An imaginary but very real knife sliced through Margaret's body and the receiver left her hand, hitting the linoleum floor with a loud thud. She could hear the tinny
voice yelling from the floor, but she made no effort to pick up the receiver.
Feeling dizzy, she walked through the kitchen ad lowered herself into a chair. It was as though she was having an out of body experience. She felt hot and cold all
at once. Her head clouded with a million thoughts, but she could comprehend none of them.
The chatter from the phone had stopped, replaced by an ear-piercing signal that she'd left the phone off the hook for too long. Unable to take the harsh noise any
longer, she rose from her chair and went to hang up the phone. She grasped the pink piece of paper in her hand, crumpling it with her fingers. Within seconds, the paper was wet. But it took her a minute to realize that the dampness was from her tears.
Carefully she unfolded the paper and glanced at it, but suddenly the room began to spin. Her chest felt tight and everything hurt; her body, her head… but most of all, her heart.
Oh God, this wasn't happening… It couldn't be possible…
She tried to think back on the last time she'd spoken to Frank. And before that, the last time they were together. It seemed so long ago. All of those nights that he'd spent in her tent. The kisses, the caresses, the way he'd made her feel the morning after. The soft, but oh so subtle touches under the table in the mess tent.
She realized that she'd sunk to the floor. The linoleum was cool to the touch and she laid down upon it, pressing her face against the floor, giving no thought to the amount of germs that were lingering around. And then she began to sob.
She sobbed until she was spent and then sobbed even more. When at last she was calmer, she managed to pull herself to her feet. She desperately needed rest, but there was no possible way. Not after this.
Blindly she picked up the receiver and dialed the hospital. It was completely unlike her to ask for an undetermined amount of time off, but thankfully they understood.
Take care of yourself. They had said.
If only she could do just that.
The receiver still in her hand, she pushed the button to begin a new call and dialed another number. One that she hadn't dialed in a very long time, but knew by heart.
