A Bad Life

A Phone Call

Jimi sat in the waiting area of the hospital pulling at his beard nervously. He looked at the clock for the fiftieth time seeing only ten minutes had passed. No nurse or doctor had come to see him about his wife or child and the frustration was mounting. Just as he was about to cave and go to the nurses station a pretty young nurse came up to him. "Excuse me sir, but are you James Bradford?" "Yes I am, is this about my wife and child? Are they ok? Please just any news?" she looked into his eyes and saw the worry. "I'm sorry but no. We've recieved a call from someone called Tink. She says its about your brother? If you could just go to the nurses station they'll fix you up and I can go get some news about your wife if you'd like?" Jimi nodded and gave her Jills name as he walked over and picked up the phone from a grumpy old nurse. "Hey Tink. What's up?" "Brad and Pinky have been hit by a truck. Ambos are saying they were killed instantly" he could hear her sobbing down the line "hold the fuck up and slow down. My baby brother and sister in law got hit byba fucking truck, how?" Tinks crying grew louder until it cut out and another voice cut in "Hendrix, its Boggy. Pink and Bradford hired a ute at a local place and were driving behind us when a truck tried to over take them. It hit a pothole or something, swerved into them and both them and the truck went off the road. Long story short a tree stopped them both. I know its hard mate but we thought better to let you know right away. And congrats on the bub mate. We'll all be back tonight hopefully with Brad and Pink too" "yep righto. I'll meet you all at the house mate. Thanks Boggy. Just try and take care of Tink" "will do mate. Bye" as Jimi put the phone down he felt the ground shake and the crush of gravity. Tears were forming and he only held them in check through sheer will power. He gently sat back down and waited, head in hands trying to understand how in one day he could go from being happy and newly free with a kid on the way and a wife to come home to and now his brother and sister are gone and his wife and kid may be in mortal danger. As he managed to find some solid ground the pretty nurse returned with a doctor. "James Bradford?" Jimi stood up. "Yes sir?" "I've got some bad news" the gravity returned harder pulling Jimis heart down to his stomach. He had to sit back down "Your wife had a cardiac arrest caused by her pre-existing heart condition. We were unable to revive her-" "What about my baby?" Jimi didn't know if he could handle the rest. "There was some bleeding and we believe he may have had the same condition as your wife. I'm sorry but he did not make it either" the doctor clapped him on the shoulder before walking off to change out of his scrubs. Jimi placed his head back in his hands. The nurse stood awkwardly in front of him unable to say the usual apology. She pulled a pen from her pocket and gently took Jimis hand and wrote her name and number on it. "Just call me if you ever need to talk, yeah? I'm aldo a trauma coubsellor. Well training anyway" she walked away before he could blush harder. The cold seeped into his bones. He was home and free but now it didn't feel like it at all. There was only one place to go now.