“Charlie?”
“My brother.”
“In Australia?”
“New Zealand,” he corrected. “I have to tell him Dad passed away and there’s going to be a funeral. He’ll have to be here. I’d rather not do it at all.”
“Do you want me to call him?” she said.
“Would you do that?”
“Sure. What’s his number?”
Britt called the number and a jovial voice answered.
“Hello.”
“Charlie Fitzsimmons?”
“This is old Charlie, eh?” he replied.
“Charlie, this is Brittney Collier. I’m calling on behalf of your brother Jack. I’m at St. Teresa’s Hospital just now and I’m sorry to say I have some very sad news.”
“Is it old Jakie boy, then?”
“Jack is doing well enough under the circumstances. It’s your father, in fact.”
“What’s happening?”
“Your father had surgery yesterday.”
“Yeah, Jack messaged me that it went righty-oh.”
“It did at first, but your father had a blood clot and he has passed away.”
He gasped. “No. Please tell me it’s not true.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He broke down and it took him a minute to regain his composure.
“Can I talk to Jakie?”
Britt covered the phone with her hand and offered it to Jack. He took it with resignation and from then on she could hear only his side of the conversation with his seemingly irreverent brother.
“He seemed fine, Charlie.”
“No, no there was no indication things were going south. It was sudden.”
Jack sighed and Britt put her hand on his arm, just to show that he had her support. She rather hated that he had to explain recent events to a man who hadn’t cared enough to hop a flight and see his own ailing father in the hospital. She’d taken a dislike to Jack’s careless brother Charlie. He seemed disrespectful and selfish.
Jack swallowed hard. “I’ve not finalized any funeral arrangements yet, no. It’s only just happened about an hour ago. I did loads of paperwork just to get the—the body released to the mortuary. Thank God Britt was here to help me.”
She felt a triumphant sense of accomplishment at having made anything at all easier or better for Jack. She also thought his statement was a bit pointed, suggesting that Charlie, not she, ought to have been the one at the hospital to complete paperwork. He was silent for a moment and then answered.
“No, that was my girlfriend.”
“Because I didn’t want to be the one to tell you. Because saying it makes it worse to me.”