for the second time that day. Now she was there officially. Just as she’d done ten hours earlier, she stood in line and listened for a few minutes, then stepped aside and looked for a seat. But unlike before, this time she sat closer to the check-in desk, knowing she’d see and hear everything going on. After sitting, she looked around cautiously. Lindy wasn’t there and hopefully no one else would bother her as she watched, listened and did her job.It wasn’t exactly voyeurism. It was just paying very close attention. She saw everything. It was her job to be observant. The waiting room’s wide-open space afforded her the perfect view as pain and suffering continued all around her. A small child wept in his mother’s arms. She rocked slowly, hoping to ease what anguish she could. An old man coughed and held a dirty, crumpled handkerchief to his mouth. Two other people sat anxiously waiting to be called, one nauseous and the other holding a bleeding nose.As usual, Shauna steeled herself from the emotional trial of empathy.
