Sweet Love (NG5)

12 - Pops

March came in like a lion with cold, wet rain. Nobody wanted to go out to eat on nights like that. Still, George and Kat prepped for customers. "Cut it back because of the weather."

At least it wasn't a weekend night but a Thursday. People went for drinks after work, so they sold a lot of small plates and not as many entrees. She almost didn't hear her phone ring over the music and pounding rain.

Didn't her mother know not to call so close to opening? "Mom, I can't talk."

"Sweetheart, It's Pops. He's not good."

Her stomach lodged in her throat. "What's not good?"

"A massive stroke. He's in a coma."

"Where?"

"You have to work."

"Let me talk to her!" Seth's voice came through the phone. "Kat, come to say goodbye."

"Where?"

George stood beside her with his hand on her back as if she were one of his three daughters.

"He's at the home. It's what he would have wanted."

She felt the tears drip before she ended the call. Looking at George, she was dazed like the fog had moved in all around. "I have to go. My Pops."

"Go. I can handle it tonight. Donny has been wanting a chance to step up."

The kid did salads and other things, but he had been watching and learning for months. "Okay. Bryce. Where's Bryce?"

"Office. I think."

She waved her arm. "Just tell him." They both couldn't leave. It was her first time. She never got sick. Clean hands and good hygiene paid off.

When she reached her grandfather's room she was soaked but didn't care. He looked already dead in his bed. The bed she tried to get him out of. It wasn't her best visit. Had she told him she loved him? She always did.

She moved to his side. His hand was warm. Her father looked at her with sad eyes. Across the bed stood her aunt. Silently, they stood vigil. At some point, her two cousins arrived and stood next to their mother. A nurse came in and encouraged them to tell him it was okay to go.

When it was Kat's turn, a sob interrupted her words. "You know me, I'm a fighter just like you, but Nana is waiting for you. Go give her a kiss for me." She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I love you, Pops."

Others talked to him and her cousin, Amy, a nurse, opened the window. The sound of the rain came in. Not long after, he stopped breathing and Kat felt numb. Losing Nana had hurt, but she and Pops had grown close after he was a widower. He encouraged her to chase her dreams. Without him, she wouldn't have her own kitchen.

She couldn't go back to the restaurant. Her hands were too shaky. Someone would get hurt with her in the kitchen. Instead, she went home and poured a glass of wine. Arrangements needed to be made, but they weren't her job. Her poor father and Aunt, they lost both parents. She texted Bryce, but he was too busy to respond. She fell into a fitful sleep before he got home.

In the morning, she was back in her kitchen baking. George was surprised to see her when he arrived early. "How was last night?"

"Slow. Even the bar. How are you?"

She looked at him with blurry eyes. "He's gone."

George hugged her. "You know I can handle this. You should be with your family."

She shook her head. "I have to keep busy."

Busy was an understatement. Everyone wanted to go out on Friday night. The rain left behind unseasonably warm temperatures. As she plated meal after meal, she tried to ignore the joyous din. Nothing felt happy, not even the hug from Bryce when he arrived.