Some of you may have noticed that I didn't do a Thursday Thirteen this week. Some of you already know the reason.
I had been told Wednesday morning that the family were being called in after 9:00 a.m., as the prognosis wasn't good. I spent the day in a fug, yet I managed to finish a chapter, make phone calls, and drag myself out for a dinner which I wound up enjoying quite a lot. (Thanks, Laura.) When I got home, I called back to the States and asked how Dad was doing.
"He's fine. Resting well, sleeping."
I tried to do the same. I finally got in bed around 1:30 a.m. or so, cried, and wondered when "the call" would finally come. I dreamed about my dad, and I dreamed a little about a student I had who passed away suddenly last year.
A strange combo, to say the least, but Luca was the closest I'd come to losing an actual friend. I like to think he was, in a way.
This morning, at around 9:45 a.m. (GMT+1), I sat at my desk trying to distract myself from waiting for "the call." I surfed the 'net. I posted on Romance Divas. I posted on various Thursday Thirteens, trying to think of a topic.
Suddenly, my cat had a strange fit. She flung herself at my closed office door - or more accurately, at the glass panel of it - three times. Three solid hits, hard enough to shake it and scare the heck out of me.
I thought: "Either we're about to have another earthquake, or Dad just left us."
I calmed my heart down, went back to reading and writing and all the rest.
My cell phone rang at 10:18. My mother's number, in Tennessee. It took a moment to register, and once it sank in, I answered (almost). My stepfather was on the other end.
After a few consoling remarks, he said, "We just wanted to let you know as soon as possible."
"What time did he go?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"3:43 this morning."
This evening, I went out with my husband to run some errands. Nothing vital, but I needed to get out of the house for a few minutes. I was in the car while he was doing something, and I felt a presence next to me, sitting in the driver's seat.
Thanks for coming by Dad. You made it to Italy after all.
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6 comments:
Ms. Menozzi, My heart goes out to you. Sympathy and healing thoughts are heading your way. It's never easy losing a parent but I am glad he got the chance to "visit" you in Italy.
My heart goes out to you, too. I've lost my own father, and he also "visited" in a similar way.
Though I'm not religious, I discovered in the wake of his death what might be called many proofs of grace, like his presence, and the many acts of extraordinary kindness we recieved, and other things more subtle.
I wish you all the grace in the world, and send you my best thoughts to you and your family.
Take care!
best wishes, love. write him down.
God, that gave me a chill. You do know that three is a magic number? And not a good one.
Yeah, I do think it had to do with your dad. My dad passed away 25 years ago this year.
I don't think you really get over loosing a parent. My heart is with you during this time.
Janice~
Ms. Menozzi, I'm so sorry. My thoughts are with you and your family. Hugs.
Hugs. More hugs.
That was not the call I would have you waiting for.
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