“Of course, never thought it'd be quite this way,” he said as he looked down at his trunk and gnarled knees.
The family was in the kitchen, but Rufus did not call out to them. When they left him to nap earlier, he expected they would pass the time arguing. From what he could hear, they still were.
“I don't care what Daddy says; he's going to that home! It's a good place. He won't get better care.” This from his son.
Rufus laughed. I ain't going nowhere now, he thought as he moved the branch that was his right arm.
He had already refused his daughter's offer to live with her in the city. He told her he wanted to go to sleep at night hearing the familiar and beloved sounds of the backwoods, not the blasts and clatter of urban life which never welcomed him when he visited those few times.
“Maybe we can find someone else to come and stay with Daddy,” she now said to her brother. “Someone who doesn't know him.”
Don't worry, baby angel. Won't be long now. I won't need a nurse. Maybe a gardener? He cackled, as happy as he could be under the circumstances.
A few minutes passed before his children walked into the room. Though he could no longer see them, he heard their gasps and cries.
“I don't believe this,” his son said. “He's gone.”
No, I'm here, son, right where I belong. Rufus struggled to say more. Can you hear me? You'll always find me here.
There was no more he could do for them. As his last thoughts faded along with his voice, he hoped they would make common sense arrangements.
While his sister cried and dialed the phone, her brother reached over and closed his father's eyes.
“He looks so peaceful. Like he's asleep,” he whispered.
He pulled the blanket from the sofa and covered his father's body. His daddy always hated to be cold.
* * *
Note: The first line comes from a #storystarters prompt.
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