Read Online The Art of Becoming Homeless by Sara Alexi - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Sara Alexi
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buzzer for the nurse. Slipping her legs from the bed and holding her gown together behind her, Michelle pads to the door and into the hall, which is lit by a dim bulb dangling bare from the high ceiling. The next door, Dino’s room, stands open, dark and empty.
‘ Do you need something?’ A nurse comes from behind a screen pulled in front of the permanently open staffroom door.
‘ Has Dino gone?’
‘ Dino? Yes, he was discharged earlier. He went in to see you, but you were sleeping.’
‘ Oh.’
‘ What can I get you?’
‘ No, nothing, thank you.’ Pattering back into her bed, the hospital seems cold and empty. Shadows play in the room. The flicking of the curtains in the soft night breeze cools the warm air and makes the greys dance and ripple, shimmer and slide, crumble and cascade. The donkey’s hooves clatter on the rocks, her whinnies become more frantic. Dolly’s eyes wide, her tongue protruding.
Michelle wakes again with her heart pulsing, the images still in her mind ’s eye. There is no one she can call on to soothe her, so far from friends and familiar places. It takes time for her to slip once more into sleep.
The sun jolts her awake. Once the curtains are fully drawn, a new nurse busies herself with the chart at the end of the bed.
‘ What time is it please?’
‘ Six.’
Michelle groans and turns over to sleep again.
‘ Time to wake up.’
‘ Hmm? Er? Oh! What time is it please?’
‘ Just after twelve. Your friend Dino came in, but you were fast asleep.’
‘ Twelve! I need to go! Please get my things. Will the doctor be here soon? I have to catch the one-thirty boat …’ She flings off the sheet and steps onto the cold marble floor. ‘Can I have my clothes please?’
‘ Doctor must see you before you go.’
‘ I know, but if I am fine, I must go immediately. I have to catch the one-thirty boat.’
‘ Doctor coming.’
‘ Can I have my clothes please?’
‘ Yes, yes.’ The nurse leaves the room.
Michelle walks to the window, from where she can see a square, partly covered with grass, planted with orange trees. Two old ladies passing with heavy shopping bags have paused to rest on a bench. One shakes a walking stick at a prowling cat. Michelle wonders if there is fish in her shopping bag. How long will it take to get to port from here? She cannot remember the route from yesterday.
She must get the one-thirty. If she misses this meeting, things could become difficult. Not only for the firm—although Michelle no longer really cares how the firm is doing—but since it has been made clear that ‘belts need to be tightened’, and that this may involve job losses, everyone feels a bit jumpy.
The downturn in the economy had prompted the decision: someone must go. Michelle thought getting this claim in Athens back on track would be an easy way to prove her performance, and it will be, as long as she can get to the meeting. She has no qualms about her ability.
There is no clock in the room. The door to the hall is open, and Michelle can see past the screen into the staffroom, where the clock on the wall says twelve-fifteen. Surely she can still make it, if someone can tell her the way. How big is the town anyway?
The familiar London pressure reaches all the way out here. It is not only her, it is all the salaried partners who are on trial, putting them all in competition with their colleagues. The powers that be decided it was the only fair approach.
How will she find the way to the port? Surely it is just minutes to the harbour, but she cannot recall the journey here.
‘ Excuse me, could I have my clothes please?’
The nurse looks up from her desk. ‘Yes, yes, one minute.’
At twelve-thirty the nurse comes in with her clothes.
‘How long before the doctor comes?’
‘ He is coming.’ The nurse leaves.
Michelle waits. Her breath shortens until she becomes aware that her shoulders have tensed up around her ears.
‘Relax, relax.’ she whispers, but
‘ Do you need something?’ A nurse comes from behind a screen pulled in front of the permanently open staffroom door.
‘ Has Dino gone?’
‘ Dino? Yes, he was discharged earlier. He went in to see you, but you were sleeping.’
‘ Oh.’
‘ What can I get you?’
‘ No, nothing, thank you.’ Pattering back into her bed, the hospital seems cold and empty. Shadows play in the room. The flicking of the curtains in the soft night breeze cools the warm air and makes the greys dance and ripple, shimmer and slide, crumble and cascade. The donkey’s hooves clatter on the rocks, her whinnies become more frantic. Dolly’s eyes wide, her tongue protruding.
Michelle wakes again with her heart pulsing, the images still in her mind ’s eye. There is no one she can call on to soothe her, so far from friends and familiar places. It takes time for her to slip once more into sleep.
The sun jolts her awake. Once the curtains are fully drawn, a new nurse busies herself with the chart at the end of the bed.
‘ What time is it please?’
‘ Six.’
Michelle groans and turns over to sleep again.
‘ Time to wake up.’
‘ Hmm? Er? Oh! What time is it please?’
‘ Just after twelve. Your friend Dino came in, but you were fast asleep.’
‘ Twelve! I need to go! Please get my things. Will the doctor be here soon? I have to catch the one-thirty boat …’ She flings off the sheet and steps onto the cold marble floor. ‘Can I have my clothes please?’
‘ Doctor must see you before you go.’
‘ I know, but if I am fine, I must go immediately. I have to catch the one-thirty boat.’
‘ Doctor coming.’
‘ Can I have my clothes please?’
‘ Yes, yes.’ The nurse leaves the room.
Michelle walks to the window, from where she can see a square, partly covered with grass, planted with orange trees. Two old ladies passing with heavy shopping bags have paused to rest on a bench. One shakes a walking stick at a prowling cat. Michelle wonders if there is fish in her shopping bag. How long will it take to get to port from here? She cannot remember the route from yesterday.
She must get the one-thirty. If she misses this meeting, things could become difficult. Not only for the firm—although Michelle no longer really cares how the firm is doing—but since it has been made clear that ‘belts need to be tightened’, and that this may involve job losses, everyone feels a bit jumpy.
The downturn in the economy had prompted the decision: someone must go. Michelle thought getting this claim in Athens back on track would be an easy way to prove her performance, and it will be, as long as she can get to the meeting. She has no qualms about her ability.
There is no clock in the room. The door to the hall is open, and Michelle can see past the screen into the staffroom, where the clock on the wall says twelve-fifteen. Surely she can still make it, if someone can tell her the way. How big is the town anyway?
The familiar London pressure reaches all the way out here. It is not only her, it is all the salaried partners who are on trial, putting them all in competition with their colleagues. The powers that be decided it was the only fair approach.
How will she find the way to the port? Surely it is just minutes to the harbour, but she cannot recall the journey here.
‘ Excuse me, could I have my clothes please?’
The nurse looks up from her desk. ‘Yes, yes, one minute.’
At twelve-thirty the nurse comes in with her clothes.
‘How long before the doctor comes?’
‘ He is coming.’ The nurse leaves.
Michelle waits. Her breath shortens until she becomes aware that her shoulders have tensed up around her ears.
‘Relax, relax.’ she whispers, but
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