moveherbackhome.He’djusthavetofigureouthowto
deal with her.
Their apartmentwasonly a floor away. But somehow
thatmadeallthedifference.Exactlywhycanbehardto
pinpoint.Felixstillendeduphiringanaround-the-clock
staffofnursesandaides.Andtheremainingsixweeks
untilthecastscouldcomeoffwerephysicallyexhausting
for him.Yet he was relieved.He and Bella feltmore
controloverher life.Shewasinher ownplace, inher
own bed, with him beside her. And that mattered
tremendouslyto him.Becausefourdaysafterthecasts
cameoff,fourdaysaftershe’dbegunwalkingagain,she
died.
They’dsatdowntolunch.Sheturnedtohimandsaid,“I
don’t feel well.” Then she collapsed. An ambulance
whiskedhertothelocalhospital.Hedidn’twanttoslow
themedicsdown.Soheletthemgoandfollowedafterin
hiscar.Shediedintheshorttimebetweenherarrivaland
his.
When I saw him three months later, he was still
despondent.“Ifeelasifapartofmybodyismissing.I
feel asif I have beendismembered,” he toldme.His
voicecrackedandhiseyeswererimmedred.Hehadone
greatsolace,however:thatshehadn’tsuffered,thatshe’d
gottospendherlastfewweeksinpeaceathomeinthe
warmthof theirlong love, insteadof up ona nursing
floor, a lost and disoriented patient.
ALICEHOBSONHADsomethingverymuchlikethesame
dreadofleavingherhome.Itwastheoneplacewhereshe
feltshebelongedandremainedinchargeofherlife.But