Page 54 of The Battery
Time passed, I couldn’t say how long.
Leo released his uncle’s hand and gave it one final kiss, then placed it delicately on the bed. He spun in his chair to look over and up at me. A single nod was all I needed. I padded out of the room and found Maribel sitting on a stool in the kitchen. At my appearance she went into the bedroom with her stethoscope. She placed it over Uncle Andy’s heart for a solid minute.
She looped the stethoscope around her neck and gave a single, sorrowful nod to Leo. “He’s gone,” she said, firm but hushed.
Leo took in a deep, chest-swelling breath of air and stood from the chair. A slow release through barely parted lips, then, “What happens now?”
“You can stay in here with him, if you want. I need to fill out a few things and then make some calls. I’ll be back here in a bit to help prepare your uncle. All right?”
We both nodded.
After she left, I grabbed the box of tissues on the nightstand and ripped a few free for Leo. He dabbed at his nose only and left the wet streaks on his cheeks. Almost like new tattoos.
I wiped my own face. When I put the box back on the nightstand, Leo suddenly swept me up in a monstrous embrace. His arms went under mine, wrapped around me chest, and lifted me from the floor as he squeezed the air out of me. I endured, stood on my toes, and squeezed him just as fiercely in return. Still the man did not whimper or wail. He simply poured his pain into that embrace, as if by touch alone he could convey the depth of his sorrow.
“Do you want to stay for a while?” I asked him after he released me. He nodded yes. “Okay. I think the funeral home will be here shortly. Mind if I go make sure they can get into the driveway and have access to the house?” Another nod.
I started to leave but was stopped at the door by his voice.
“Cody. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Leo.”
*
We sat together in the living room as the deep indigo of a sleeping sky smudged with burnished gold along the horizon. No lights were turned on and all I could hear was the distant ticking of a clock somewhere within the house. I sat next to him at the center of the couch, stapled to his side, all four of our hands holding each other like we both needed a lifeline to stay awake.
The funeral home had come to take Uncle Andy away. There were some things for Leo to sign. Maribel stayed for everything and oversaw it all. Leo almost broke as they carted his uncle through the front door, but he managed to find steady ground. He stood on the stoop staring at the street well after the vandeparted. A respectful tap on his shoulder helped redirect him back inside where Maribel had more forms for him to sign.
She left with a bear of a hug to both of us, her own eyes moist. She promised to be in touch. I saw her to the door and by the time I closed it, Leo was on his way into the living room. I snagged the tissues from his uncle’s room and brought them in but Leo refused to touch them. His eyes were as red as the dawn.
When the sky lightened, Leo finally spoke.
“You saw them. My family.”
“I did, yeah. Beautiful. Was that photo taken during a ski trip?”
“It was. Our last one.”
I wanted to ask what happened but held my tongue.
Leo swallowed. His grip on my hands tightened. He took in a breath, opened his mouth to speak, then snapped it shut. Still I wouldn’t press. This was his cross and if he wanted to show me its burden, that was his decision.
He swallowed again, as if a lump of pride needed suppression. “They all died when I was sixteen.”
Quietude again, save for the monotony of that clock’s second hand for several seconds.
I squeezed his hand back, an easy urging for him to continue.
“It was during February break. The roads were so icy…”
In the safety of a calm morning, Leo told me his story.
PART THREE
“Don’t go throughlife like me. Don’t go at it alone, kiddo. Find someone. Find someone to hold onto. Promise me.”
“I promise.”
