Part 13:
Rise And Fall
“Hey Laura, what are you doing back here? Your shift doesn’t start until 9:00
a.m.” Francine, the night receptionist,
set down her cup of overpriced coffee and flashed Brian and Laura a smile as
they walked into the lobby of The Hospice House.
“I brought a friend of Nick’s in to see him.”
Laura hooked an arm through Brian’s arm. “This is his buddy Brian.” Brian
leaned forward, shaking Francine’s hand.
“Brian, we’re glad you came. He’s not doing so well.” Francine shifted her gaze over to Laura and
back to Brian. “We don’t think it is
going to be much longer.”
Laura’s grip on Brian’s arm tightened slightly
and then released. “Thanks, Francine,”
she said, turning and walking quickly down the hall towards Nick’s room, Brian
following closely on her heels.
The two walked in tandem down the dimly lit
hall towards Nick’s room, a sense of urgency hanging heavy in the air as Laura
placed her hand on the knob, opened the door, and walked inside.
Sandy, Nick’s night nurse, sat in a chair
beside his bed, her hand gripped loosely around his wrist as she timed his
pulse on her watch. Glancing up, she
smiled faintly at Laura and Brian, shaking her head. “It won’t be long now,” she whispered, lying
Nick’s arm at his side before standing.
“Is he in pain?” Brian stepped forward out of
the shadows.
“No, he’s not in any pain.” Sandy grabbed for Laura’s hand, squeezing it
tightly. “I’m glad you came back. I know he would want you here at the end.”
Brian walked forward, eyes closed, into the
glow of the lamplight beside Nick’s bed.
Opening his eyes slowly, he looked down at his friend, shaking his head.
“Ah Nick, look at you, buddy,” he whispered.
Nick lay motionless in the bed, the burgundy
sheets pulled up around his chest, his arms at his side. His skin was pale, and
his cheeks were hollow from the loss of weight.
There were dark circles beneath his eyes, and his hair had turned a
strange shade of sandy blonde. It was
odd to Brian how quickly Nick’s looks had changed in the week or so since he
had last seen him, a sure sign of the toll his disease had taken on him.
Sitting in the chair, Brian reached for Nick’s
hand. “Buddy, can you hear me?”
Laura melted into the shadows in the back of
the room, tears pooling in her eyes as Brian spoke.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. But, you little shit, you wouldn’t tell
anybody how to reach me.” Brian laughed
softly. “Leave it to you to be a pain in
the ass even when you’re… dying.” His voice caught on the last word. “Dying.”
He said it again, clearing his throat.
“You’re really dying.”
Nick’s hand twitched beneath Brian’s hand, as
he struggled to open his eyes.
“Bri.”
His voice was weak and barely recognizable, but the brilliant blue of
his eyes was pure Nick.
“I’m here, Nick.” Brian leaned in, resting his chin on Nick’s
arm as they stared into one another’s eyes.
“Everything is going to be okay, Brian,” Nick
whispered, lightly squeezing Brian’s hand.
“Kara will make sure of it. She’s
going to take good care of me now.”
Brian shook his head. “Who is Kara, Nick? Where can we find her?”
Nick smiled.
“She’ll know when it’s time, Brian.
She’ll know when it’s time.”
Then, closing his eyes, he sighed.
“I’m so tired.”
“Then you go ahead and close your eyes and
rest for awhile, Nick. I’ll be right
here if you need me.”
Smiling, Nick nodded before drifting back to
sleep.
***
As dawn began to break, the pink and yellow
hues of morning slowly melted their way through the curtains in Nick’s room,
washing away the darkness of night and bathing the room in a soft, pastel glow.
Laura slept curled up in the recliner in the
corner of the room while Brian slept in the chair at Nick’s bedside, his head
lying on his arm which was draped over Nick’s chest so he could feel the slow
rise and fall of life left in his friend’s body.
The door to the room opened slowly and then
closed, as Kara made her way quietly through the room, the red sweatshirt tied
around her waist, a smile on her face.
She glanced over at Laura and then down to
Brian before setting her eyes on Nick. Walking around to the opposite side of
the bed from where Brian slept, she leaned down, fluttering her eyelashes
playfully across Nick’s forehead and cheeks. His nose twitched slightly as he
opened his eyes.
“You’re here,” he whispered.
“Did you doubt I would come for you?” she
replied.
“Never.”
