Sleeping on a Bench
By A.N. Ellard
River left the hospital through the automatic doors of the drop-off ramp. He didn’t want to walk out with Dale’s parents, who always lingered around him like bees, before returning to the parking garage. He’d only come to the hospital this morning because Dale’s mother called him the night before with whines about how he hadn’t been by all week. What was River supposed to say to that? She’d interrogate the nurses if he lied. If it were three months ago, he would have still been in denial, telling himself it wasn’t like he didn’t want to visit Dale, but it took a lot of energy and staring at his sleeping face wouldn’t change anything.
But now he didn’t bother with those thoughts. The plain truth was he didn’t want to see Dale anymore. He didn’t want to
