{"id":1272,"date":"2008-06-13T08:13:00","date_gmt":"2008-06-13T08:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ink.verticalplus.co.uk\/archive\/?p=1272"},"modified":"2008-06-13T08:13:00","modified_gmt":"2008-06-13T08:13:00","slug":"new-short-fiction-by-janet-yung","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/new-short-fiction-by-janet-yung\/","title":{"rendered":"New short fiction by Janet Yung"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dining Out<\/span>


\u201cDo you want me to call an ambulance?\u201d  The chubby manager of the all you can eat restaurant is seated on the floor next to Peter, the elderly patron, who\u2019s barely had time to settle at the table waiting with his wife, Clara, while their two nieces have gone to the food bar.<\/span>

\u201cYes,\u201d Clara nods her head.  Clara\u2019s white hair sits in a bun on top of her head, tears welling up in her eyes.  The manager and one of the girls who work the room at lunchtime, clearing tables and fetching drinks along with bread and butter, laid Peter gently on the ground when he bent over the table and uttered an \u201cOh, my,\u201d Clara looking helpless.<\/span>

It\u2019s the thing Clara has worried about most in her life.  \u201cWhat\u2019ll I do without Peter?\u201d  Now, sitting on her chair while the manager and the wait staff try to make sure Peter doesn\u2019t die on the premises, she thinks the worst is happening.<\/span>

Clara smiles when the manager, now arranging towels under Peter\u2019s head looks up and says, \u201cHis eyes are open.\u201d<\/span>

\u201cHow do you feel?\u201d she asks and Peter\u2018s eye lids flutter, the first sign of movement since he\u2018s been on the floor.<\/span>

People at surrounding tables only stop eating for a second at the start of the commotion.  Now, they resume eating and the trek from table to steam tables.  No one wants to feel cheated.  It isn\u2019t the first time this has happened at the buffet.<\/span>

\u201cEveryone in there is so old,\u201d Peter complained when the girls suggested taking their aunt and uncle to the restaurant.<\/span>

\u201cIt\u2019ll do you good to get out of the house.\u201d  Clara encouraged him, dressing in her favorite purple dress, something she only wears on special occasions.  \u201cWe need to do more outside the house,\u201d she said, putting the final touches on her hair.  Peter says she looks nice, but he\u2019s always said that no matter what she\u2019s wearing.<\/span>

Clara stares at Peter\u2019s black leather round toed shoes pointing towards the ceiling, white socks showing between the bottom of his cotton trousers and shoe tops.  She should have insisted he wear dark socks, but they\u2019d been running late and she didn\u2019t want to keep the girls waiting.  <\/span>

\u201cI like these socks,\u201d he told her when she spotted them.  <\/span>

\u201cYour slacks are too short,\u201d she said, \u201cthat\u2019s why I can see your socks.\u201d<\/span>

\u201cI like \u2018em,\u201d he said, ending the discussion.<\/span>

The girls arrive back at the table, unaware anything is wrong till they\u2019re standing next to Clara and Peter, their plates filled with fried chicken, mashed potatoes and green beans.  <\/span>

\u201cThe ambulance is on it\u2019s way,\u201d one of the cooks announces and the manager shows a visible sign of relief.<\/span>

\u201cYou\u2019ll be okay,\u201d the manager tells Peter and Clara pats Peter\u2019s shoulder.  The nieces huddle around the couple, their food forgotten on the table.<\/span>

When a diner spots the ambulance, the manager and the cook help Peter back onto the chair.  Clara hovers close by while Peter\u2019s vitals are checked and then he\u2019s lifted onto the gurney.  Clara is grateful not one of them referred to Peter as \u201cold timer.\u201d<\/span>

\u201cWe\u2019ll follow you to the hospital,\u201d one of the girls says.  Clara, glad for the company, even though they\u2019ll miss their lunch.<\/span>

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to do this again soon,\u201d Peter quips as he\u2019s rolled out to the ambulance on his way to the emergency room.<\/span>

\u201cNot exactly and not too soon,\u201d Clara replies, adding \u201cwe need to get you some new clothes.\u201d  And then they are on their way without the sirens.<\/span>


\u2022 Janet Yung lives and writes in St. Louis.  Her short fiction has appeared in <\/span>Writers On The River<\/span> and online in <\/span>Foliate Oak<\/span>, <\/span>Terrain<\/span> and <\/span>Flashquake<\/span>.<\/span>


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Dining Out\u201cDo you want me to call an ambulance?\u201d  The chubby manager of the all you can eat restaurant is seated on the floor next to Peter, the elderly patron, who\u2019s barely had time to settle at the table waiting with his wife, Clara, while their two nieces have gone to the food bar.\u201cYes,\u201d Clara […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-prose-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1272\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inksweatandtears.co.uk\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}