Nick shook his head, brushing her hair from her shoulder. “I never doubted you for a second.”
Cupping his face in her hands, Kara smiled.
Brian’s eyes were open, but his head remained
still as he silently watched his friend carry on the one-sided conversation
with the air.
“Kara, I’m ready to go now. Is it time?”
Kara ran her hands slowly up the side of his
face, lacing her fingers through his wild hair, enveloping him with warmth and
understanding.
“Yes, Nick, it’s time.”
“She’ll know when it’s time.”
Lying there, listening to Nick speak,
realization washed over Brian, and he knew.
Knew that Kara had come for Nick, just as he had said.
It was time.
Across the room, Laura peered through her long
lashes at the beauty of what was happening right before her. The beauty of life walking hand in hand with
the mystery of death.
Then Brian felt Nick’s chest rise and fall…
rise and fall…… rise and fall……. rise and fall………. rise……………………………….
And then he was gone.
***
Nick and Kara walked across the field, hand in
hand, towards the white canvas tents billowing in the warm summer breeze. Toby came out to meet them, circling around
Nick’s feet until he stooped to pet the scruffy little guy on the head. Satisfied with the attention, Toby then
turned and headed back in the direction of Kara’s grandparents’ tent.
“First thing I’m gonna do is give that little
mutt a bath.” Nick laughed, watching
Toby swipe an apple from an unsuspecting customer’s box of apples. “And maybe teach him some manners.”
Kara giggled, watching Toby haul the apple
around the back of the tent. “He’s going to be a handful. Are you sure you’re ready for that kind of
responsibility?” she said, standing on her tiptoes to ruffle Nick’s hair.
“You know it.”
He reached out, ruffling her hair back, before grabbing her around the
waist and hauling her off of her feet.
“And I’m pretty sure I can handle you too, Miss Clark.”
“Oh you think so, Mr. Carter?”
“I know so.”
Setting her down, the two continued in the
direction of the tents, Nick grabbing an apron out of the old blue pickup truck
before following Kara through the back flap of the tent to where her
grandparents and sister were busy with their customers.
Kara’s grandmother turned, a bright smile on
her face when she saw Nick. Walking to
him, she wrapped him in a warm embrace, squeezing him tightly before thumping
her hand on his stomach. “First thing we’re going to have to do is fatten you
up, young man,” she said, squeezing his face in her hands. “Tonight we’ll have pot roast.”
Nick laughed planting a kiss on the woman’s
forehead before she turned to walk back to her customers.
“Hey, boy.”
Kara’s grandfather came over to him, slinging an arm around Nick’s
shoulder. “Tell me something. How’d you get that granddaughter of mine to
come back for you, huh?”
Nick slung his arm around her grandfather’s
shoulder, narrowing up his eyes like he was going to tell the old man the
secret to eternal life. “Let’s just say
I gave her a line she couldn’t resist.”
“Oh yeah, what line?”
“I told her that I only had twenty-four hours
to live and my last wish was to spend every minute of it with her.”
Kara’s grandfather threw his head back in
laughter, slapping Nick on the back.
“And she fell for it?”
“I told you, it works every time!”
“You’re a character, Nick,” her grandfather
said, shaking his head as he walked away.
“A real character!”
Looking up, Nick saw Allie glancing at him
over her shoulder, a mock look of disgust on her face that quickly melted away
as she walked towards him, tossing him a fat red apple that he snatched out of
mid-air.
“So, it looks like you’re going to be staying
for awhile,” Allie said, hands on hips.
“Yup.”
Nick took a big bite out of the apple, holding it out to Allie as a
peace offering.
Taking the apple from him, she polished it on
her shirt before taking a bite. “Well
then, I guess I might as well say it,” she said, tossing the apple back to
Nick.
“Say what?”
“Welcome home, Nick.” A slow smile spread across her face. “I’m glad you came back.”
“Me too, Allie,” Nick said, looking out to the
sea of welcoming faces that crowded The Market tents. “Me too.”
Nick gazed around the tent at his new
“family.” Kara’s grandmother and
grandfather stealing a quick hug in the corner of the tent, Allie wiping her
hands on her apron as she stooped to fill a bag with some oranges, Toby making
himself at home, curled up by a box of grapefruit at the back of the tent. And then there was Kara... his angel.
And Nick felt, for the first time in his life,
that he was truly home.
The End
***
