I stumbled out through the doors of the now silent room and collapsed into a chair outside. In my head I mentally went over what had happened in that room. Terry's seizure and the nurses and doctors trying to resuscitate him. Alice in tears and screaming and crying for Terry. Me holding on to her and stopping her getting in the doctors way. Reggie and Milo's arrival and me telling them to get Alice out of there. They both obliged and pulled her from the room whilst I remained at the edges to watch the futile attempt to save Terry. Then the horrible noise of a flat line. The continuous beep searing my ear drums and imprinting itself on my brain. Then the doctors stopped and looked at each other with grim expressions on their faces and one of them flicked the switch on the heart monitor cutting off the noise that warned of the reaper's approach. That's when I knew it was over and Terry wouldn't b coming back.
Alice was in the room with him by themselves now. I could hear her slightly muffled voice stained with sadness eking out of the room but not make out the individual words. Milo, Reggie and I sat in silence together. We had nothing to say to each other and anything we did say would be of no consequence. So we kept silent me sat in a chair by the door keeping a silent vigil over Alice and Terry. Reggie pacing up and down the corridor deep in thought and Milo sat over the other side of the hall drinking deeply from a cup of coffee but staring blankly at the wall. I had already made a call to Bella and she was on her way over to comfort Alice. Reggie had borrowed my phone and called his wife as well and Beth was travelling here as fast as possible.
Beth and Reggie's wedding had been a marvel and probably one of the biggest shows of the year. Decade even. God knows how Reggie afforded it all it must have been a fortune. Beth had arrived in a hired helicopter and waltzed into the small chapel with a twenty foot bridal chain. At least 20 foot. She had been wearing a brilliant white dress adorned and embroidered with sparkling sequins and various tiny diamond shards that glinted in the sunlight. Reggie was wearing an expensive suit and couldn't have looked happier. Milo, Terry and I were his best men with Alice, Laura and my beautiful Bella opposite us as bridesmaids. That was the last time all four of us were together. That had been three years ago and the terry had slowly got worse and worse and now this had happened.
My thoughts were interrupted when Bella and Beth burst through the hospital corridor doors. Both of them had arrived at the same time despite working in different companies. Beth ran across the corridor and threw herself into Reggie's arms where he embraced her tightly as her frame racked with Sobs. Her supermodel blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders and down to her waist covering Reggie's comforting hands wrapped around her slender form. My Bella was a bit more calmer she was always good with situations that were dramatic and tense. She crossed the room towards me and I drew her into an embrace and buried my face in her soft conditioned hair. I felt tears at the corner of my eyes but I knew this was not the time for them so i bit them back with a sharp intake of breath. I withdrew from Bella's hold and looked into her eyes where i could see tears forming as well but I knew she was strong enough not to shed them. The her expression took on a questioning appearance and she said "Alice? Where is she and how's she taking it?"
"Not that well really considering her husband has just kicked it," I responded a bit agitated at the rather silly question. Bella just smiled without feeling and nodded. "I take it she's with him now then?" I just nodded suddenly drained of all my energy I just wanted to go home and sleep. Sleep with the only woman in my life that mattered beside me. Her warm smooth body beside me and her breath on my face reassuring me of her presence.
Bella walked over to Beth and Reggie and extricated her from his arms with soothing words and saying they needed to stay strong for Alice. God I love that woman. Milo had disappeared in the midst of this commotion and leaving the ladies and Reggie I slipped off to find him. I had a rather good suspicion as to where he would be. Sure enough out the back of the hospital, cigarette in hand, was Milo staring blankly into the distance. I walked towards him from behind and stopped when i was beside him. We both just stood for a while before Milo said to me "He was a good guy. It's going to be hard to learn to live without him," he flicked the cherry off the cigarette on the wall and took a deep drag on it. "I know. I know but we all have each other to help us get through it and most importantly we need stay strong for Alice. Can you do that Milo?" He looked at me and grinned.
"Of Course I can Dixie don't worry about that."
"Good now come on lets go and find the others and see how Alice is." Milo flicked the last of the cigarette onto the ground where he crushed it under one foot and turned to the door with me. We both walked side by side into the hospital ready to face whatever was waiting for us ...