Kleinzeit

Arrival

‘Ahhh!’ groaned Sister as she came in Dr Krishna’s arms. ‘You make love like a god,’ she said later when they lay side by side, smoking in the dark.

‘Marry me,’ said Dr Krishna. He was young and dark and beautiful and talented.

‘No,’ said Sister.

‘Whom are you waiting for?’ said Dr Krishna.

Sister shrugged.

‘I’ve watched you walking through your ward,’ said Dr Krishna. ‘You’re waiting for a man to turn up in one of the beds. What’re you waiting for, a sick millionaire?’

‘Millionaires aren’t in wards,’ said Sister.

‘What then?’ said Dr Krishna. ‘What sort of man? And why a sick one? Why not a well man?’

Sister shrugged.

In the morning her firm black Sister shoes took her to Ward A4. In a bed by the window lay Kleinzeit, looking at her as if he could see through her clothes, Marks & Spencer and all.