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“Herbie what am I gonna do?” Joseph Newton was found a mess, snotty and nasty, disheveled and destroyed, talking to his best friend, Herbie Hawkins.
“Calm down Mr. Newton, it’ll be alright.” Newton could be heard sniffling and sobbing through the phone.
“Joe, what can I do to help?” Herbie was asking frantically, trying anyway to calm down his friend. When Joe didn’t answer, Herbie thought, and then he decided.
“Stay there, I’m on my way.” Before Joseph could protest, he heard the line click and Herbie Hawkins was gone. Joe stumbled over to an armchair and fell into it. He wept until he fell asleep.
When Newton awoke, he found Herbie opposite him, reading peacefully with his legs crossed.
“Herbie?” Joe muttered drearily.
“Oh! You’re awake Newton. How are you feeling?”
“I need a drink.”
“Joe, I guarantee you don’t, but what you do need is to tell me what’s happened.”
Joseph started to just sit there and stare blankly at the wall.
“Emma,” he said slowly.
“Joe, what about your wife?” He didn’t move.
“Joe!”
Newton didn’t move his body, and didn’t move his eyes, only his mouth, “Emma’s hanging in our bedroom.”
Hawkins nearly fainted. He simply stuttered a few times and then gave up on trying to say anything. Instead, he rushed up the stairs to their bedroom, and saw her corpse.
“Oh god!” he exclaimed in utter and pure terror.
He flew back down the stairs and rapidly and clumsily started dialing for the police.
“Joesph where are the kids?” he queried with concern as he dialed.
“They’re… with- with Charlie and her fiancé… this weekend.”
“Hello?”
“Hello, this is the police.”
“Yes, u-uhm, a woman has t-taken her life here.”
“Address?”
“19 Merry Lane on Widow Street.”
“Thank you, sir, operatives will be there as soon as they can.”
“Thanks…” Herbie trailed off and hung up the phone slowly on the wall and it clicked at the end of the action.
He stayed facing the phone on the wall for a few seconds, and then turned around to face Joe, who hadn’t moved at all.
Bernie went over to Joe and hugged him tightly.
“I’ve got you Joe.” Joe broke and started sobbing once again.
Joseph and Bernie stayed just like that until sirens yelled out from a few blocks away.