“You’re already well past the life expectancy of a man in the US.”
“Gee, thanks for the pep talk.”
“What do you have to lose?” I ask. “I mean, just look at me. My husband killed himself. I am incontinent. My Christian sister got pregnant out of wedlock. Ron is my nursemaid. And I still am fighting for something more in this life. If I can do it, you can, too, Sid. You are the kindest man I know.”
“Hey,” Ron says, acting wounded.
“You,” I point at him, “are the man most likely to get C. diff that I know.”
He laughs. “I better go shower. You got this, Barry?”
“I do,” he says.
“Sid?” I say.
“What?”
“Look at me.”
He does.
“Fight. Let’s make this final act the best yet. No regrets.”
Sid nods.
“Say it with me. No regrets.”
“No regrets.”
Sid forces a tiny smile.
“I have to go get ready. It’s Reading Hour at the library. I’ll be back for the evening shift.”
“You mean the evening shit,” I say.
He pads out the door in his slippers.
“It’s just the two of us,” I say to Barry. “Blanche and Dorothy.”
“Mind if I sit?”
“Go ahead,” I say, gesturing to a chair.
Barry takes a seat on the bed next to me.
“This seems serious,” I continue.
Barry looks broken.
“I know you would cry if your eye surgery allowed it,” I say,patting the bed. Barry crawls into bed next to me. “Tell mama everything,” I whisper.
He tells me about Kyle.
“I’m going to kill that motherfucker!” I yell when he’s done.
Barry laughs. “At least I don’t have to see him again until the movie premieres,” he says. “And he’s been treating me like gold, talking me up to producers and directors. His money is on the line with this film, and the last thing he needs is bad press. We all need a blockbuster, and the studio thinks it could set a box office record when it launches.”
“I wish I could have come to see you on set,” I say. “You’ve waited for this your whole life.”
