32. I Think I Lost You
So my brother called the other day while I was napping. When I woke, I risked what’s left of my life by calling him back while the Patriots were in the process of getting their asses handed to them by the Dolphins. BTW — I HATE Florida teams — don’t know why — don’t care why — I just do!
My brother loves his sports, and it was always something we shared. Like March Madness — he and I would fill out our brackets and talk for hours about our choices and our wins and losses.
Anyone who knows Don Sneade knows not to interrupt him during Saturday college football or on Sundays during NFL season. Given the cancer diagnosis and all, I placed a mid-afternoon, Sunday call sure that I faced little to no repercussions.
“I was sleeping when you called earlier.”
“Yeah. I figured. That’s why I left the text about ‘Him’ and said to call when you could.”
I shook my head because I didn’t remember getting a text and if I did I didn’t know who the hell ‘Him’ was. I pushed right past that and into a conversation, “I know the Patriots are on and you hate being interrupted, but—”
“Shit. I don’t get the Patriots down here,” he seethed. “The fucking NFL doesn’t let people outside of viewing areas watch other games. I’m in the Atlanta area so I get the Falcons games which is good cause I like them, but just over in Chattanooga, like an hour from here, they get—”
I zoned out.
I zoned in.
“And so I only record four shows now, NCIS is my favorite. It’s in its fourteenth season, and Blacklist, do you know that show?”
I said I did, and I do, but I had a momentary bit of concern that that wasn’t the name of the show he said.
I zoned out.
I zoned in.
“Yeah, so my all-time favorite television show is Magnum, P.I., the original one, but I like the new one cause it’s not trying to be the old one, and I fucking love Seinfeld, that’s some funny shit. Have you seen The Cigar Store Indian? Funniest damned episode. You should get it online and watch it, and the All In The Family episode when Archie Bunker is locked in the basement and gets shitfaced on booze that’s my favorite—”
I zoned out.
I zoned in.
“And Jaws. MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE. You know, there are two storylines in that movie — one at sea and one on land. I’ve watched that movie maybe a hundred times. I know every damned line. Me and this other guy at work, he’s younger and might remember shit better, but I know more shit about Jaws. Remember at the end of the first movie when Brody and Hooper are kicking back to shore with the barrels?”
“Uh huh.”
“I bet you don’t know this, cause he didn’t know this, but in the opening scene of Jaws 2, when Brody walks outside and he’s on the phone, the planters on the porch are those barrels.”
“Didn’t know.”
“I’ve been reading your blogs. I cracked up when you said, ‘it’s wall-to-wall carpeting, so yes it goes from one wall to the other’ AND when you called Hannah and said, ‘get your ass over here, he’s asking questions’ — I laughed my ass off.”
“Good.”
“They’re hard to read.”
“Yeah — and to write.”
“I bet. You sound tired, but strong. Though I think I lost you before.”
“Yeah, I zoned in and out.”
“I think about calling you all of the time, but it’s too early before I go to work and too late when I get home.”
“How about we plan a Sunday call.”
“Sounds good. I’ll call and if you’re napping just call me back.”
“Sounds good.”
The crack in his voice when he said he loved me was hard to take.
A while later, I went on FB and saw a message from Don (not the text that I’d been promised). He said he called, assumed I was asleep, and to return his call whenever.
Then he mentioned a blog — the one where I ragged on Tim about wall-to-wall carpet, and that I demanded Hannah come over because Tim was asking the hospice nurse questions. ‘That was some funny shit,’ he highlighted the words in his FB post — the one Denise put up for him.
At the end of the message, he said he lost it when he read the birthday blog — the one that mentioned the best Christmas gift this year.