Member-only story
Unrequited
People and the slow-moving days that end them
He was very sick and going to die soon. Skin like grass in winter. His family left on Sunday, so the doctor paid a visit on Monday. Poked
his head in the room, stethoscope oscillating like a tire swing. You see the game? The answer was no, but sometimes it was the question and
not the answer that mattered. Then he squeezed his socked foot, and said, Fred, it’s a heck of a day today. He checked the clipboard, touched
the wilting flowers, then went about his duties. Next day was the same thing. Hey Fred, heck of a day today. Fred stayed quiet. Then doc met
nurse Peters in the hallway. Fred’s crazy, she said, lopsided off his rocker. Did you know he threw his plate? The doctor stayed calm. He said,
Fred’s a man been through some things, and when you been through some things, fewer people know who you are. Enough to make
a man go crazy. Doc had soft eyes, an alabaster face, ears like pearl seashells. He said, sometimes a man has to go insane just to escape
someplace. She snapped back: the hell he gotta escape to? Doc didn’t know any better than her. He was a privileged man, and didn’t know
