Free The Lost Door by Marc Buhmann

again.
     
    * * *
     
    Beth was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. She stared vacantly out a window. The carpeted stairs muffled Willem’s descent and it wasn’t until he touched her shoulder did she acknowledge him with a flinch. She smiled sadly and patted his hand.
    “He’s resting,” Willem said.
    She sighed and stood, stretching her back. “Good.”
    “How are you doing?” Willem wanted to know.
    “To be honest I’m tired and worn out.”
    “Where are the kids?”
    “They’ve been flying back and forth on a rotation. Gregory left this morning, and Margaret is flying in tonight.” He must have given her a condescending look. “Don’t,” she said, cocking her head. “I want no sympathy. It’s been hard, I won’t lie, and this is not how I thought our lives would end up, but life is full of uncertainties. Best to deal with these sorts of things on a day-by-day basis.”
    “It’s getting late. I should be going.”
    “Where are you staying?” Beth asked.
    “Motel near 51.”
    “I wish you’d stay. We have plenty of room. The company is always nice.”
    “I know, but I’d feel like I was imposing—”
    “You’re family, Willem. Regardless of what happened, you’re always welcome here.”
    “I know, but I’ve lived alone for so long…” How did he tell her he wasn’t comfortable staying under his dying brother’s roof? “I hope you understand.”
    “Yes,” she sighed. “I do. Will you be back tomorrow?”
    They walked to the door. “I promised Elliott I’d come by. When is good?”
    “Anytime is fine.” She opened the door. “Well, until tomorrow then.” She leaned up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
    He felt her watching him as he walked to his car, but it wasn’t until he was getting in that he looked back and waved. As he drove away, the sun beginning to set, he wondered how much longer his brother had.

four
     
    “Why did you run?”
    Willem was seated in a chair next to Elliott’s bed. He looked more alert than yesterday.
    “I wouldn’t say I ran—” Willem began.
    “The moment you could you hightailed it out of River Bend.”
    “Honestly? I don’t know. There was nothing there for me. At least that’s how it felt at the time. Sammy was dead, dad had disappeared, you’d gone off to college, and mom had her own life. What was I going to do? I didn’t want to be stuck there with her.”
    “Fair enough, but then why sever all ties the way you did?”
    “Why is any of this important now?”
    “Indulge a dying man.”
    Willem scowled at Elliott, sipped his coffee. “I’ve always felt responsible for Sam’s death. If I’d been more careful in protecting him he may not have died.”
    “It wasn’t your fault.”
    “So you and mom said, but hearing it and accepting it are two vastly different things. I was supposed to be looking out for him. If I’d done a better job of that he wouldn’t have fallen.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    “No, but I believe it.”
    “Ironic, isn’t it, that you moved back after we left?”
    “I had my fill of Milwaukee. It always felt like there was a sickness that seeped from the cracks. A simple life seemed more my speed, and it was more comfortable to move back to something familiar.”
    “I’m sure knowing we’d moved away made it easier.”
    “I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a factor. By the way, it was nice of you to take her with you.”
    Elliott shrugged then coughed. “Beth and mom got along great, so it made the decision easy. She got to stay close to her family and grandkids, and we didn’t have to worry about her being on her own.”
    Willem sipped his cooling coffee, grimaced. Beth certainly knew how to make a strong cup of joe.
    “We never really had a chance to finish our conversation from yesterday,” Elliott said.
    “It’s fine.”
    “No. It’s not.” Elliott cleared the phlegm from his throat, winced. “I don’t want you to go back home and never see your family again. My family is