Charlie in the Waiting Room

Charlie and I used to wait together
In the waiting room
At the doctor's office

He'd come with his ex-wife
Which I didn't know at first

I told her once
That her husband was so sweet
To sit and wait for her
And she said--

'He's not my husband.  Not anymore anyway.'

I didn't ask questions after that
But I did make conversation with Charlie
Because he always seemed so nervous
And I thought it was even nicer of him
To sit and wait
Considering he wasn't even married
To this woman anymore

I asked if he had any children
And he said 'Yes, but not with this wife.'

I swear, every time I opened my mouth
In that waiting room
My foot went right into it

I was, uh...

I had cancer
At the time
Ovarian cancer
And it was...

Not a period of my life I enjoyed
Obviously

I beat it
Then it came back
Then I beat it
Then it came back
And the third time
Was not a charm

I passed away at the age of sixty-two
Which is not exactly a young age
But it's not...

I was angry I didn't get to see summer
I always liked the summers

Still I'm lucky

Ovarian cancer is nasty
And I never had much trouble
In terms of, you know--things

And I'm lucky I got as much time as I got
And anyway, this isn't about me

I'm sure you have no interest
In hearing from a dead woman

The point is, Charlie was very nice
And he...

One time, I was sitting there
Just sitting
Because I had an early appointment
And the doctor told me...

This was the third time
The cancer came back

He told me
That this time
It wasn't good

Which was ridiculous
I mean, when is it ever good?

But when you get cancer and you're young
They're a little more optimistic

When the cancer keeps coming back
And you're getting progressively older
They stop being so optimistic

So I was just sitting there
In the waiting room
And Charlie showed up
To drop off his ex-wife
And we exchanged hello's

I'm sure they assumed
I was early for my appointment
Or whatever

And then when Charlie's ex-wife went in
I just lost it

I didn't cry
I did that thing
That thing that Miss Piggy does
Right before she karate chops someone

I just...shook

And Charlie came over
And put his hand on my hand
And didn't ask anything
Which was very sweet

It's funny that the waiting room
Is all I know of Charlie

The faux wood paneling
And the off-purple carpet
And the issues of People magazine that are so old
They have Nancy Kerrigan on the cover

If I had seen Charlie in the supermarket
I doubt I even would have recognized him

He was a gift, really

A bit of comfort
In a very uncomfortable place
And I was very grateful for that

At the worst moment of my life
When my family and my friends couldn't be there
He was, and now that my life is over
Those are the moments that I'm happy to look back on

Those moments of quiet connection
Between two people
Who if not for the circumstances
Would have been strangers

It's moments like those
That make life appear so attractive
Once you're done with it

Believe it or not
That's life
In its truest form

Charlie gave me those moments

And I'm thankful for that