And So She Slept

An All Too Quiet Morning

The warm morning light seeped through the Venetian blinds to gently illuminate the reunited lovers as they lay still entangled in each other's arms. Slowly blinking, Sadie began to wake. She knew she should get up, but the thought of leaving Jack's side was as unappealing as the green smoothies the ACCI insisted every client drink for breakfast. She laid as still as she could, doing her best not to wake him. Closing her eyes, she exhaled, making a mental inventory of every part of the moment to save it forever.

After laying still for as long as she could, Sadie knew she had to wake him. Stretching her legs to prepare to reach for the floor, she carefully slipped out of Jack's arms to sit up. He looked so comfortable she almost felt guilty to wake him, but she wanted to spend as much time as she could with him. Shaking him softly, she spoke to him.

"Wake up, J," she said sweetly, like she would if they were on a honeymoon, as she yawned and stretched her hands to the ceiling.

Noticing that he hadn't heard her, she grinned as she remembered how Krystina used to talk about how he could sleep through a parade. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she talked to him and moved her hand up and down his arm with care. Saying his name again, she leaned up to kiss his cheek and instantly recoiled. Jack's face was cold to the touch.

"Oh Jack, no. Please, no. Wake up! Adam!" Sadie shouted with panic. Feeling the side of his neck, then placing her ear to his chest, she listened and desperately and hoped for the faintest of a thump, but was met only by silence.

Rushing into the room, Adam clung to the phone. The automated voice could be heard reading back the the address to him, but he was already at his father's side next to Sadie. He placed his hand over his father's face, and knew instantly that resuscitation efforts would prove futile. The cool temperature of his skin brought Adam to the immediate understanding of the situation before him. His father had died.

Trying his best to hold back his tears and be strong, he pulled Sadie back.

"Stop it! We have to help him! Adam, stop! Let go of me! We have to-"

"-Sadie, he's gone. He's gone," Adam spoke firmly in a voice that hauntingly sounded like Jack's.

Fighting Adam's strong grip, she tried to pull away. Swirling amidst the thoughts rushing through her mind, she thought if she could only get to him, she could save him. She cried out his name. She reached out, trying her best to find something to pull herself back to the man she'd loved and lost in one night.

"Please let me go! Let me go to him...I have to...I have to...I-"

"-Sadie, stop. He's gone. Shhh," Adam whispered to her. Constricting his grip around her shoulders, he held firmly as he felt her start to lose control of her legs and collapse into his chest.

Never losing sight of Jack in the bed they slept in, she let Adam hold her weight as her body and mind synchronized to the loss. Crying out, she lost countless tears into Adam's white t-shirt as he rocked her softly side to side to calm her as best he could. For someone that appeared to be slightly younger than she was, Sadie was subconsciously thankful for his instinct to comfort her.

As they stood in the doorway, clinging to each other, the coroner and his team walked into the small home and made their way to the bedroom at the end of the hall. With a subtle head nod from Adam, the four people dressed in navy prepared to take Jack with them. Turning his body, Adam began to walk back to the living room with Sadie still under his wing.

Reaching the living room, he sat Sadie down on the couch and knelt on the floor in front of her. Her tears had slowed, leaving her in what appeared to be a catatonic haze. Although she was coherent, her body signaled that she wasn't ready to fully accept the gravity of the past hour. With his hands on her knees, Adam looked up at Sadie, her blonde hair dancing around her shoulders. Even though she was broken, he could see exactly why his father had loved her.

"You going to be ok?" he asked with a concerned tone as he patted her right knee. She didn't turn to acknowledge him, but responded flatly.

"I should have been there for him. I should have just been there," she repeated, not entirely sure if she was thinking it in her head or out loud. Bowing her chin, a regretful tear escaped her already red eyes.

"He never held that against you, Sadie. Never. My whole life, he told me about you. He never said that. He told me stories about a beautiful blonde girl that changed his life and made him realize who he wanted to be."

"...But I left...I should have just married him. He would have been happy. We would have been happy," Sadie admitted to Adam, and herself.

"What makes you think he wasn't happy? Yeah, he would have married you, but then he would have lost you. In a way, you gave him hope. He lived his whole life never having to lose you, and that's really what would have broken his heart," he explained, hoping his words would offer some bit of comfort.

"I'm sorry. You just lost your father. I'm so sorry, Adam," Sadie said, instantly flooded with remorse for her selfish instincts. Making eye contact with him, she tried to find her best condolences face to wear.

"Dad's been in bad shape for a while. It hurts, but I know he was in a lot of pain. He would have gone sooner, but...I don't know. I think he was waiting for you. For a month and a half, you know, the little bit of family left came to say their goodbyes. I think, in a way...you were his last goodbye."

As the house emptied to just Adam and Sadie, they got lost in the oral history of Jack and Krystina. Sadie told stories about the past, and Adam told her about what she missed. For hours, they remembered the very best of the man that changed both of their lives.