Neville

The Look

The Look

She looked at him,

then turned

away again fast ..

Like he was

just one more old

man in a

very large crowd ..

But then he

was just another

old man in a

very long row of

standard

issue white metal

hospital beds

and he knew that ..

And as well

as the look that

she gave him

in passing, maybe

it would

have been kinder

and easier

for them both

if she had

just turned away

and not

smiled at him like

that since ..

He knew that look

only too

well perhaps ..

Indeed, it was one

of those

knowingly over

familiar

quasi-flirtatious

yet still

uncomfortable

looks

reserved for all

those on

whom empathy

could not

possibly be wasted ..

He had used it

himself

countless times on

those who

probably hadn’t

that much time left ..