When my brother passed away (I hate saying "died", it's like saying you F'd a girl instead of made love or had sex, so crass), anyway, when Chris passed away, Ed was the first person I called. I called him from the parking lot of Brunswick Hospital, for I was the one who had to go ID the body. So not only was it my first time having someone "leave" me, but I quickly got a crash course.
And 12 years later, I still remember it like it was yesterday. My sister, who was bed-ridden with pregnancy at the time, told me the hospital called about Chris, but they could only release information to a family member. So i got dressed and drove to the hospital. As I drove there, I knew to expect the worse, but you always have faith that everything would be alright. Well when I arrived, I went to the front desk and announced myself. As i said who I was and who I was there for, I noticed the nurses, who were all nose deep in paper work, slowly lift and turn their heads to look. At that moment i knew what the deal was.
They told me to wait in a room and the doctor would come and talk to me. After thinking the worse, but still holding out hope, the doctor came in. He started going into a spiel how Chris was really ill and his health was very poor, when I interrupted and asked him "Is Chris OK"? He looked me in the eye and say "No, Chris had passed away" and that they did everything they could to save him. I said I understand and thanked-him. Then I called my sister and not wanting to upset her , told her matter of fact that "He didn't make it".
After going outside to smoke, I didn't know what to do for a few minutes. Just staring into space, shocked. Then I know i needed to call Ed. I didn't have his work number on me, so I called his wife Kim. She answered, I said "Hi, how are you" as though nothing was wrong. I then said "what's his work number"? With no hesitation, she gave it to me, not having any idea what was going on. I said thanks, I'll talk to you later, then hung up.
I immediately dialed Ed, He answered on the second ring. Though I later found out he was in a meeting at the time, he picked up right away cuz he knew something had to be going on. We never called each other while working, we both knew we had jobs to do. So if one of us called, it had to be important. His first words were "What's up, I'm in a meeting?" I said in a mono, matter of fact tone "Chris passed away". He was Like "WHAT"??? And as i began to repeat it, I got as far As "Chris..." before I lost it and broke down. And after gaining my composure and finishing "Chris passed away", all I heard was "OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD...I will be home as soon as I can".
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