2020 Hindsight
Friction Fiction – A collection of short and very short stories that explore the sometimes titillating and often terrifying world of the wide open space between our ears. That barren but beautiful landscape provides the perfect setting to ponder the powerful human compulsion to be okay with not being okay.
2020 Hindsight
Jerome stepped gingerly out of the car and rejoiced in the bright sunlight. It had been raining hard for a week inside his head and this was surely a manna from heaven. All the things left undone and all the things left unsaid that surged over ramparts of stubborn pride and flooded his very existence these past dark days swirled into perfect order and priority in his mind. One by one he would bring his accounts to balance, and there would be plenty of time for that, but first he must attend to this. Though an annoyance now that he knew such clarity, it was still a matter of some importance.
The lumpy figure and familiar awkward gait of his primary care physician met him in the crowded lobby, but the customary paternal smile and reassuring eyes of Dr. Murphy did not.
Urgency tinged the terse greeting and his dulcet voice sounded robotic. He’d explained on the phone they’d need to keep him a night or two so they could be sure, but of what exactly Jerome wasn’t clear. Wilted and clumsy, it took him longer than it should to tie the gown behind his neck and back.
The curtain yanked halfway around his bed did little to keep the orderly bustle and muted din of the emergency room at bay or to conceal his growing anxiety from prying eyes. Jerome closed his and took a deep breath. The searing pain and scant sip of oxygen in his lungs scared him, which made it even harder to breathe, but he calmed himself thinking of his new purpose. He set about listing people to see, things to do, and places to go, and lost track of time.
Jerome stared with idle curiosity at the needle taped to the top of his hand and followed the line up to a bag of fluid. Whatever it was must’ve cajoled him to sleep and for that he was grateful. There had been precious little of that this past week. He presumed Dr. Murphy had been in to check but now two unfamiliar faces floated down to him. Their explanation of the ventilator was of little concern, although he imagined it should be. Jerome felt oddly serene and smiled just before they forced the tube down his throat.
Katherine would be his first order of business when he got out, then his nieces and the others, and the book would finally be finished. But there would be plenty of time for that.
This was amazing!!! Loved it.