34
Burke was startled out of his doze when the alarm on his phone went off, announcing that it was six a.m.. Yawning, he stretched and took out his phone, so he could silence it. The sudden lack of sound was as jarring as the burst of music that had disturbed him.
Yawning for a second time, he got to his feet. A glance at his partner revealed that Nathan hadn’t moved, he was still on the chair he had pulled close to the bed when they were shown to the room, his eyes on his son’s face, and his son’s hand in his. The tears that had cascaded down his cheeks when the doctor finally came to see him were no longer falling, Burke guessed his friend had no more tears to shed, but they had left a glistening trail down his cheeks, a clear indicator of the grief the night had brought.
Burke wished
