Carol Lynne Seasons of Love 4 Winter (a)

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the moment visiting hours opened.
What aren t you telling me, Butch? Nash asked.
Luke and I are worried about Sidney. You need to talk to him. Get him to at least eat
something other than candy bars from the vending machine.
Although Nash knew Sidney had been putting on a brave face for his benefit, he had no
idea Sidney hadn t been taking care of himself. You re wrong. Sidney leaves the room
several times a day to go eat. He s usually gone at least an hour each time. A candy bar takes
a hell of a lot less time than that to eat.
Butch leant forward, resting his forearms on his knees, and stared at the floor. He s
been lying to you. Butch sighed. He doesn t want you to see him upset, so he goes to the
chapel and cries.
Twice a day? Nash questioned.
That s while he s here at the hospital. Luke and I went by the house night before last
and found him sitting in the dark, crying his eyes out. Butch looked up at Nash. Luke
thinks he needs to see a grief counsellor.
The news hit Nash hard. I m not dead yet, he informed Butch, feeling as though his
friends were giving up on him.
No you re not, but I think the full impact of the situation has finally sunk in for Sidney
and he s not dealing with it very well. He won t talk to any of us about how he s feeling, and
by your reaction, it doesn t sound like he s talking to you either. Maybe someone specifically
trained to help people through their grief could really help.
Nash took a few minutes to process what Butch had said. The thought of Sidney hiding
his feelings hurt, and the knowledge that he didn t feel he could come to Nash made him
angry. But, this wasn t about Nash, it was about Sidney and what was best for him. Nash
tried to put his hurt and anger aside and focus on Sidney s needs. How re you going to talk
him into it? Because if I suggest it, he ll shut me down right away. I know him, he ll think I m
trying to prepare him for my death and it ll only make things worse.
I don t know, that s why I m talking to you. Do you think it would be better for Luke
to talk to him, or should we get everyone together and do some kind of intervention? Butch
asked.
Nash really thought about who would be the best person for the job. It would have to
be someone Sidney loved and respected who he d feel wasn t judging him if he sought help.
Call Maggie. Of all of us, she s the one who s been through losing a spouse. I think he might
listen to her.
* * * *
Sidney was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee. He had the baseball game on
in the family room with the volume just loud enough to hear. It wasn t that he gave a shit
about baseball, but it tricked him into believing Nash was ensconced in his favourite chair
watching the game.
A pair of headlights flashed across the darkened room, alerting Sidney to company. He
watched through the window as Maggie got out of a small silver sedan and walked up the
front sidewalk.
Sidney grabbed a tissue from the box on the table and dried his eyes. He blew his nose
on the way to the front door before stuffing the wadded tissue in his pocket. Maggie! Nice
to see you, he said, opening the door.
Maggie stepped inside and enveloped Sidney in a hug. I was at Josh s having dinner,
and I began to wonder how you were doing, so I decided to see for myself.
I m fine, you didn t need to come over. Sidney led Maggie into the house, turning on
lights as he went. He realised it probably looked weird to her, so he decided to tell a little
white lie to ease her mind. When it s just me here, I rarely have the lights on. No sense in
wasting electricity when I can only be in one room at a time anyway. I was getting ready to
make another pot of coffee, would you care for some?
That sounds nice, Maggie said, following Sidney.
Sidney turned the kitchen light on and started making a full pot of coffee. So, how s
my godson? It s been a while since I ve been over.
Growing like a weed. Maggie set her purse on the island before taking a seat on one
of the barstools. Josh is the one I can t get over. The changes in him over the last few years
are nothing short of remarkable. Alan would ve been so proud to see him with Liam. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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