Aphy 77. The End of the Journey

The sun shone brightly on the morning of July 1, 1993. Margurita busied herself in the pantry preparing a meal, while Alphy made his way slowly from his bed to the kitchen using his walker to balance himself. He then managed to maneuver himself in a sitting position in the rocking chair. The rocker appeared oversized as Alphy’s frail body settled into it. His slightly bent frame and gaunt face made Alphy’s appearance seem small, a shadow of the man he had once been in his youth- but his eyes shone with a serenity, courage and gracefulness that surpassed youthful resilience. Alphy made a comment that he felt a draft.

Margurita had opened the inside door, and there was a breeze coming through the screen door. In response to Alphy’s comment, Margurita told him that she would shut the door, “in a minute.”

Alphy decided that he could shut the door himself. He got up from his rocking chair and slowly made his way to the porch, using his walker to support himself. Alphy didn’t quite make it to the door.

Margurita was busy making tea. She was about to check on Alphy, when she heard a crash. Margurita hurried in the direction of the noise, and found her husband lying on the floor. He could not move his right leg and he looked up at Margurita with pain-filled eyes.

Margurita told Alphy to stay quiet until she got help, and went to call her son, Dennis. Alphy told her that his leg was broken. Minutes later, an ambulance came in the drive to take Alphy to the hospital. (Apparently the ambulance had been in the area returning from another call and was able to respond within minutes.) Margurita was relieved that the response had been so swift. She looked tenderly at Alphy and tried to reassure him that things would be okay. Alphy had a blank look on his face - Margurita was not sure

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