The wind blew softly as the frosty night air stung Chas Finster's skin as if it were made up of millions of tiny microscopic blades. Fragile snowflakes fluttered to the earth, their delicate forms shuffling through the wind. The night was indeed cold, yet there he stood with an inappropriate amount of clothing on. His thin work shirt provided minimal protection; the coffee that he had spilt hours earlier on the sleave had turned cold and tan. His breath took form with each exhale while his cheeks reddened to match his hair and moustache.
The sound of the automatic doors breathed behind him, only for shuffling footsteps crunching through the snow to take place after. Stu Pickles came up next to Chas and handed him a fresh cup of coffee in a cardboard cup. Both the warmth of the liquid and the friendly gesture went unnoticed by Chas, his body being too numb to accept anything.
Stu and Chas had been childhood friends. The two grew up together and remained close through their adult years. Both had settled down with wives and ambitions of raising families as neighbours. Life was looking calm and pleasant for the two friends or so Stu believed until a few hours ago when he received a call from a distressed Chas before driving out to the hospital to meet him.
Stu eyed Chas through the corner of his eyes, pain swelling in his chest before gulping the hot coffee down, feeling the warmth slide through his insides. He'd spent a lifetime with Chas; he knew what he liked, what he hated, his fears and how he worked. Yet in this single moment he had no clue on how to approach or comfort his dear friend. Silence and the chill of the winter breeze accompanied the two through the uncomfortable and eerie night.
"Mr. Finster?" a soft voice called from behind. The two turned around to see a nurse standing by the door. "Sorry about the delay, sir, but if I could just have you look over some documentation, then you'll be able to be on your way."
With a slight nod, Chas placed his untouched coffee cup on a bench that had been turned white due to the snow. Stu watched in anguish as his mournful friend returned to the place of suffering. In his red headed comrade's absence, he pulled out his mobile phone and called Didi, his wife.
Stu struggled to stop his voice from quivering ,"Hey Di," he quickly inserted.
"Stu? How are things there?" Her voice was panicky and unsure.
"To be honest… not okay." He took a deep breath before he continued "Melinda didn't make it, Di."
Silence roared through the phone call before an uncontrollable sob erupted from Didi. It was such an ugly noise. A kind of moan that could be compared to some animals. Yet this was not a time of judgement, a grieving time was an ugly time.
"Di…" Stu started as his eyes began to swell up. He couldn't say anymore. For the second time that night, Stu was unable to comfort a person that he knew and loved. He felt so useless, what good was he?
Over time Didi's moans and sobs had become hushed, as if she'd covered her mouth to hide the verbal grief. The two comforted each other the best they could until Stu saw Chas approaching the front doors, at that point he said good bye to his wife and that he would be home soon. When Chas returned to Stu's side, the purple haired man wrapped his arms around his friend and the two cried together.
After their moment together, Stu herded Chas into his car and began to drive them home. Stu insisted on his friend coming home and to stay for as long as he liked but Chas had to decline. The two eventually came up with the agreement that Stu would drop Chas home and Stu and Didi would take care of Chuckie, who was already at home with Didi, for a few days.
The car ride was long and silent after that. The dark streets never seemed so empty to Chas. Melinda had always loved flowers and life, and the streets were filled with exactly the opposite. The cold weather had frozen any plant life in the area, not a spec of green could be seen. The emptiness of the streets were parallel to Chas' heart. The events of that night kept replaying in his mind, yet at the same time it seemed like it didn't happen at all. It couldn't of. Such a thing didn't feel real.
That one moment kept replaying in his mind. The rushing from work to the hospital. The panting and desperate feeling that no asthma puffer could ever fix. The bursting through the door to find that she'd already gone. He was too late. He always was. He couldn't even be with his beloved Melinda during the time where she would have needed him most. The sight of her lifeless body being tended by hope lost nurses seemed to be glued in his mind.
Water begun to run down Chas' cheeks. He turned his head away from Stu and stared out the window into the dark and empty abyss. Life seemed unreal now. Like everything was to end that night. But that depends on your perspective. In another light, this could be seen as a humble beginning.