Accidental Meeting Read Free

Mr.
Harrington, she mentally corrected herself, would realize she wasn’t such a bad
person after all when he saw how she went out of her way to help him.
    There
wasn’t a sign of Limpy in the waiting room. Perhaps
they had taken him back to an examination room already. He did seem a bit
crotchety, not that she really knew the man. Maybe he was just being grumpy
because he was in pain. How many times had she or Monica read the story of the
lion with a thorn in his paw to Eric? Hopefully when Limpy felt better, his mood would improve and he wouldn’t be so grumpy. She walked
back into the corridor and stood, wondering what she should do next.
    “Can
I help you?”
    “Who,
me?” Abbey spun around toward the reception desk and pointed at her chest.
    The
receptionist nodded.
    “Well…
I was wondering where Mr. Harrington was.” Abbey smoothed her hands over her
skirt before folding them in front of her.
    The
receptionist looked down at some paperwork. “They just wheeled a Harrington
back to one of the examination rooms. Are you family?”
    “Um…
not exactly. I’m here to give him a ride home.” Abbey felt her cheeks grow
warm. Why did she say home? Well, she’d give him a ride home if he wanted one. Preferably she’d just dump him—well, she didn’t mean dump. She’d let him
off at his car and be done with him. Their insurance companies could take it
from there.
    “Why
don’t you have a seat in the waiting room.” The receptionist pointed towards
the area Abbey had just come from. “Would you like me to let Mr. Harrington
know you’re here?”
    “No!
That will be all right. Thanks.” Abbey pulled her purse strap further up on her
shoulder and hastily made her way back to the waiting room.
    Vending
machines and pay phones occupied one corner of the waiting room. Abbey thought
about calling Monica and letting her know what happened, but decided it
wouldn’t make any difference if she told her now or waited until later and
opted for later.
    Vociferous
laughter drew Abbey’s attention. Half a dozen leather clad men, some of which
had hair longer than hers, were commandeering one section of the waiting room.
Several of them looked like they might be waiting to be seen. The one laughing
loudly, assuming a spread-eagle stance, hand clenched, bellowed, “Did you see
the way he went flying through that window?”
    Laughter
erupted among the group.
    Abbey
looked around at all the available seats and decided to sit as far away as
possible from the crowd . An older woman sat on the far side of the room.
The woman wasn’t as little as Abbey first thought, probably because she was
hunched over a book. When one of the men noticed Abbey and whistled, it took
all of five strides to land herself in an empty seat next to the
grandmotherly-looking woman.
    “Hello.”
Abbey tried to smile.
    The
woman glanced at her, then the group of men and back at Abbey, and patted her
hand, offering a welcoming smile. “Hello. Don’t let them bother you, dear.”
    Abbey
noticed a Bible in her lap and heaved a sigh. “You’re a Christian, too? That’s
great.”
    “Yes.”
She smiled at Abbey and extended a hand that Abbey readily shook. “My name’s
Doris, what’s yours?”
    “Abbey.”
    “Are
you waiting for somebody, dear?”
    “Well,
not exactly.” At Doris’ look of confusion, Abbey went on, “It’s kind of a long
story. I had an accident.”
    “Oh,
my dear, are you all right?”
    Abbey’s
heart melted at the older woman’s concern. “Yes, I’m fine. But I hit this guy…”
    Doris
gasped.
    Abbey
patted Doris’ hand. “He’s okay. Well, he was okay.”
    “I
don’t understand, dear. What do you mean was?”
    Inhaling
a deep breath, Abbey continued, “I was so excited he wasn’t hurt that I went to
hug him and he backed up and fell down the side of the embankment.”
    “Oh,”
was all Doris said.
    “The
guy probably thinks I’m a raving lunatic. He wouldn’t even let me help him up
after he