One Month Ago
“About time you got here,” Mrs. Dooley says, closing the magazine she had been reading.
Garrett steps into the room without comment. He has gotten used to old people and their confusion. “My name is Garrett Bishop. I’m here to have a quick conversation with you. It won’t take long.”
“I know who you are. I’m Violet Wheeler Dooley, but you know that already.”
He nods. “I do know who you are, Mrs. Dooley.”
“I thought you’d be here sooner. I’ve been stuck here with all these old people for years.”
Garrett looks down at his watch. “In the next few minutes, you’re going to feel a change in your body. You’ll feel some pain, but it won’t last long—”
“You don’t have to explain dying to me, young man. I’m sure they teach you all this at angel school, but you can save the speech.”
“I’m not an angel, but I am here to be with you during the process. I’ll be here the whole time.”
“When I was seven, my dad died. He had always been a drinker. A woman was there. She had dark hair. She gave me a piece of candy and told me everything would be fine.” She holds out her hand. “Where’s my candy?”
Garrett reaches into his pocket to retrieve a handful of hard candy. “What color do you want?”
“Red.”
He places the red piece in her hand, and she peels apart the plastic wrapper. She plops the candy onto her tongue. Her eyes widen, and she reaches for her heart.
“Here we go.”
Garrett sits down in the chair next to the bed. “Everything is going to be fine, Mrs. Dooley. It will be over soon. I’m right here with you.”
She winces. “My husband is waiting for me. My mama, too.”
“What’s your husband’s name?”
“Leo.”
He reaches over to take her hand. He’s held so many hands like this over the years—delicate, wrinkled, cold. “I’m sure Leo is waiting for you. Think of his face. You’ll see him soon.”
She forces out a sentence: “He spent his whole life waiting on me.”
Garrett smiles. “Then you shouldn’t keep him waiting any longer.”
Her eyes flutter, and her breath slows. She squeezes Garrett’s hand, and alarms start to fill the silence. Garrett checks his watch to note the time, as the alarms get more earnest.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Dooley.”
He pats her hand one final time and slips out of the room.