When Getting Out of the Way Brings You Closer

An open door isn't always an invitation to enter... and leaving may become an invitation to stay.

“Grab your bag. I didn’t say you were coming back in the house.” Alex hisses these words through clenched teeth while looking down at my doctor’s bag from his lofty 6-foot-plus vantage point. His hands press against his hips, causing the edge of his apron to curl slightly.                              

Kneeling on the living room floor so I can be face to face with Max, Alex’s longtime lover, I pause for a moment to say goodbye before standing and stepping away from the hospital bed. Max remains motionless, barely awake.                                            

I reach for my doctor bag and meet Alex on the stoop.                                       

Alex calls tenderly to Max, "I'm right outside, honey. I'll be just a moment." He then closes the door and turns. His glare feels like it could fuel a thousand suns.         

“Just what do you think you are doing in there?” he begins shrilly. His massive dark frame blocking the sunlight as his fury radiates. “I answered all those questions for you at the start. Can’t you see Max doesn’t have the energy to go through all this again. Weren’t you even listening?”                                                                                               

In the brief pause in his rage, I answer, “I’m sorry. I do see Max is very tired. And you, you look tired too.”                                                                                                 

“Well of course I’m tired, girl, been up all day and night doing for him what no one else is willing to do….” Alex's voice momentarily trails off, muttering in disgust before he starts in again, “Took some serious schoolin’ for you to figure this all out? Huh? Now, let me tell you what Max needs. He is weak. He is tired. And he needs some IV fluids to help perk him up. Get him back to where he was. And you don’t need to go bothering him to figure that out. I’m telling it to you right here, right now!”  

Nodding, I wait for him to continue.                                                                                 

“So what’s it gonna be? Are you gonna help him?" With his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest, his body seems to expand to fill the entire door frame. "Or is it time for you to leave?”