He had been sitting in the waiting area for a long time.
His doctor was usually pretty punctual. Although he could remember an occasion a couple of years back when he’d had to wait for more than half an hour. The reasons for the delay were described at the time and it was obvious that his GP had little control over the situation. After all, it was all in the nature of what a medical professional had to contend with. Today was not the same thing. Today he had been squirming on his chair for nearly two hours! He had considered concocting a story about having another appointment to go to and making a new appointment date at the front counter. On second thoughts, that might not go down really well.
Finally, he was called.
Sitting down in the practitioner’s room, he could see that the man looked quite harried. After a polite cough, the doctor said, “Sorry to have kept you waiting…”
He looked conflicted for a few long moments, then went on, “There are two versions for that. Either the one that says that I ate a large curry last night and have been suffering from diarrhea all day or there’s the one that says that I’ve had a couple of emergencies to deal with. Which one would you like?”
The patient, clearly shocked at the statement, thought for a moment, then said, “If it’s OK with you, I’d like to think about it…”