?" Ellen started to stand up, but hesitated when the row of men rose in unison.
"He's in surgery," Joshua said.
"They say he'll be fine," Julian said.
Abraham stood with his arms hanging limp at his sides. He kept his eyes on the ground.
"I'm going to talk with the doctor," Katherine said and walked away, toward the nurses' station. She stood in front of the desk and stared at the tiny gray dots in the countertop. One of the nurses saw her and asked, "Can I help you?"
Katherine just looked up and said, "I needed to get away from my family."
She leaned against the desk and set her gaze in the direction of the waiting room. Ellen would be driving herself crazy with anxiety, trying to decide whether or not to join Katherine. Josie would be pretending to watch television while she watched Ellen out of the side of her eyes, ready to pounce with scorn if she left her place in the row. And Katherine had no idea what the men would be doing. She tried to imagine them talking with their wives or offering one another comfort. She couldn't see it. All she could see was the two strange lines they formed in an otherwise sterile environment.
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