Writing for Fun
May 2016
Judgement - Jenni Bowers
Julia was gradually becoming more and more annoyed, the young woman, oriental looking and much too scantily dressed, was chattering rapidly in Mandarin or some such language into her mobile phone, this had been going since it woke her with a start about 15 minutes into the journey down to London.
'Why can't she just text? Although that too can be very irritating as most mobiles make some sound as folk use their electronic devices,' she mused. Julia had had a long day at her best friend's funeral and was feeling very emotional – tears rolled down her soft wrinkled white cheeks. The Chinese lady glanced across and, bending to her large handbag, she searched for a tissue to offer; eventually locating the small packet she handed it across the compartment. Still listening to the voice on the other end of the phone she smiled and gestured, mouthing 'Are you alright?' to Julia.
This was even more upsetting, 'Why don't these foreigners mind their own business and stay in their own countries?' She looked around at her fellow passengers, most of whom seemed to be different nationalities and definitely didn't belong in England! Why, this oriental person was probably a call girl by the looks of that short skirt and all that make-up; they come over here, take benefits, go on the game and get richer than us – it's all wrong. By now Julia was almost weeping with anger and disgust. However, the phone conversation had become even more urgent sounding and the woman must be having an argument with some man for sure the way she kept looking at a letter in her hand as if referring to something serious, maybe she was getting divorced, the paper had a heading which looked like a solicitors practice.
Eventually the phone was switched off and the lady sat back in her seat smiling, then she leaned across to Julia and said in perfect English, 'I am sorry to have disturbed you, you look so tired and sad; is there anything I can get you – a coffee perhaps?'
Julia was amazed, so this 'Chinky' could speak English! Well really! However, she did feel thirsty and the offer of coffee sounded kind; maybe she'd misjudged the person, so she nodded but searched for her purse to offer the coffee money. Waving the cash away the lady went to the coffee machine and returned with a lovely Cappuccino.
Accepting gratefully she just said, 'I hope your conversation was helping to solve something for you?'
'Ah, yes, thank goodness; my colleague at Bart's was asking for my opinion on one of my little patients, she has cancer and needed to be in the operating theatre within the hour, I couldn't get there so I was talking him through her notes as he too is Chinese. I am a surgeon and specialise in childhood cancers – this time I think we have managed to save a life.'
Julia vowed never to sit in judgement on her fellow travellers in life again – how wrong she had been.