Maybe I should just go over there and check on them. I know he doesn’t want to see anybody, but there could be something I could do to take something off his plate. He needs to grieve without having to deal with all the extra stuff. Hazel seems to be no help from what Tessa is saying.
“You mind watching Lily for an hour? I’ll be back for dinner, just gonna run over to his house and check on them. It’ll make me feel better knowing that they at least have food and stuff.”
Tessa nods, and I get back in my car and drive over to Jeremy’s.
From the outside, it doesn’t look like anyone’s home besides his truck being in the driveway. All the lights seem to be off. I knock on the door, but get no response from anyone inside. So, I pull out my phone and dial Jeremy. No answer.
Me: I’m at your front door. Please let me in. Just for a minute.
I wait for the three dots, but they never show up. Footsteps are coming down the stairs and then I hear the door unlock.
“What do you want?” he asks, grimacing at the light from the sun.
“Can I come in for a minute, please?”
He opens the door, and I slip inside. I want to give him a moment, but I throw my arms around him and hold on tight. He needs someone to be there for him.
“Raquel, I don’t want you to see me like this.” He pushes me away, and turns around with his back facing me.
I grab his arm and pull until we lock eyes. “I will not let you go through this alone. You hear me.”
His eyes water, and he embraces me. He sobs into my t-shirt, and I let him. If he doesn’t let these emotions out, then it’s going to eat away at him. Depression is nothing to fuck around with.
“Your father was a wonderful man, and he was proud of you and your sister. Never doubt that, Jeremy. He talked about you guys all the time to the residents.”
He continues to cry, and I tell him about the brief service they had at the center for Donald. Residents talked about what they will miss about him, and some even talked about how he had impacted their lives, telling them to reach out to their estranged kids.
“The funeral is tomorrow. I haven’t been able to tell anyone. Every time I pull up a number, I start fucking crying.”
I take his phone and the list he has sitting on the counter. “I’ll make the calls. You go lay down and get some rest.”
He nods and saunters up the stairs to his bedroom.
In this very moment, I love Jeremy Grey. He is a handsome, caring man who never puts himself first, and maybe it’s time for that change.
Put yourself first.