This month’s excerpts are from my short story, “A Place to Die.”
When Libby spends a summer helping out at her mom’s bed and breakfast-turned-hospice, she doesn’t expect to spend her time babysitting someone like Mr. Calloway – a young, vibrant financial planner with a mischievous streak. But Mr. Calloway is sicker than he seems, something neither he nor his family want to acknowledge. Can Libby help him accept his fate without losing her heart?
Prior to this scene, Libby and Mr. Calloway had an argument over her being too mothering. After talking to her mom about how many people die alone, she’s focused on making sure that doesn’t happen to her charge.
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The next morning, I headed to the dining room to find Mr. Calloway, more determined than ever to keep an eye on him after my conversation with Mom. I kept seeing myself fifty years in the future, surrounded by stuff that didn’t care whether I lived or died. She was right; he needed a friend now more than ever.
But Mr. Calloway wasn’t at breakfast. No big deal; lots of guests slept in or ate granola bars they’d stashed in their rooms. When he wasn’t at lunch, however, worry started to gnaw at me. What if his coughing fit from the previous day had been worse than he’d let on, and what if he was dead in his room, right now? Mom would kill me if a guest died on my watch.
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Aw, I want to spend my final days with people like Libby and her mom. I have a feeling this story is going to make me cry, though that’s not a bad thing.
Well now I’m on the edge of my chair all right, wanting to go charging off to check on Mr. Calloway myself. Really an excellent excerpt!
Wouldn’t that be terrifying? I can’t even imagine spending time caring for someone, and wondering every time they’re out of my sight if they’re still living.
I know this story deals with dying or the threat of dying, but nonetheless the word that comes to mind is ‘adorable’. Great people, very caring.
A great excerpt. Makes me want to read more.