Barbara poured a cup for him and set it down beside him. James thanked her and took a sip of it. It was a good cup of coffee. Nothing too fancy, just plain old coffee. He savored every drop of it.
James was keeping some things to himself, bottling them up inside as he drank. Barbara noticed this and wanted to know what it was. What was her son holding onto that was eating him alive; killing him forever slowly? Precisely?
"James, what's the matter?" She asked him lovingly. "Is it about Eileen...or is it about your father?" James remained silent but she knew what the problem was. "James, you know that you can come to me no matter what's going on. You know you can confide in me, right?" James nodded. Finally, he spoke up.
"Yeah. See, the problem is...I'm not worried about them right now. Well, I am but....it's you. I'm scared for you." James said. Barbara looked at her son confused.
"What do you mean you're scared for me? I'm perfectly fine. I'm happy and healthy. You don't have to worry about me." She said. James nodded.
"Yeah, well there's not a day that goes by that I don't worry about how much time you have left. How I'm afraid to wake up the next morning to find out you have died in your sleep. I often wonder when your day will come. Next week, next month, next year, ten years from now. Or even today or tomorrow. I fear that day whenever it comes because I won't have hardly anyone left except Michelle...and maybe Eileen. And that scares me more than anything else in this world." James said and he started to break down into tears and cry. Barbara walked over to him and told him to look her in the eyes. He did so and she spoke to him.
"James, I will be here. Yes, it may not be for a long time, but I'm here now. And that's what matters. That we exist in this one infinite moment. That whatever powers may be, have made us exist together. I know death is such a scary thing, but the fact of the matter is we are here together right now. So don't you worry or fear for me. For as long as I'm around, I will always be by your side." Barbara said.
James then hugged her and started to cry again. Barbara held him and soothed him with her voice. She started to sing As The Deer to which James started to sing with her.
After they finished, Barbara looked her son in the eyes and spoke to him.
"You're a sweet man, James. A very sweet, kind, and generous young man. I love you." She said. James wiped his tears away and spoke back to her.
"I love you too." He said.
YOU ARE READING
The Things That Will Be
Ficção Adolescente"If there's no struggle, there's no progress." - Frederick Douglass When a young couple expect a newborn, they are unaware of what the future holds when one of them slips into a coma and the baby becomes a sti...
