Page 7 of Someone to Remember
“I’ll be right by your side for whatever you need.”
“I have to tell people.”
“I’ll do that for you.”
“I can’t ask you to call his parents. I have to do that.”
“Then I’ll sit right here with you while you do.”
“How do I tell them this? He’s their pride and joy.”
“You just say the words. It’s all you can do.”
I stare at my phone for a long time before I pick it up to make a call that’ll forever change the lives of people I love. They’ve fully embraced me and my children and made us part of the Lonergan family. What’ll happen now that we’ve lost our connection to them?
I’m sick to my stomach as I look for my mother-in-law’s number. My thumb hovers over her name for a long moment until I press the button to make a call that’ll devastate them.
Claire has been a wonderful friend to me and grandmother to my kids. My heart is shattered as she picks up the call, her voice hoarse from sleep.
“Taylor… Honey… Are you all right?”
“I… It’s Will.”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“He had an acc-accident at work and…”
She screams so loudly that I have to hold the phone away from my ear.
“Please don’t tell me…”
In the background, I hear my father-in-law, Frank, asking what the hell is happening.
“Will. Something happened to him at work.”
“The thing on the news,” Frank says. “Was that him?”
“I… I don’t know about the news, but he fell from scaffolding. They… they said… he probably died on impact.”
Claire’s wails shatter me. Will was her favorite—according to his older sisters—and their favorite, too.
Frank takes the phone. “Where are you, honey?”
“Inova ER.”
“We’re coming.”
The call ends abruptly. What else is there to say?
“They’ll call his sisters, right?” Iris asks, looking as gutted as I feel.
“Yes.”
That’s when I notice Gage by the door. “Come in,” I say to him. I’ve met him only a couple of times, but his presence is comforting because he, too, gets it. I still read his inspiring Instagram posts every day.
“I’m so sorry, Taylor.”
“Thank you for coming.” He’s a widower, so I wouldn’t have blamed him for sitting out my catastrophe. I appreciate that he came.
