As she said
“I love you”
to her husband in the hospital bed
before she left to go
home for a quick shower,
He knew.

As he dropped
his wife
off at the airport
to take off for “just a check-up,”
She knew.

They say that the people
on the inside
know when the time comes.
But what about those
on the outside?

Real life takes them
completely by surprise.
It happens when
they are most unready
for it.

We never thought
the end
would finally come.
They did.

It’s like reading
a book and anticipating
the brilliant, perfect end
that must come
despite a heart-wrenching plot.
You rush forward,
skimming pages,
but when you are on the last page,
the ending
puts the characters into the worst possible position
and it leaves you
with a dreadful emptiness.

Life throws curveballs
at the people
on the outside
of tragedy.

The people on the inside,
though,
can read the pitcher’s mind.