Waiting Room, The by Kaminsky Leah

Author:Kaminsky, Leah [Kaminsky, Leah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Australia
Publisher: Random House Australia
Published: 2015-05-09T14:00:00+00:00

Dina prods at the ulcer with a pair of forceps, carefully picking out pieces of dirt, cleaning away the yellowish-green ooze. The rancid smell of decay seeps into the room. No matter how often she tells Mrs Susskind to keep the wound clean and dry, it seems the old woman just doesn’t listen.

‘I don’t need anybody. I can look after myself. I used to help out my girlfriend, Bella. We would have coffee together at Kessler’s every Friday morning. We have been meeting there for the past twenty-three years, you know. But she died last month.’

‘Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.’ In her rush, Dina rips open a sterile dressing, accidentally dropping it on the floor.

‘Ha! Don’t be ridiculous! No need to be sorry, darling. I wish we could all go that way. My dear Bella stayed a lady right to the end. You know, she was still wearing her fox fur when she dropped dead?’

‘Really?’ Dina takes another dressing out of the cupboard.

‘Yes, it’s true. I told her to sit down at our usual table at Kessler’s, while I went to order coffee and krantz. You know, my cholesterol’s always been a problem for you doctors, but never for me, and I am not going to give up my Kessler’s cake.’ Mrs Susskind looks at Dina, checking for her reaction. ‘You know Kessler’s? On Hanassi Avenue? It’s down the little alley behind Garber’s ticket office. They make the best krantz cake in Haifa. You should go there. I know the owner quite well. Tell her I sent you. As a matter of fact, she told me recently she’s starting to have enough of the konditorei business. She’s thinking of retiring. Anyway, so there I was waiting for our order and I looked across at Bella who was sitting at the table smiling at me. I brought everything over on a tray and put the coffee and cake in front of her. Actually, come to think of it, I ordered a cremeschnitte that day; Bella was the one who ordered the krantz. So, okay, I sat down, spooned some sugar into my coffee – I know, I know, you always tell me I should avoid eating sweet things, but what harm is a little nosh here and there? Well, I took a bite of cake and Bella was just sitting there staring at me. ‘Bellinka,’ I said, ‘ess a bissl.’ But she didn’t eat a thing. In fact, she didn’t move. I could see my Bella was already a goner. Blessed be her memory. Dropped off her perch right there at the table, with a smile on her face, not even her lipstick smudged.’

Dina uses forceps to place a new seaweed dressing on Mrs Susskind’s ulcer. It’s supposed to work miracles, according to the rep that brought it in last week.

‘I pity her flesh.’ Dina’s mother stands beside them, staring down at the inflamed lesion.

‘What can you do?’ Mrs Susskind says. ‘I should die like that. You have to live your life.

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