Flowers had started to arrive that day and I was busy hopping that they wouldn’t have arrived till the day she was off; tomorrow. Large vases halfway filled with water, and daisies or tulips helped fill the rest of the large vases. With the help of some greenery and a tall plastic stick. All the plastic sticks that held the little rectangle card all said the same “best wishes for you and your family.” And they were all being sent to the same room; C234.

The first family members to arrive for the resident of room C234 was the daughter and her husband. The daughter and her husband had boarded the red-eye flight from Maine to Texas. The red-eye flight had to be chosen because the daughter and her husband had the longest flight ahead of them to visit the resident of room C234, but some how they still made it there first. This trip they decided to make alone, without the aid of their 4 bratty teenage children, which the resident of room C234 didn’t like anyways.

Next to arrive was the now divorced son, who arrived alone. The divorced son had flown only from Arkansas to Tennessee, but still grumbled and complained to the daughter and her husband about how early he had to wake up, when the daughter and her husband had not even slept yet. The now divorced son was considered annoying and selfish to the resident of room C234.

And finally last to arrive was the eldest daughter of the now divorced son, and her husband, who hated being anywhere near, the eldest daughter of the now divorced son’s, father. This trip had been a fast and quick drive. 28 miles, and 36 minutes it took for the eldest daughter of the now divorced son to arrive with her husband at the little room of resident of room C234.

As the room continued to pile up, with no longer family members of the resident of room C234, but this time family friends. People who did not even know the resident of room C234 had arrived, only because the, eldest daughter of the now divorced son, had promised a eating get together at her house 28 miles away. So obviously they only attended for the free food. People loved food.

The side of the C hall lined with the daisies and tulips for the resident of room C234. Of course they had to be pushed tightly against the walls, in respect for the other residents in the facility who wanted to travel down C Hall. Most of the residents loved the sight of the flowers, so of course, they were eager to venture down to see the flowers.

But as all the attention was focused on the patient of room C234, no questions were asked about the empty bed that was next to the loved patient of room C234. No one wondered why the room mate wouldn’t be in there to share in the grief of the sick patient of room C234. No one seemed to care but myself who had to sign for each and every set of flowers that were delivered to the facility for the patient of room C234. And every time I checked the cards, hopping that one was for the new patient of private room 2. But none ever came.

As visitors piled in to see family and the patient of room C234, I continued to hope that maybe one of these thousands of visitors would be for the new patient of private room 2. But again, none were. As the end of my shift ticked in the air, I waited impatiently for the clock to strike midnight. Praying that nothing would happen before she arrived in the room for the new patient of private room 2.

After clocking out, I quickly ran to the room of the new patient of private room 2. Picking up the soft fragile hand of the new patient in private room 2, I held it tight and close to her heart. No one needed to die alone, while family was there for others. As the new resident of private room 2 took her last breath that following morning, I knew that no one else would know what had happened. That the family in the patient of room C234 would never know that the patients best friend had died, almost alone that night.