Last Chance

I turned the key in the lock and slowly opened the door, the scent of my childhood home filling my nose. I never thought I would be so happy to be back here, but my heart was beyond happy. Sid put his hand on my lower back. "Shall we?" He asked? Stepping inside I grabbed his hand and closed the door behind him.
"This place hasn't changed a bit since the last time I was here." He whispered in awe. He was right. Nothing had changed. Since my dad's passing it seemed like my mom's life had been paused. She hadn't updated the house or changed anything that my dad had worked on. I suppose for fear of losing the memories. I kicked off my shoes and headed upstairs, the worn green shag carpet no longer soft under my feet. Sid followed quietly behind me as worked my way to the upper level. My childhood home was nothing spectacular. I modest two level home on a quiet street in middle class Cole Harbour. Only two blocks from the now famous Crosby house. I walked down the hallway towards my old bedroom, running my finger along the wall. This house had so many memories. Good and Bad.

-----Summer 2004-----

"What?" I asked. Feeling the tears pooling in my eyes. None of this made sense. Half an hour ago I was playing street hockey with Sid and our friends and now here I am being told the worst news someone can ever hear. I heard the ambulance from a mile away, never thinking that it would actually stop at my house. I ignored it and continued with the game.
"Kelly, I know you're upset, but we have to go. Grab your bag."
She hadn't gone with him to the hospital because she couldn't get ahold of me. My phone was on vibrate in my bag and it wasn't until the game was over and I was about to head home that I saw the twelve missed calls and knew that something was wrong. I raced home as fast as I could and when I saw her standing at the front door my heart sank. "Oh thank god you are okay. Grab you stuff we have to go." My mom ushered me inside.
"What's going on? Where's dad?"
"Oh sweetie." Her eyes were puffy and her face was red. "He was mowing the lawn. I only heard him scream and collapse. I'll explain more in the car." We were out the door in thirty seconds and on our way to the hospital. When the ambulance had left he was awake and alert, but that was all we knew.

When we reached the E.R. we were ushered into a waiting room and told a doctor would be with us shortly. We paced the room frantically for what felt like hours. Finally, a grim looking doctor walked through the doors with a clipboard in hand. "Mrs. Nelson?"
"Yes."
"Here, let's have a seat." He pointed towards a set of chairs where he sat down next to my mother. "Your husband had a major heart attack. We were able to stabilize him on the ride over but he crashed again once we arrived. We did everything we could. I'm sorry for your loss. A social worker will be by shortly to go through the procedures." The Dr. stood up, placed a hand on my mothers heaved shoulders and quietly left the room. It wasn't until we were alone that she started to sob. I sat down beside her, trying to be the strong one as she realized that her life, our life, would never be the same.

I don't know how he found out where I was and I didn't care. I had never been more happy to see his hazel eyes in my life than I had at that moment. It was my turn to cry now. He wrapped his arms around me and I fell to the ground. Crying out for my daddy, who I knew would never come back. The world faded around me and went black.

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He wiped a tear from my cheek. "Hey, what's going on?" Sid looked at me, concern in his voice.
I let out a fake laugh. "Nothing, being back here always makes me a little sad. It's never been the same without him."
"It's okay to be sad sometimes, but think of all the great memories you had in this house. I know I have a lot of them."
"Oh yeah? Like what?" I fixed a picture that was hanging crooked on the wall and headed towards the kitchen.
"Like the annual pig roast you guys had every year, opening Christmas presents together, sneaking out to go to parties, watching the stars. They all happened here."
I let out a sigh as I opened the fridge looking for something to eat. "I guess you're right. And why the hell doesn't my mother have any food in her house? She always has food!" I slammed the fridge door shut and turned around. Sid was in my face, his eyes intent. He took a stray strand of hair and tucked it behind my ear.
"Hey Beautiful. Calm down. She isn't expecting you to be here, so she hasn't stalked her fridge. Let me get you something to eat and then we can grab a few groceries? Make something nice for your mom?"
How did he do that? I was instantly calm. "Okay. Sounds good."

Twenty minutes later Sid had made us a box of Kraft dinner. Not exactly the best option, but it was all we could put together with the lack of ingredients. What was my mother eating? Seriously, no food in the house at all. We sat out on my back deck in silence as we ate. It was just starting to get dark and the crickets were coming out. I put my plate down beside me. "Okay, let's stock the shit out of her pantry. I'm surprised she isn't skin and bone." I laughed, grabbing our plates and walking them back inside to the dishwasher.

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"Do you have a Loonie for the cart?"
"Check the glove box, I'm sure there has to be some change in there."
I rummaged through the glove box, I almost felt like I was intruding on his life. I found his registration and insurance along with the owners manual, a pen, a score card from a golf game, and about twelve dollars in loose change. I giggled as I picked a Loonie out from the pile and closed the car door.

I met up with Sid at the enterance of the grocery store. He had his hat pulled down low, a clear sign that he was trying to go unnoticed, which is was even harder in our hometown. It wasn't the first time that we had shopped for food together. The summer my dad died, my mom wasn't able to cope with anything and Sid and I ended up doing a lot around the house, including the shopping. He was my rock, as I was hers. We started on the outisde of of the store, working our way through the bakery and produce. Filling the cart with essentials before moving down the middle isles and loading up on junk. The summer was our only time to break diet. Doritos and Coke were plentiful and our cart was overflowing by the time we reached the check out.

I started to load everything onto the belt as Sid went to the otherside to pack the bags. It went seamlessly, working as a team and being so....domestic. I liked the way it felt. I didn't like the way the final bill looked though. $429.56 worth of groceries and all the bags were full. I was grabbing my credit card from my back pocket when Sid put his hand on mine. "My treat. You're mom has always been like a second mom to me. It's the least I can do." I didn't bother to try and fight it. I knew I would never win. With a reluctant sigh I put my card back in my pocket and gave a shy smile. "Thanks"
He handed his card over to the cashier. "I'm sorry sir, we don't accept American Express." I saw her face go red as she read the name on the card and handed it back to him. "Um, okay. Visa?" He handed her another card which she gladly swiped for him.
"Thanks, have a great day!" The cashier waved as we pushed our cart out to the parking lot.

We were loading our bags into the back of his car. "I like this." He said, handing me another bag.
"Like what?"
"This, what we're doing. Feels so....normal I guess."
"I know what you mean. It's like we are just Sid and Kel again."
"Exactly. You're the only person who has ever made me feel normal. You know that right?" He took the last bag from my hands and placed it gingerly in the back. Closing the trunk when he was done.
"Yeah, I mean....I guess I do now." I studdered.
"Good." He gave me a swift kiss on the cheek and turned to open my door for me.

When we arrived back at my mom's house the lights were on. I was glad that she was actually home. I hopped out of the car and ran up the driving, taking the front steps two at a time. I don't think Sid had the car in park yet by the time I reached the front door. I burst through, more excited than ever to see my mom. "Hey mom! Where are you? I'm here!" I was caught off guard when I got to the top of the stairs to see my mom in the arms of man.