Rules Get Broken Read Online Free PDF Page A

receptionist.
    “Yes, there is,” the woman behind the counter replied. “Down the hall to the end, on the left.”
    Peg thanked the woman and proceeded down the hall, finding a bank of pay phones on the wall next to the doors leading to the rear parking lot. She rummaged through her pocketbook for change, and after finding the coins she needed and dropping them into the phone one by one, dialed her home number.
    Linda Taylor, the neighbor who was watching the children for the afternoon, answered the phone on the second ring. “Hello?”
    “Hi, Linda. It’s me.”
    “Hi. How’re you doing?”
    Peg hesitated for a second before responding. “Not too well. I’ll fill you in when I get home. But I’ve got a different problem now. While I was with Dr. Edwards, he made an appointment for me to see another doctor this afternoon. At five-thirty.”
    “Why’s that a problem?” Linda asked.
    “Well, if I see this other doctor, I won’t be home by five like I promised. So I was wondering if maybe you could stay a little longer? Maybe until six-thirty? I’m sorry for asking, Linda, but Dr. Edwards really wanted me to see this other doctor today.”
    Linda was more than just a neighbor; she was a close friend of Peg’s and a good person. “Don’t worry about it,” was her immediate response. “Paul can have his dinner a little later than usual tonight. It won’t kill him, and he’ll understand. And don’t worry about the kids either. They’re fine. Go. I hope everything turns out okay.”
    Peg said thanks, smiled sadly to herself at Linda’s last words, and hung up.

Eleven
    When Peg arrived at Dr. Goldstein’s office, the waiting room was almost full in spite of the late hour. She identified herself to the nurse at the reception window and took one of the last two remaining seats. She immediately picked up a six-month-old issue of Better Homes and Gardens out of reflex, but before opening it, she looked around the waiting room at the other patients.
    They were all ages. Some in their seventies, some in their mid to late fifties, some within a year or two of her, and one probably not yet twenty. Most were women. Some were extremely frail looking, pale and thin. One or two looked downright emaciated. But others seemed to be in perfect health. Several women suffered from hair loss. One woman in her late fifties apparently had no hair at all and wore a brightly colored floral turban. Another woman, only a few years older, also had no hair but no longer cared and left her baldpate exposed for all to see. Each patient was different from the next in terms of age or state of health or general demeanor, but they all shared a look of quiet fear and deep concern. No one smiled. No one talked. Not even to the person sitting next to them who had brought them here. Not a word. The waiting room was absolutely quiet except for the sound of magazine pages being turned.
    For a split second, Peg had the thought that these people were not waiting to see the doctor, but instead were waiting for their turn to die. She shuddered and could feel panic start to rise again from deep inside.
    I can’t let myself think like this , she thought. I mustn’t panic. This is probably just a false alarm. A complete waste of time. There’s probably nothing at all wrong with me other than maybe I’m a little anemic. I don’t smoke. I don’t drink. Well, a little, but not much. I take care of myself. And for God’s sake, I’m only thirty-four. Cancer doesn’t happen to thirty-four-year-olds.
    She looked across the waiting room at the rail thin eighteen or nineteen-year-old girl she had seen when she first walked in.
    Well, maybe it can, but still…that’s the exception, not the rule. Besides, I’ve got too much to live for, and two little kids that can’t be without me. Dear God, you know that’s true. You know how much I love my babies and my husband, and you know how much they love me and need me. You know that. Please don’t let