One Final Farewell

The...odor...of "nursing home" hung in the air and entered his nostrils. There was no other way to describe the ghastly aroma; just "nursing home." Televisions from other rooms blared and staff marched up and down the halls, each of them exchanging the day's gossip since none of the residents was in need of attention at the moment.

He entered the correct room and took a seat next to the bed. The freight-train-like snores from his grandmother, inappropriately enough for the situation, brought some levity to the mood of the room. He did all that he could to not giggle from the sounds coming from his grandmother as he took her hand instead...

No; this wasn't the time for a light-hearted mood. Any actual GIGGLING here and now would be severely upbraided later by his mother who insisted on sharing the room and the moment as well...

He took grandmother's hand quietly and delicately. He allowed his eyes to close and shut out the surrounding situation. This moment, at this time, was between he and...

...A curt voice shrilled in his ear that the waiting audience didn't exactly hear him performing a performative, auditory prayer for a grandmother who was so sound asleep that she wouldn't know what was happening; therefore, any external, performative, prayer prose would have been for the entertainment value of the mother constantly perched over his shoulder. He shook off the sharp, shrill distraction to what he had come to do and continued to clasp Grandma's hand. She continued to snore in his ear. No; another distraction to what he had come to do...

He loved her. He truly did love her. Who she was as a person, especially toward him, was a moot point; she was the family matriarch and the sole surviving grandparent left. She was ready to be with her Lord now; and He wasn't about to get a better advocate. It was time to let her go now and to surrender over the grandson's disagreements with her Earthly nuances. His time to visit with his grandmother should have been sooner while she was around. She was a far better person than he had remembered and she loved her Lord. She was ready to be with Him; and the last relative to come and see her was ready to let her go. Her curt, abrasive personality and every insult was an Earthly "treasure" of her physical character that was meant to be left behind before she should go; and before the last relative to come see her would let her go...

The snoring stopped abruptly. He sat back aghast. No; this had not just happened; not while he was in the room. He had never been present when someone had actually died and he wasn't prepared for...

The loud, abrasive snores commenced as swiftly as they had stopped. Good; that had been a close one. He retained his composure once more and gently and delicately held her hand before shutting his eyes meditatively again...

Mother, the honor guard for auditory performative prayer, reminded him that she hadn't actually heard a prayer yet. He bit his tongue. No; he wasn't here about his mother. Taking time away from his grandmother's side to have this discussion certainly took the attention from the person who deserved it now. Rather than give grandma ample opportunity to wake back up in a start because he was now telling his mother exactly what she deserved to hear in the middle of a nursing home, he turned his full attention back to his grandmother and squeezed her hand once more. He shut his eyes in meditative observation and...

...Nothing.

He had set what he had needed to say in five minutes time; and hadn't treated the other member of the honor guard to an audible. He kissed his pointer and middle finger and placed them to his grandmother's temple. He then released her hand, covered her in her blankets again, and indicated that he was ready to go after a ten minute visit. The mother would just have to misunderstand the situation and misjudge his character on this one; the visit had never been about her entertainment...