Chapter 5 #3
“Sure, it does, and that makes perfect sense, but legit things do happen,” he added, with a smile.
“For the most part, I try to get wherever I need to be, since rescheduling just moves the problem. But it’s still not my best foot forward because I find myself with business that needs to be done, but it’s the weekend, so I can’t,” he muttered, with half a laugh.
“But back to you, the kids seem to be doing as well as could be expected, and you all are adjusting,” he stated.
“Just take it one day at a time. That’s all anybody can ask of you. ”
She smiled. “The reality is that people will ask for an awful lot more, but, in this instance, I just don’t have it to give.”
“And you shouldn’t have to,” he said. “You’ve taken on an awful lot already, and I’m really happy to see the kids out and around and looking as if their world hasn’t tanked completely, though I’m sure, from their perspective, it has.”
She nodded. “It’s when that stark reality kicks in, you know?
Even when you know there’s no hope, you still hope,” she shared, facing him.
“You cling to hope right through until the last breath is taken. Then, all of a sudden, your world completely collapses.” She sighed.
“Because everything you’ve been doing, the circling around and supporting, is no longer needed or required, and there is no reason to even be there anymore,” she explained.
“So, for all of us, it was a pretty-big shock.”
“And you were there all the time?”
“Yes,” she confirmed. “We’ve been friends since school, and I just couldn’t leave her. Her husband did, but he had been killed in a car accident, so—” She shrugged. “It’s not as if we had any support from family or anything either.”
“That’s tough.”
She smiled at him. “I’ve been alone most of my life too.
So, in a way, Tabitha and I were a good complement to each other.
… Mostly I just really, really miss her,” she shared.
“She was a very special friend for me, and, even just talking to her in the hospital, I was so grateful to have her. I looked forward to hearing her take on things because she definitely had a unique perspective on life. Even with everything that was going on in her world, she was still always there with some comment, something that would either make me laugh or, in some instances, cry,” she admitted.
He smiled at her. “Then you were truly blessed.”
“I know it, and, as long as I can keep remembering that,” she said, with a rueful smile, “it makes the days a whole lot easier. … Those kids will come back looking for food pretty soon, which appears to be a never-ending situation right now.”
He laughed. “I could throw some burgers onto the barbecue in a little bit, … if you’re interested.” She stopped, looked at him. He shrugged. “Just the neighborly thing to do.”
“It is,” she agreed, as she stared at the houses around her. “It just seems so strange that I haven’t seen anybody else.”
“Not really,” he noted. “I mean, when you think about it, most people are either doing what we’re doing, which is just trying to take care of business, or they’re inside, working.”
She agreed. “So many people work from home nowadays, and everybody is just so busy. … So I shouldn’t think anything of not seeing many people.”
“There are only six houses on this cul-de-sac anyway,” he pointed out, with a smile. “So, I can tell you that your house is you, mine is me, and then John and Margaret are beside you on the other side. Plus Henry and his parents, with Jerry at the end.”
He pointed to the sixth house, across the street from her. “The last house over there is another couple,” he shared, “but I’ve not seen any kids there. I can only assume that, at this stage, they’ve chosen not to have any.”
She nodded. “Life doesn’t always go the way you plan,” she muttered. “I mean, it’s not as if I planned on having any kids at this time, but now, of course, here I am.” She just shrugged and didn’t say anything more.
He nodded. “This is largely a neighborhood of older residents that you’ve moved into, so, outside of friendly greetings as you pass, they probably won’t be out that much. And the couple on the other side of you, John and Margret, they tend to go Florida or Mexico for the winter.”
She smiled in delight. “That sounds appealing.”
“I bet.”
“Not anytime soon but maybe someday,” she noted. “I can see how the lure of no snow, no cold winters, would be very appealing.”
He grinned. “I can see it too, but I’m also a bit of a workaholic,” he admitted, with a shrug. “So I don’t know how well I could handle too much retirement.”
“You’ll have to retire sometime,” she noted. Then she turned to her house and called back, “Thanks for the invitation on the barbecue. I’ll check in with you when the kids get home, looking for food, and will let you know.”
“I’ll just give a shout when I’m lighting it, and, if you want to come over,” he added, “fly at it.”
“I don’t even have any hamburger thawed out,” she shared.
“That’s not a problem either,” he said. “I’ve got plenty for tonight, if you three want to join me.” When she looked at him, he nodded. “No, not charity, just a welcoming gesture.”
She laughed. “So far, you’ve been extremely welcoming,” she noted. “I’m the one who has been much less so.”
“Hey, it’s not a competition,” he stated, with a wave of his hand. Then he turned and walked back inside.