and a third never came.
"Jesus! Sweet Jesus," Angie said as she abruptly pivoted and buried her face in her husband's chest.
"Mom," Paul said as tears flowed freely down his cheeks.
"Is Grandma gone to see God now?" the young man asked and Paul quickly stepped up and motioned that he'd take him into the hallway, giving Angie and her husband a moment to themselves with their mom.
A doctor ushered past the duo in the hallway a moment later. His job was to pronounce death and document the time. It was 1:03.
Angie and her husband emerged from the room a scant moment later and the young man ran into his mother's arms.
"Honey," Angie turned to her husband, "I'd like you to meet my brother, Paul."
Paul offered his hand but Glen pulled him into a hearty hug. "The name's Glen Reid. Nice to finally meet you. Wish it wasn't under such sad circumstances."
"Thank you."
"And this little guy," Angie said as she pivoted the young man in front of her, "is your nephew, Joshua."
Paul had assumed as much. Less than a dozen miles apart geographically, and yet their paths never crossed.
"Hi," the young man said. "Everybody calls me J.P."
"J.P?"
"It stands for Joshua Paul," Angie explained.
"It could have been Glen or even Frank...but, me?"
Wide-eyed with astonishment at such an honor, he looked to Angie who exploded in tears as she wrapped her arms around her brother. "I've missed you so much."
"I've been so blind..."
Angie pulled back and put her hand up to stop him. "It's okay...now."
"I want to show you those sunglasses." The trio watched as he checked and double checked his pockets, to no avail.
"What the hell..." Paul said, then stopped short as he looked at his nephew. "Sorry. I don't know what happened to those sunglasses, I wanted to show them to you."
Little J.P. looked up to his parents and then Paul and said, "I'll betcha God knows."
~~~
Across town, outside the busy Szechuan restaurant, a young woman squinted in the harsh afternoon sunshine. She walked quickly toward her car as she attempted to shield her eyes from the blinding glints from windshields and rear-view mirrors.
She was nearly to her car when she stopped short. She nearly stepped on the very thing she needed so desperately at that very moment: a pair of sunglasses.
###
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