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“How long were you waiting.”
He coughs, “Not long.”
I sigh, “Right. This is going to be one of those conversations. The type where I do all the talking and I’m not in the fucking mood right now. I hate the way that I blew off at Isobel, I think that after she’s done in the office, I’ll get Jonah to pick her up. Or maybe I’ll go there and buy her some flowers? That’s what guys do when they apologize. They buy flowers. Fuck, I wonder if that’s what her ex did? Come to the office with fucking flowers, telling her some shit about he doesn’t want to be with the other girl.
I hand Scott the glass of water. He drinks it like a fucking fish, as if he hasn’t had anything to drink for years.
“Steady on.”
He shakes his head, “Can I have some more?”
“Shit, did you come here to just drink my water?”
He whispers again, “No, I was outside for a while before you came.”
I nod, “I see. Well, you could have told me that you were coming and then you wouldn’t have had to wait.”
He chokes once again as he knocks back the glass of water. I’m about to ask him if he wants something to eat, but then he says, “I’ve been trying to contact you, but there was no answer, and you never return any calls.”
I feel embarrassed about being caught like this, but I save face by saying, “Well if you told me that you were coming.”
“What Christian? You would have invited me and the family out for a meal. We know what you think about us. It’s pretty clear that you take after your dad.”
I hate the fact that he mentioned his name. It’s true that my dad was the one who always told me that all they wanted was his money. Mom tried to stay in touch with them, but dad always pulled her away telling her that they’re his family and he knows what they’re really after. Money.
“I’m dying and I know that I don’t have much time left. I just wanted to see you before I go.”
Shit, he’s talking as if he’s taking a trip somewhere. I look at his faded jeans, his shirt looks worn and I think about the money that I have and at the end of the day, it’s not as if I have anyone to share it with. All this time I spend on working, it feels as if it’s all in vain.
I don’t admit it to him, but as we sit in silence in my kitchen. He continues to tell me what’s going on, “Anyway, I know that I can do with the distraction from slowly dying,” Scott says, as he coughs into his handkerchief and his spittle shows dashes of blood in it.
Fuck! This shit’s all messed up. I feel a wave of guilt, because maybe he didn’t have proper insurance and there could have been a way for us to spend time together like we used to as kids. That’s before my uncle asked my dad for a loan and that’s when my dad told us that we could no longer play together.
I sit and listen to Scott confide in me of his predicament and how it all started, he’s managed to spend time with other family members yet some of them had backed away.
“What do you mean that some of our family don’t want to speak to you?”
“Some of them especially the older generation don’t want to be reminded of death. They seem to think that they’re going to live forever.”
“What about Carol?”
His wife, this must be hard on her.
“She left me around five years ago. I was out of work and she got fed up and left.”
Shit, I didn’t even know.
“And we had no children, before you ask. Which I used to feel sad about, but right now. It’s kind of good that we didn’t. I wouldn’t want them to see me like this.”
We sit in silence and then he says, “Look I’ve just come to spend time with you. We used to hang out loads when we were kids.”
I nod, “I know, I remember I missed when you couldn’t come over anymore.”
“Just because my dad asked yours for a grand.”
A measly grand, shit all this time I didn’t even know how much it was that he wanted to borrow. Now, Scott’s said it, I’ve been living in a shelter, not paying attention to anyone else, but myself.
“Not even Aunt Rose? Doesn’t she want to know?”
