Chapter 43
Finally, it’s over.
Time to focus on Ben Cotter.
* * * *
I arrived at the mountain house around five o’clock in the afternoon. I’d tried to call earlier, but it had gone to voice mail every time. Ben was nowhere in sight, which was another cause for alarm. He always met me on the front porch, rain or shine. I grabbed my bag and hopped out of the car to run up the steps.
“Uncle Ben!” I called out. No response. I opened the front door—it was always unlocked—and went inside. The place smelled like death.
No.
I threw my bag on the couch and ran down the hall to Ben’s room. The door was open, and the smell of puke assailed my nostrils, causing me to almost gag. I saw Ben’s legs around the corner of the bed on the other side, and I rushed over to him.
He was passed out on the floor. I could see his chest slowly rising and falling. He was covered in vomit, and it was all over the sheets, too.
Fuck.
“Oh, Ben.” I lifted him up carefully and carried him out of the house to lay him on the porch. I ran to the car and opened the back door, then went back to pick him up and set him down on the backseat.
“You fight, old man, hear me?” I said with gritted teeth as I started the car and sped back down the driveway. On my way to the hospital, I called ahead to let them know what was happening, the name of the patient and his current condition. Then I called Dr. Bronfeld.
“It’s Ben Cotter, isn’t it?” he said when he got on the phone.
“I’m taking him to the hospital. I found him covered in vomit and passed out on the floor when I got home,” I said as I navigated the curvy roads of the mountains.
“I was afraid of that. I mean, I knew the cancer had been advancing, but I didn’t think it would spread so fast.” He sighed. “Okay. I’m near the hospital, so I’ll meet you at North Georgia Medical in a few.” He hung up, and I drove like a bat out of hell to the medical center.
I was met out front by a gurney and hospital staff, with Dr. Bronfeld at the head of the group. They gently took Ben out of the car and laid him on the stretcher before hurrying back inside. The doctor gave some brisk orders, and the staff moved away. “We’ll do everything we can, Felix, but you should expect the worst.” He turned and ran after his staff. I parked quickly and hurried inside.
“The old man on the gurney—Mr. Ben Cotter,” I said to the nurse at the desk. “Where’d they take him?”
“He’s back in the emergency area right now, sir.” She—her name tag said Tricia—put together some forms and handed them to me on a clip board with a pen attached. “I need you to fill these out, please.” I looked down at the paperwork in my hand. I didn’t want to do any damn paperwork. I wanted answers. I felt so…helpless.
“Sir?” I glanced up at Tricia. I must have been staring at the stuff in my hand for a while. She gave me a sympathetic smile. “Have a seat over in the waiting area, and take your time. They’ll let you know what’s happening as soon as possible.”
I nodded, and then walked in a daze to find a seat. I looked at the forms without seeing them. Why Ben? Why now? Don’t do this to me, old man.I could feel tears forming, but I held them back. I had to be strong for him.
I spent the next half hour filling out forms, insurance particulars, and all the other extremely personal information that was requested. I handed everything back to the nurse and settled in to wait.
Four hours later, Dr. Bronfeld came over to me. He looked exhausted. “Ben doesn’t have long to live,” he said. “He’s asking for you.”
I got up and followed the doctor to the intensive care ward. We walked to a curtained off bed. Before pulling it back, he said, “We cleaned him up, gave him a fresh gown. He’s very weak, and you’ll have to lean close to hear him speak.”
That wouldn’t be an issue with my sensitive hearing. With that, he opened the curtains and left me alone with the man I loved most in the world, next to Tyler.
Ben opened his eyes and looked at me. He seemed so fragile, with all the tubes and needles and machines trying to keep him alive.