His mother turned toward him and opened her arms for a hug. Andy couldn’t be sure if the hug was meant to comfort him or to comfort her. He pulled his mother into his arms and saw his father hooked up to all kinds of machines. Whatever happened must have been bad.
“Mom?” he repeated.
“Andy, I’m so sorry,” his mother managed before letting the grief overcome her.
Andy held her tight and rubbed her back. Whatever happened, he just needed to know his mother was okay. He didn’t have the heart to press her for information. She would tell him once she gathered herself. Once her sobs slowed, he found the courage to ask what was going on.
“What happened, Mom? Are you okay?”
The question seemed to set her off all over again. Her sniffles quickly turned back into sobs. He held her tight even as the sobs began to wrack her body. When they slowed back to snifflesagain, he said nothing. He continued to hold her while waiting for her to speak.
“He’s gone,” she said after a long moment.
“Mom? What happened?” Andy repeated.
“He’s gone.”
He didn’t understand. She kept repeating that he was gone, but he could see his father sleeping peacefully in the bed. “Mom, he’s right there. He isn’t gone. It’s okay.”
Before his mother could respond, a doctor entered the room. His white coat looked so crisp and pure Andy wondered if it had ever been worn before.
“Do you have a moment to talk?” the doctor asked after making eye contact with Andy.
“Just tell me what’s going on. Obviously, I’m not going anywhere. I have more than a moment,” Andy responded, trying to mask his irritation.
“Your father suffered a cardiac event. He arrived here in cardiac arrest. We did everything we could. We were able to get his heart restarted, but his brain was without oxygen for several minutes. The cardiologist can come speak with you if you would like. You should consider your father’s wishes. Although we were able to get his heart restarted, it’s unlikely he’ll make a meaningful recovery. I’m very sorry,” the doctor said.
“What are you saying?” Andy asked.
“I have to do a few final tests, but as of now, it’s not looking like he has any brain activity. Life support is the only thing keeping him alive. You need to ask yourself how long you want to keep him hooked up to machines.”
Andy turned his attention back to his mother who had begun to cry once more. He was having a hard time processing what the doctor told him. He said his father was gone, but he could still see him lying there peacefully.
“What happened, Mom?”
Elizabeth took a shaky breath. “I was visiting with him. He was having another good day. Everything was great. Next thing I knew he was grabbing his chest. Before I even reached the doorway to call for a nurse, he was slumped over the table. Andy, he was fine. He was fine,” she repeated before the tears overwhelmed her.
“It’s okay, Mom. It’s okay,” Andy soothed. He was trying to convince himself as well as his mother. Everything would be okay. It had to be.
It didn’t feel like long before they sat and watched the doctor do his final exam. There were no signs of brain activity. Both Andy and his mother knew his father wouldn’t want to be hooked up to machines. He’d said so more than once. But asking for him to be removed from life support was the hardest thing Andy ever had to do.
They watched in silence as one at a time each machine was turned off. The ventilator was first. The doctor stood by and watched to see if Eldon would try to breathe on his own. When he didn’t, they shut the alarms off. It didn’t take long for his heart rate to drop. When it became critically low, the nurse silenced the alarm.
Andy stifled a sob as the doctor placed his stethoscope over several places on his father’s chest. After then feeling for a pulse, he removed the stethoscope from his ears and shook his head in sadness.
“He’s gone,” the doctor said quietly before turning his attention to the nurse. “Time of death 04:29.”
The animalistic wail that came out of his mother was a sound he would never forget. The raw agony was unmistakable. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths to gather himself. The chill he felt had nothing to do with the weather. It was a frigid cold that permeated well past the bone. He wrapped his arms around his mother and silently prayed that she would beokay. Even if he was never the same again, he needed his mother to be okay.
Chapter 20
Samira tucked her hands into the pockets of her sweatshirt. It was getting cold enough for a winter jacket, but that was packed away in a tote somewhere with most of her clothes. She had received a generous offer on her apartment within the first few hours it was on the market. Things were moving quickly whether she was ready or not.
Her feet found the well-used path down to the water, and she hunched her shoulders against the cold wind as she stepped down onto the sand. The first hints of dawn were enough light for her to find her way. She knew the dark figure sitting near her favorite rock was Andy. She had tried calling him as soon as her aunt told her the news of his father’s passing, but her call went straight to voicemail.
She was standing right beside him before he finally looked up. He quickly swiped his hand under his eyes before turning his attention back to the dark water. At a loss for words, she silently lowered herself to sit beside him. When he didn’t move or say anything, she leaned into him, so her shoulder rested against his arm.
Unexpectedly, he wrapped his arms around her and held on as if his life depended on it. Ignoring her pounding heart, she wrapped her arms around his waist in return. His quick ragged breathing came in bursts as she held him, doing her best to soothe him as he fought to regain control of his emotions.
