When a friend is grieving

 BEAR: Did you hear? Charlie lost his wife.

HOOKER: That's a damn shame. How's he doing? 

BEAR: About how you'd expect. 

HOOKER: I expect he's already forgotten about her and is   thinking about writing a novel about it.

BEAR::That's a hell of a thing to say. He must be grieving fierce.

HOOKER: He's still a writer. Don't you remember what he said when Mary 's daughter commited suicide? "It's all material."

BEAR: How do you mean? 

HOOKER: He told her to stop crying and write a poem about it.

BEAR: Well, she's a poet. She probably will!

HOOKER: But in her own sweet time. 

(A pause.)

BEAR: I can't decide whether or not to send him a card.

HOOKER: Waste of money.

BEAR: Listen to Mr. Empathy. What put you in such a foul mood?

HOOKER: I made the mistake of watching the news this morning. What's happening to this country is appalling.

BEAR: Tell me about it.

HOOKER: Anyway, I am sorry for his loss. Tell him when you see him.

BEAR: Tell him yourself. 

HOOKER: I can't go that far.

BEAR: I think he's ready to forget and forgive.

HOOKER: I'm not.

BEAR: Hooker, I think you're being--

HOOKER: Could we not get into it? Tell him I'm sorry for his loss. I've been there.

BEAR: Okay, will do.

HOOKER: Still doing your weekly lunches?

BEAR: Oh yes. But not next week. He cancelled. You know, that would be the perfect time to send him a card. They really mattered to me when Liz died. Displaying them all together made me feel like part of a community. I wasn't alone.

(A pause.)

BEAR: Surely you got sympathy cards when Maggie passed away. Didn't they matter to you?

HOOKER: Not really.

BEAR: That may be the most selfish thing I've ever heard you say.

HOOKER: That's your Republican self talkimg.

BEAR: The Republican party doesn't exist any more.

HOOKER: A point for your side. Bear, sympathy cards help the sender more than the receiver.

BEAR: So what did you do with them?

HOOKER: I tossed them.

BEAR: Jesus, Hooker. Didn't you even read them?

HOOKER: No. Well, I did look to see who they were from first.

BEAR: That's almost immoral.

HOOKER: You love me anyway.

BEAR: I don't care what you say, my friend's wife died and I know from experience how hard it is to go through that -- so do you, for Chrissake -- and I'm giving Charlie a sympathy card on the day we usually have lunch, and--

(The phone rings.)

BEAR: Excuse me.

(Pause. After a moment, he returns.)

BEAR: Charlie killed himself.

(End)

Next:

https://thoobasa.blogspot.com/2025/03/next-legacy-with-guest.html