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She forced herself to nod. To sit up and hold his hands. “I
don’t want you to go, but I understand you’re in a lot of pain
and you’ve been hanging on. I know that you love me more
than anything. I love you too. And so I want you to know that
it’s okay to rest whenever you need to.”
That smile only grew brighter, and it squeezed Coralyn’s
chest, acid in open wounds. “You’ve been my joy, Coralyn.
You and your mother. I didn’t think it would be over so soon,
but I’ve had a good life.” Another wheezing breath rattled out
of his lungs. The sheets barely rose and fell. “I’m just going to
close my eyes for a minute.”
She couldn’t remember the last time she slept. She stood up
and looked over her shoulder, then adjusted the rail on the
hospital bed, lowering it. She climbed in beside her dad,
draping herself over him, careful not to hurt his fragile body.
“Me too, Dad.”
She promised herself she’d open her eyes in a few minutes
and check on him. That she’d go back to holding his hand and
watching him sleep and keeping guard over him.
A gentle hand on her shoulder urged her awake. She started,
snapping her eyes open to look into Jenny’s kind face. And she
knew. Her dad was gone. She didn’t scramble up. She didn’t
cling to his body. She was just frozen. It was Jenny who
tucked her hands under her shoulders and lifted her up. She
had an unnatural amount of strength for someone her size. She
helped Coralyn sit down in the chair. She couldn’t look. She
didn’t want to look at her dad’s face.
Jenny seemed to understand, and she blocked the view of
the bed. “Hey,” she whispered. “Is there anyone I can call?”
“Like who? What happens now? He wanted to be cremated.
