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knew him before. When he was a nice guy and not
perpetually grouchy.”
    I wondered what nice guy Ford would be
like. It was hard to imagine given his only interactions with me
had all involved him yelling at me.
    After finishing our coffee, we spent
the rest of the afternoon sorting through Maggie’s personal items -
jewelry, photos and keepsakes. At her direction I sorted them into
piles to either get rid of or box up for Ford in case he would want
them in the future.
    “What will Ford do when you’re gone?
If you’re selling the house?” I asked Maggie. Now that I knew about
his past, I could look past some of his behavior. I actually felt a
little worried for him.
    “I haven’t asked him yet. I doubt he
has a plan that extends past tomorrow, but sometime soon I am going
to sit him down and make him talk to me. When I go, I need to know
that he will be okay. He doesn’t have to sell the house if he wants
to stay here, but I think he won’t be able to get out of this town
fast enough once I’m gone.”
    It was always hard when one of my
patients passed away, but I had a feeling this would be the hardest
of all. No one had included me in their life quite like Maggie had.
And no one had made me feel anything close to what Ford had - good
and bad. It would be hard to say goodbye when the time came - to
both of them.
    By dinner time Maggie was tired, and I
got her settled on the couch with a blanket and her favorite TV
show while I fixed dinner. Looking through the cabinets I found the
ingredients for vegetarian chili. Combining all the ingredients in
a large pot on the stove, I let the chili simmer while I mixed up
some homemade cornbread. My sorry excuse for a kitchen didn’t allow
me to do any actual cooking, so this was kind of fun. I ate with
Maggie in the family room, and we watched Wheel of Fortune
together. Maggie went to get ready for bed early while I cleaned up
the kitchen.
    It was only 8:00 pm and Maggie was
already asleep. That gave me four hours to work on homework before
Ford got home. I did get a lot of reading done and a few pages of
my paper written, but my mind kept drifting to Ford.
    Leaning my head back against the couch
and closing my eyes, I tried to imagine what it would have been
like for him to be a few short months from being drafted and then
lose it all. It was like winning the lottery and having the ticket
blow away in the wind on your way to claim the prize. What a huge
let down.
    The next thing I knew I was awakened
by the front door shutting. I glanced at the clock and saw it was
almost midnight. Feeling bad about falling asleep on the job, I
quickly gathered up my stuff and wrapped my scarf around my neck. I
slipped on my boots and put my bag over my shoulder just as Ford
walked in. He looked like hell, and all I wanted to do was give him
a hug. He didn’t seem like a hugger though, so I held back. His
gaze met mine across the room, and his eyes were tired.
    “There’s some chili in the fridge and
cornbread on the counter, if you’re hungry,” I said quietly. He
nodded but didn’t say anything as he walked towards the stairs. I
watched as he walked and noticed the slight limp on his right
side.
    When I got in my car I took one last
look at the house. Ford’s bedroom faced out to the front yard, and
I could see him through the window sitting on his bed with his head
in his hands. My heart ached for him, but I knew there was nothing
I could do to help him. I considered it a gift to have the time to
say goodbye to a loved one, but Ford obviously didn’t see it that
way.
     
    *****
     
    Back in my apartment, in my pajamas
with my hair braided over my shoulder, I plugged my phone in to the
charger. It had died earlier in the day, and I never remembered to
bring my charger with me anywhere. A couple of minutes later, when
it was charged enough to receive a signal, my phone beeped with a
voicemail. I was already in bed with the lights out, but I turned
on the lamp beside my bed and