Roger

Brothers, Brad and Eli, stopped short of their grandfather's front steps. They hadn't been to see him since he'd been admitted to hospice. If they were being honest with themselves, they really hadn't been to visit him much before that either. They were having a difficult time coping with the cancer diagnosis.

            "Morning, guys!" Nellie, the day nurse, jogged up the sidewalk towards the boys.

            "Morning, Nellie." Brad and Eli said together. Both sounded just as uncomfortable as they looked.

            Nellie grinned, pulling the key out of the lockbox. "I'm so happy to see you guys, Roger will be ecstatic. He was actually just talking about you two yesterday." She didn't tell them that Roger had been asking her every day since admission if they had called. She also didn't tell them that she'd sat with him as he cried the night before, wondering why his grandsons hadn't been to see him.

            The boys filed in behind Nellie, Brad tossing a worried look at Eli. They watched Nellie set her things down and get everything ready for the day. The other nurse poked her head out and said something cheerful to Nellie, but both boys were gob smacked. 

            Colonel Roger Carver, an Airforce Veteran, had always kept his home meticulously tidy. The only 'mess' allowed on the surfaces were his plane models. The boys used to help Roger build these models after school, over Christmas breaks, summer vacations, etc. While a few were still out, his favorites were gone. Family portraits were gone, replaced with staff schedules and communication books for staff and family. They studied the, almost, line his cane, walking stick, walker, wheelchair and hoyer lift made in the guest bedroom. The boys hadn't visited in so long they'd missed many of the stages.

            Roger's laundry basket, which was waiting for Nellie on the kitchen table, only had blankets and hospital gowns. Roger didn't wear slacks and sweaters anymore. Yellow 'no fall' socks were what he wore now, not his black stockings. His shoes were tucked away somewhere, to keep them out of the way, he hadn't worn shoes since his physical therapy days. Back when he fell while going to the bathroom one night and was forced to use a walker. Brad saw the light leave his grandfather's eyes that day and started visiting more infrequently.

            The door shutting startled both Brad and Eli.

            "Look who decided to show up." Kat unlooped her scarf from around her neck and opened up the coat closet. She kicked her shoes off before shutting the door and moving past her brothers.

            "Nice to see you too, Kat." Eli rolled his eyes and started carefully toward Kat and Nellie and the night nurse.

            Kat whipped around, "Go see your fucking grandfather." Her eyes kept moving toward his bedroom door as she spoke, her voice was a vicious whisper.

            Brad stood between the two, "C'mon, let's be adults about this."

            Kat scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Do you need me to show you to his room? It's been so long I'm not sure you remember." Kat never looked up from the communication book as she spoke.

            Brad and Eli looked to one another and sighed in unison. They looked to the door, as though a monster waited for them on the other side and not their beloved grandfather.

            Nellie rushed over before they moved, "So, I wanted to update you a little on your grandfather's condition."

            Eli clenched and unclenched his hands, feeling them become moist.

            Brad looked between Nellie and the bedroom door. Fear settling in that they could walk in to find their grandfather's dead body.

            A warm smile spread across her face. She put a hand on Brad's shoulder, "Nothing scary. I just want to talk to you so you're not caught off guard, okay?"