[CHAPTER ONE]
"Hey Mr. Dolan, how are you feeling today?" The volunteer asked. "The same as every other day." The man responded. The girl frowned writing down on her clipboard.
"Maybe we can take a walk today? It looks beautiful outside!" She exclaimed trying to lighten the mood.
Everyday began like this. She would have to suggest something to do or he would stay in bed sulking all day. "Yeah, sure." He mumbled.
She gave him a frail smile before leaving the room and gently shutting the door. "Not cooperating again?"
She sadly nodded looking towards the middle aged women in front of her. "No, but once we go on our walk I'm sure he'll start to enjoy himself."
Mr. Dolan had arrived at the hospice home the first week she had started volunteering. It had been going on since she was a senior in high school, and she had still been doing it since.
Now being in college, sure her schedule was very packed, but she always made it a priority to stop by and say hello. Even if it was only a couple minutes a day, it did warm the hearts of every tenet and employee.
Nobody knew for sure why she did it, but no one really cared to ask either. As for Mr. Dolan, he was also a mystery, that man. It was assumed that he had no family.
Seeing as, he hasn't had one visitor since he was enrolled into the hospice. It's been three years, way longer than he was expected to live due to having kidney failure and heart diseases.
"Alright kiddo, I don't know how you get through to him. I can't even get him to eat his breakfast." The college student lightly smiled, as she recalled a moment when Mr. Dolan mentioned he hated the food there.
So every now and then, she would pick up some food and the two would just sit and chat. She prayed day and night that maybe, just maybe, he would get one family member to join him. Even just for a day.
He was coming down to last years of life, and although she didn't want to accept it, she knew she would have to let him go. She just wished he would pass surrounded by love so he could leave peacefully.
"Yeah, John Dolan is a very stubborn man." The lady gave a warm smile and made her way to the backyard where her patient was perched on a bench, enjoying the sunny cliffs of California.
Her green eyes took in the sight herself, mesmerized she grabbed her book bag from the lounge room and figured she would study for a while in the warmth of the sun.
-
His Hazel eyes roamed the pictures placed perfectly in the photo album. The memory still fresh in his mind.
The perfect day as a family. His full family. He smiled as he recalled how his grandfather chased him and his brother around the backyard with water guns when they were younger.
He hasn't seen him since his teen years. Thirteen to be exact. Ethan didn't know if he was alive and well, or if he had passed away.
What he did know was that he missed him, so much. And if he could go back to that night, the only thing he would do was give him the biggest hug and forgive him. Forget the past and just move forward.
"I have a WHAT?!" The teenage boys heard through the thin walls of their grandparents home.
Their parents sent them to the guest room so the 'adults' could talk in private. All they had heard was bickering back and forth. And although family's fought..it was nothing like this.
The sounds only muffled as the twins tried to drown out the words coming from their parents. "What do think their talking about E?"
The boy only shrugged. Neither of them had a clue what the topic of the fight was about. Sure they had heard a few words and phrases, but none of what they heard would be able to formulate the full story.
The boys sat still in silence for a couple minutes until the sounds ended. Suddenly their dad bursted through the door angry and red.
"Come on boys, we're leaving." Grayson refrained himself from asking what happened, but he knew it would only make the already long day, longer.
Ethan felt chills run through his body as he thought about it. Startled, he slammed the book shut as his twin brother rushed into they're shared dorm room.
"Hey...E? I just came to grab my phone. I forgot it." He said as he slowly grabbed it off the desk placed next to his bed.
"Okay." He said as he shoved the photo album farther under his bed. With a questioning look, Grayson stood up straight eyeing his older brother. "You good?" He asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, I just...I was just thinking about something." He didn't question anything further, but just nodded making his way back out of the room.
Ethan ran his hands through his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. He figured he'd be alright, fall break was just around the corner. Meaning he'll be back with his family in no time.
He swiveled his chair back to original spot at his desk, and sat on his bed. He contemplated for a couple of minutes before grabbing his keys and walking out the door.
-
"See Mr. Dolan, it so nice out!" She exclaimed as she held onto his shoulders. "Yeah-Yeah. Sure." She only giggled at his blank words for she loved his comments.
After thirty minutes of walking they started to make their way back to the Hospice Home. "Did you have children Mr. Dolan?" As she saw the smile upon his face disappear she proceeded to say, "You don't have to answer that."
He held his hand up to silence the young girl, and answered the question she had asked. "I have three beautiful children."
She smiled at the way he mentioned beautiful before children. Automatically she wondered why they hadn't visited? Perhaps a car accident, a medical issue?
Her thoughts stumbled away from her mind as she felt Mr. Dolan's weight shift. She saw as his body lay there flat on the ground beside her own. "Mr-Mr. Dolan?" When he didn't reply she reached for her phone to call the hospice home.
"Sharp Memorial Hospice Home, How may I assist you?" The same lady from earlier said. "D-Diane! Please send help. W-We were just walking and....and he fell over."
"Okay. Okay, David and Sandra will be right over. Where are you?" She asked.
"A block down. Please hurry.." Then the phone line went out.
•
She cried as she watched him lay in the bed connected to a bunch of wires. With a nurse checking to make sure everything was alright.
He had a heart attack, and if they hadn't came at the right moment he would've been dead.
She blamed herself. She shouldn't have took him on a walk in his condition. Maybe a wheelchair instead. And if she hadn't asked the question she asked maybe he would be fine and they could play their daily game of checkers.
"How is he?" She urged as the familiar nurse shut the door behind her. "He's fine, but Cassy said when she cleaning his room earlier she found this number hidden underneath the mattress."
She handed the crumbled piece of paper to the student. Which in returns she thanked.
"Maybe you should call it."
