Waiting Room Revelations
The corridor of the women’s clinic was quiet, save for the occasional sigh from an elderly woman perched on a bench. Beside her sat a slender girl of about fifteen, her bony knees peeking out from under a short skirt. The grandmother had brought her granddaughter here for an abortion.
The girl’s frightened eyes darted around the room as her grandmother sighed heavily. A woman in her thirties approached and sat beside them.
“Are you waiting for this room too?”
“Yes… Tell me, does it hurt?”
“It’s uncomfortable, but they’ll give you something for the pain. They say it’s quick—five minutes at most, if it’s early. It’s my first time too, honestly. I’m scared as well. And part of me keeps thinking… the baby’s done nothing wrong.”
“Good Lord, what a mess… This is my granddaughter. She’s in Year 10, and this boy tricked her, then left. Now she’s pregnant. He doesn’t want to know. What are we supposed to do? She has to finish school. Her parents are gone—I raised her myself. Oh, what a nightmare…”
“Gran, stop, you’re breaking my heart. It’s hard enough already. That lady just said it won’t hurt. Quick, and it’s over.”
“Oh, love, that’s a child inside you. Alive. And you’re just going to… snap your fingers? She’s right—the baby’s innocent. You know what? Get up. We’re leaving. We’ll manage. We raised children through the war—we’ll raise this one. And that good-for-nothing Tom of yours? Forget him. Up you get, take your bag. We’re going home.”
The girl seemed to have been waiting for this. She snatched her bag and hurried out, her grandmother following. The woman on the bench smiled faintly as she watched them go, lost in her own thoughts.
Twenty Years Later
“Mum, I love him! It’s serious, you have to believe me. Danny’s a good man—he’s got a bright future!”
“What future if you marry now? Finish uni, then see!”
“Mum, we’re twenty, not kids. A wedding won’t ruin our studies. We’re not wasting money—just signing the papers, no fuss. Dinner with Danny’s parents and his gran, that’s it. We’ll celebrate with friends later. He adores his gran—she raised him.”
“Oh, Lucy… What won’t I do for my girl? Fine. We should meet his parents—we’re practically in-laws now.”
“Invite them over, Mum.”
“Hello, come in! I’m Lucy’s mum, Julia. Please, sit.”
As Julia studied Danny’s grandmother, something nagged at her. Had she seen her before? His mother, Anna, looked barely older than him. Over tea, the story came out: Anna had Danny at sixteen, after a fling with a classmate who refused to acknowledge the baby until threatened with legal action. They married on paper, never lived together, and divorced soon after.
“Truth be told, Julia, we almost didn’t keep Danny. Anna was just a kid herself—no parents, just me. Then she came home pregnant… What choice did we have?”
“That day at the hospital, waiting for… you know, a woman sat with us. Also there for the same thing. She said babies aren’t to blame. It was like a slap—how could we even think it? A sign, I reckon. We walked out that minute. Saved our Danny.”
“God sent that woman, I’m sure of it. Anna stayed in school till the end, finished her GCSEs. Danny came, I minded him while she got her pastry chef certificate. Tom, his dad? Useless. His family too. But we managed. Anna married well later, had a daughter. Bakes cakes now—does alright. Don’t fret over Lucy and Danny. They’ll have my flat—I’ll move in with Anna. That’s our story.”
Julia’s breath caught. That woman—that girl. They’d walked out. Because of them, she’d kept her baby. Her Lucy.
Back then, after overhearing them, a strange calm had washed over her. She’d realised she could do this. The baby was from a married man, her first love. Life had pulled them apart, and when they crossed paths again, he had a family. One night was all it took.
She’d resolved not to wreck his life, to spare the child hardship. The clinic was the answer—until that grandmother and granddaughter changed everything in five minutes. If they could do it, so could she. A sign.
She’d followed them out. The pregnancy was smooth, the birth easy. Then came Lucy—her joy, her world.
And now fate had reunited them. Not in sorrow, but celebration. Two children who might never have been, now in love. What else could it be but destiny?
People get signs. Some listen, some don’t. Sometimes five minutes is all it takes to change a life. Like choosing to keep a child you never planned for—and later wondering how you could’ve lived without them.
Life’s full of twists. But if something feels wrong… pause. Sometimes five minutes changes everything.
