“Hey, Andy? Where have you been? Guess you had a great March after your Birthday, yeah? I heard you started working on a short story – what else is going on?”
“Um, so did I show you this photo of a lady in Puerto Vallarta who has a sidecar for all her dogs? Badass tia incarnate!”
“That’s really cool. Guess everything is great, huh?”
A pause.
“Not really. I mean, things started out great. Had a nice birthday. Yeah, started to go crazy on a short story. Was having fun with the voice there. But, then, things went south. My dad went to the hospital just before we left for our last family vacation in Puerto Vallarta.”
“The hospital?”
“Yeah. Congestive Heart Failure stemming from complications with his COPD and an extended infection. All because he didn’t bother to tell his doctor he’d had a fall, which resulted in a hairline break along his spine. Compounded with him being an Old Serbian Man ™ meant he was a terrible patient – while I was out, my family took shifts staying with him in the hospital.”
“Oh, no. I’m so sorry for your family. But everything is all right now?”
“Kind of. I discovered I’ve got a family history of heart conditions, so that’s good, i guess? Tata is home and we’re able to come in to help mom a bit. Mostly giving her a break from Dad. He is now on an elastomeric IV ball for the next month to administer his antibiotics and we’ve already had to stop him from yanking out his Hickman port because he wanted to get up and get himself a glass of water. He won’t ask for help, and he won’t listen, so everything is harder.”
“Oh, no. Well, at least your cats are okay? I know Tellus wasn’t well.”
A pause.
“Tellus was diagnosed with cancer. He’s on chemotherapy and is doing well, but still underweight for our taste. We’re trying to rebuild his GI tract. He’s on daily steroids and probiotics. He was okay while we were out.”
“And Zoe?” Silence. “Oh, no.”
“Yes. I don’t want to talk about it. We’re still hurting. I’m still… not ready.”
A very long silence.
“How can I help?”
“Patience. We’ve got a lot going on. We’re trying to cope. Be patient.”A pause. “I’m so sorry, Zoe. I’m so sorry.”
Biomechanoid Blues 