Barry and Joey couldn’t have been friendlier. We’d pass by on the street and they’d wave and invite us to stop. “Have a visit.” “Have a beer.” They’re only the equivalent of a block away from us, so we saw them pretty much every day. We’d stop and chat, a quick visit, but were always on our way to something else, so we never made that extended stay, where you really start to get to know someone.
The last conversation we had with them was late April, the day before we left for our summer trip. We were talking with Barry in the pool. Joey was home, doing well, recuperating from chemo. Barry was fine; discussing plans for the future. We would surely spend more time with them next year.
So we come back from our summer trip, and Barry is within a couple weeks of dying. Cancer. Ninety days from diagnosis to death. It’s like we were all standing around watching Joey to make sure she’s okay, and Barry drops over. Not what anyone expected. Joey completed her breast cancer treatment, but died a few days after Barry from something completely different.
That fast. Sometimes you get to see it coming and finish up things you meant to do. Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere.
Very true. May I create a link to this post?
ReplyDeleteBy all means. Thank you.
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