Tired of Waiting

Jared didn’t like waiting.  It made him feel awkward and restless.  He intense need to control everything meant that now he had to wait, it really grated.

His dislike of waiting didn’t stem from a false sense of privilege as it did for others, but rather a fear of the unknown.  A ‘what happens if’ was something he dreaded.

He tugged at the loose thread on the sleeve of his shirt, then looked at his newly polished shoes.  He glanced around the lobby but finding nothing distracting enough, turned his attention to the magazines piled in front of him.  He flicked through the pages impatiently, unable to find anything interesting enough.

The lift doors opened, surprising Jared.  Looking up hopefully, he saw a small round woman pushing a cleaning cart shuffle out.  Her black hair was flecked with grey and her blue checked tunic looked grubby.  Jared smiled politely at the woman as she pushed her cart towards him.  She was already speaking as she made her way over to him although Jared wasn’t sure if it was directed at him or not.  She looked at Jared questioningly and when he looked blankly back at her, she offered him a cigarette.  “I said, it looks like you need one of these”.  From her outstretched hand Jared could make out her blackened fingernails and blistered fingers.  Even though he didn’t smoke, he took the cigarette from the woman and placed it in the inner pocket of his jacket, promising to have it later.