The Tuesday Chair

Odette is the receptionist at a small clinic. She sits at the front desk. She answers the phone. She gives people forms and a smile.

Every Tuesday at ten, an old man comes in. Odette sees him through the glass door. She always says hello. He wears a grey coat and a brown hat. He does not go to the desk. He goes to the green chair by the window. He sits down. He opens a newspaper.

He stays until noon. Then he folds the paper. He puts on his hat and goes home.

He has no appointment. He does not see a doctor. He does not ask for tea or water. Odette checks the list every week. His name is never on it.

On the fourth Tuesday, Odette asks the nurse. The nurse is a kind woman called Pearl. She knows every patient in town.

"Do you know the old man in the green chair?" Odette asks.

"I know him," says Pearl. "He comes every week. I think he waits for someone."

"Who?"

"I do not know," says Pearl.

Odette thinks about it all morning. At eleven she fills a cup with tea. She walks to the window.

"Good morning," she says. "Would you like some tea?"

The old man looks up. His eyes are pale and kind. "That is very nice," he says. "Thank you."

Odette sits on the next chair. "Are you waiting for a doctor?"

"No," he says. He looks at his hands. "I am not here for the doctor."

Odette waits.

"My wife had a test every Tuesday," he says. "For two years. We came here together. I sat in this chair and read the paper. She went in. Then she came out and we had lunch."

"I see," Odette says softly.

"She died in the spring," he says. "On Tuesday I woke up. I did not know what to do. So I came here. I sat in the chair. It felt right."

Odette puts her hand on his arm. She does not speak. There are no words.

"I am sorry to bother you," says the old man. "I know I have no reason to be here."

"You are not a bother," Odette says. "Please. Stay as long as you like."

At noon he folds the paper. He puts on his hat. He stops at the door.

"The tea was good," he says. "Thank you."

That night Odette cannot stop thinking about the green chair. She thinks about the empty hours. She thinks about other people in town. Some of them sit alone.

The next morning she talks to Pearl and the doctor. They listen. Then they smile.

On Tuesday at nine, Odette moves a small table. She puts it by the green chair. She puts a plate of biscuits on it. She writes a sign with a blue pen. It says, "Tuesday Tea. Everyone is welcome."

At ten the old man comes in. He stops at the door and reads the sign. Then he looks at the table. His mouth moves, but no words come.

Odette is already pouring his tea.