Day 14 of the WWFC Blog Writing Challenge brings, “Where Can I Get A Good Blintz?”
Laura could not stay in this room any longer. She felt like a caged animal, alternating between sitting and pacing. The large screen television had been playing CNN ad nauseam for hours. The drone of perpetual top breaking stories had long since become white noise amid her endless thoughts of both worry and hope.
Making up her mind, she marched towards the elderly help desk volunteer and blurted out, “Where can I get a good blintz?”
As if the kindly woman had heard this question several times a day, she slowly put down her crossword and looked up at Laura. “Amphora, honey. Turn right at the hospital entrance and go down three blocks. Make a left on 21st and you will see it on the right. Not a single Jew in the place, but those Greeks can make a blintz better than my own Bubbe used to make.”
“Thanks. My sister is Hannah Cohen. If they call for me, tell them I’ll be right back.”
With that, she turned on her heel and was out the door. She only hesitated for a moment by the elevator before heading towards the stairs, taking them two by two. Reaching the bottom, she pushed through the door and squinted at the bright light of the day.
Rushing past the lunchtime pedestrians, she made her way down the street. “Left on 21st, see it on the right. Left on 21st. See it on the right.” Finally reaching her destination, she looked up to see a brown and white sign with the words Amphora lit across a yellowed background. Going directly to the counter she blurted, “I need an order of blintzes, to go. With a heavy side of strawberries and extra sour cream. My sister loves sour cream. Hurry please. I need to get back.”
Careful not to upset the Styrofoam container clutched in her arms, she made her way back to Dominion Hospital. Waiting this time for the elevator, she gave herself a moment to stop, breathe and focus. She had the blintzes. Everything would be alright.
With the ding of a bell, the elevator opened and she was on her way back to the fifth floor. Another door opening, another two hallways and finally, the entrance to the waiting room she knew so well.
As she entered, the first thing she noticed was the silence. Had the TV finally been turned off? Quickly, the thought was soon forgotten as someone in the corner caught her eye. Looking up, she could hardly focus on the man standing in front of her.
The surgeon’s scrubs somehow appeared just as pristine now as they had before the surgery began. When an arm gently wrapped around her from behind, she startled. Turning to see the nice woman from before, a rush of cold surged through her once warm extremities.
“But I brought her blintzes. She loves strawberry blintzes…”
