First Impressions By Peter McMillan

Cecil was wheeled into the rec room where all the residents were passing the time ‘til the evening meal.

His room was too small. Much smaller than what he was used to. At least it had cable. He just needed a TV. The nurse said one might be coming available.

This was the first time he’d seen any of his new neighbours. It was a lot to take in. Some were dressed to the nines. Others were singing showtunes while a woman wearing a cancer turban played the piano.

“Who’s the old bird facing the corner?” he asked.

“One of our long-termers, Miss Annie. She prefers it that way, sometimes,” answered the nurse.

“Kinda ruins the atmosphere, doesn’t it?”

“Well, Mr. Snow, this isn’t rehab.”

“Don’t I know it. My boy made that pretty clear. ‘Here Dad, your new home,’ he said. ‘Nice,’ his new girlfriend said.”

“She doesn’t have anybody — just us.”

“No family?”

“Moved away soon after she came.”

“What did she –?”

“Real estate. Thirty years. Pretty successful I heard.”

“Ironic.”

“Lots of irony here, Mr. Snow. Would you like to take a tour of the gardens?”

“No thanks, saw it through the window in my room.”

“Alright then. I’ll leave you to mingle. By the way, those boxes — the boxes your son mentioned — need to be unpacked when they arrive. Boxes left in residents’ rooms will be removed after two days. Policy. Health and safety, you understand.”

© 2014 Peter McMillan

Peter McMillan is a freelance writer and ESL instructor who lives on the northwest shore of Lake Ontario with his wife and two flat-coated retrievers. He has published three anthologies of his reprinted stories: Flash! Fiction, Flash! Fiction 2, and Flash! Fiction 3.

 

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