The visit

Taking it back this Thursday day to 2009.

The O’Donnell boys were celebrating their October birthdays and in this photo they were drunker than skunkers and so happy to be together.

Two years later, David would be gone. Cancer. And you know how it ended in 2017 for Martin, who was David’s older brother by nine years. 

A few days before Martin died, a nurse approached me. She provided me with the usual overnight update on Martin’s deteriorating condition. And, she added, “Someone named David came to visit him.”

Some people might be stopped in their tracks. I smiled. It was a smile of gratitude and comfort, as if someone had wrapped me in a warm, furry blanket on a chilly winter night. 

“Did anyone see this David?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “Martin said he came last night. Says he’s been visiting a lot.”

To this day, I have no doubt.