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“I couldn’t. It’s embarrassing enough being asked by my ex-husband to dog-sit while he’s honeymooning in Europe. I couldn’t further demean myself by saying yes.”
“Got it. I’m heading out to drive for a few hours. Call if you need anything or if someone shows up looking for an interior architect,” Malcolm said jokingly.
After Malcolm left, Sophie decided to take a nap. She was up at six to help move boxes, and yesterday tired her out. Her mother exhausted her, and she had to gear up to pay Vera her promised visit. There was an email from her regarding the dog food dilemma that was waiting to be opened on her computer. Some life she had when her email consisted of bills, ads, and an email with the subject line "dog food."
She set her alarm for an hour. When she napped, vivid dreams came to her that never happened at night. Sophie expected a dream about Roger because he was in her life way more than he should have been the day before.
Sophie was home alone on an early autumn day. Malcolm was living in Boston, taking classes, and Roger was out of town. He had a series of meetings with one of his top clients and had warned Sophie that he would be hard to contact.
Sophie was busy with pro bono projects while she considered dipping her toes back into the job market pool. She was working on a volunteer project for the Brooklyn branch of the New York Public Library. Her land line rang, which it rarely did, although they kept it hooked up. They’d had the landline since they were married, and they never knew who might want to contact them from their pasts.
“Hello, this is the Randolph residence,” Sophie said. She heard controlled sobbing on the other end. It sounded like someone was trying to catch their breath so they could speak.
“It’s Mom. Something happened to your father. Meet me at Memorial Hospital. He collapsed while golfing, and they administered CPR in the ambulance,” her mother said through gasps and tears.
“I’ll meet you there. Are you okay to drive?” Sophie asked. She had immediately broken into a flop sweat.
“No,” Vera answered. "I'll order a car and you can drive your father and me home,” she said. At that point, it was clear she chose to be optimistic that the CPR worked and he’d be ordered to take it easy for a while.
Sophie called Roger, and it went straight to voicemail, so she called his office.
“Sue, it’s Sophie, and welcome back. I’ve got an emergency. I called Roger’s cell, and it went straight to voicemail, so I assume he’s in a meeting. Can you tell me what hotel he’s staying at in Dallas?”
"Roger told me he's off today, and nothing is happening in Dallas. As far as I know, we have no major clients down there. I was off on family leave for a while, taking care of my mother, so things may have changed,” Sue said. “I’d ask Cindy, who filled in for me while I was gone, but she called out sick today,” Sue said. “Is there anything I can help with? Is something wrong with Malcolm?”
“No, it’s my father. I can handle things myself, so there’s no reason to take my husband away from what he’s doing,” Sophie said tersely. “Thanks for your concern, and I’ll keep you posted.”
“Please do that. You were here for me when my mother was ill, and I’ll never forget that.”
Sophie disconnected and searched for her keys. She almost fell over the pug in the process.
Sophie wasn’t going to allow her mind to stray to what Roger might be up to. She grabbed her keys and left for the hospital.
* * *
Sophie dashed into the emergency department waiting room. Her mother wasn’t there, but she saw her with her head in her hands behind a glass wall. She assumed her father was in there, too, but couldn’t see through the frosted glass. She rushed into the room and saw her father, Bill Cast. He was motionless, and his face was an odd shade of gray.
“Sophie, your father…” Vera tried to speak, but she was unable to stop crying long enough to get the words out.
Her eyes landed on those of the nurse, who solemnly nodded. Sophie ran to her father’s bedside and grabbed Vera’s hand at the same time. She sobbed over her father’s body until it was time to have him taken away.
He never regained consciousness after his collapse. Bill Cast had a complete blockage to the blood flow to his heart, and he had never told his family that he had dangerously high blood pressure.
Sophie’s father was supposed to retire in one year, and he had a long retirement ahead of him. He and Vera had plans to go on safari and travel to the Taj Mahal. It was impossible to accept what had happened. Sophie took her mother home with her that night.
Sophie’s dream was invaded by the harsh beep of her alarm. That had been a watershed moment in her life, and she didn’t remember many details of the next week. She was a walking zombie, and it was a miracle she wasn’t in a car accident. It was also possible that she could have signed a contract or written a check that she had never intended to do.
Her father’s service was small. He was cremated, and it was mostly neighbors in attendance. He left the name and number of one person at the airline to call. Joe said he would spread the word, and they sent an enormous flower arrangement. It was puzzling that no one made the trip for the funeral.
Sophie’s phone buzzed. “Are you leaving your place?” Sophie asked when Nina called.
“Heck no. I’m early, and I’m pulling up to Chez Cast now. Holy cow! What’s parked in your driveway?” Nina asked.
“I told you Malcolm was thinking about moving in, and he did. We unloaded this morning. Park on the street and come in because I’ll be ten minutes. You took two hours, so don't you dare complain.”
“No worries. I’ll hang on your couch and scroll.”
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