March 2023

Rose knew of a charity nearby which ran a clinic and also handed out food to indigent people. She knew Dimitri would never go himself, so she registered with them, and they gave her two big bags of food.

She drove to Dimitri's apartment, where she took one bag of food out of the trunk and carried it upstairs to him. She found him lying in bed, totally naked. He was still holding the bottle of vodka.

"I brought you some food," she told him.

He mumbled something unintelligible and sat up. She sat beside him.

"See, here's some croissants." She took the package from the bag. "Aren't you hungry?"

Dimitri looked at the package for a moment, then sat it aside. "Maybe later."

"Here's some tuna, and some macaroni and cheese. Would you like me to make you a casserole?"

He yawned. "Doesn't matter."

"I'm worried about you."

"Don't worry about me." His voice was thick and slurred, just as it had been the day before.

"How much more vodka do you have?"

He held up the nearly empty bottle. Well, at least when that's gone, he won't be able to buy more, Rose thought to herself.

"Well, would you like to watch a movie?"

He turned away from her and curled up on the bed. "I just want to sleep."

"I have to do stuff with Tyler tomorrow and the next day, but I'll be back on Friday, OK?"

Dimitri didn't answer.

As she drove away, Rose was at a loss as to what to do. Probably she should talk to a spiritual adviser, but she hadn't been to the Unitarian Universalist church in many years, and to her parents' church in even longer.

On Wednesday, she took Tyler to the Pensacola Museum of History, and on Thursday, they went to the Naval Aviation Museum. It was the same routine they'd kept up since Tyler had started working at the sheltered workshop in 2013. Every Wednesday, they went to the Pensacola Museum of History, and every Thursday, they went to the Naval Aviation Museum. Tyler would become very upset and have a meltdown if, for some reason, they weren't able to go. The week Rose's car had been at the mechanic's, she'd just about had to call the police.

Friday morning, she had some errands to run, but as soon as she was finished, she drove to Dimitri's apartment. She was relieved to see that his car was parked in its usual spot. She parked in the visitor's lot like she always did and rode the elevator up to the fifth floor.

Dimitri's door was unlocked, so she walked into his room. She saw him lying on his back in bed, still completely naked.

"Dimitri?" She shook his arm but got no response. She noticed that gnats were buzzing around his slightly open mouth and got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Dimitri!" Beginning to panic, she touched his arm and found it to be unnaturally cool. She felt for his pulse but couldn't find it.

Now alarmed, she dashed to the manager's office as quickly as she could.

"Dimitri Belikov isn't responsive," she told the manager. "I think he might be dead."

The manager called for an ambulance, and Rose waited.

When she returned to Rose's apartment about twenty minutes later, she saw paramedics pushing an empty stretcher down the hall, and a couple of deputies standing just outside Dimitri's door.

"Is he still alive?" she asked, breathlessly.

"No, he's passed," said one of the deputies. "I'm very sorry."

"Thank you."

"Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure."

"Are you in a relationship with him?"

"Yes."

"How long have you been dating him?"

"Since August."

"When was the last time you saw him before today?"

"Tuesday."

"What was he like then?"

"Very depressed. He'd just lost his job."

"Did he say anything about wanting to kill himself?"

""No, but he told me he did try to kill himself a couple of times in the past."

"Do you know if he has any close relatives in the area?"

"He has a daughter. Her name is Jessica Williams."

"Thank you for all your help. Can you make it home all right?"

"I'll be fine."

Rose drove home to sit in front of her computer in a daze, her head spinning. How long had Dimitri been dead? Had he died sometime Tuesday evening after she'd left, Wednesday, Thursday, or earlier Friday morning, before she'd got there?

It occurred to her that Sally would probably want to know what had happened. She went to Facebook and sent her a message. "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but Dimitri has passed away."

It also occurred to her that she was now alone again, without a romantic partner. How long should she mourn Dimitri? When would it be appropriate for her to start dating again?

Absently, she signed in to her Bumble account, then quickly closed it. She should probably wait at least until the funeral was over.

It would be best to just ask Shelly about it, she told herself.