James was an austere man when it can to his emotions, always hiding them below the surface, but now he couldn’t contain them, it was such an intense cluster of overwhelming feelings. At first, there was the shock of Joyce death, then the disbelief that she could be gone from his life. Why her he kept asking himself. Then there was the quilt, maybe he could have seen it sooner, or taken her to a different doctor, something to stop her from dying. Finally, there was the anger, the rage. She was such a good woman, had helped so many, why was she taken. He wanted to lash out at somebody. The doctors and nurses, the hospital, anybody, it just wasn’t fair.

He let the tears fall, the emotions drain away, as he held his sister. She was the only one that he could trust with his emotions. She understood. For a long time he just held her, until the sobbing stopped and he gained control again. He held her close, putting his lips next to her ear.

“What’s for dinner,” he asked.