Frank kissed my forehead and smiled.
“Forty years married to me, and you’re still trying to send me away.”
“Only for three weeks, Frank.”
Six days later, Claire called me in tears.
“Diane, Dad collapsed.”
I sat down before she even finished speaking because something in her voice had already told me what was coming.
“Is he at the hospital?”
There was a long pause.
“No. He’s gone.”
I remember very little about the minutes that followed.
Claire told me an ambulance had arrived quickly. She said the paramedics had tried, but there was nothing they could do.
I immediately started searching for flights.
“No,” Claire said. “Please don’t come.”
“What do you mean, don’t come?”
“There’s nothing you can do here. The hospital paperwork is a nightmare, and you’ll only be alone while I deal with everything. Let me handle Dad.”
“I should be there.”
