Categories > Original > Drama > Separation
May 25, 1979
“The hell?”
Alex and Dan looked up from their respective boxes of trinkets to see what Ray’s remark had been about.
“What is it?”
“…it looks like Joe’s hat.”
It was exactly that. Ray, perplexed, turned the old Stetson over in his hands, tracing the beaded hatband and the vulture and eagle feathers with one finger. Although he’d been told his mentor had visited often during his sojourn into unconsciousness, Ray had never gotten to speak with his old mentor. How the hat had gotten mixed in with the get-well memorabilia was beyond him.
“Why the heck is it in here?”
Dan took the hat and examined it. “He must have left it… I guess Margie packed it up with the rest of the stuff; probably thought it was yours.”
Ray took the hat back and set it on his knees. “I’ll have to give it back to him.”
The long silence that followed made him look up again.
“What?”
Alex and Dan each shifted, exchanging an uncomfortable glance. Sinking to one knee so he’d be at Ray’s eye level, Alex did his best to brace himself for what had to be said.
“You don’t need to give it back, buddy. He gave it to you.”
“Yeah but…it’s his hat” Ray insisted, since hats were important things to have in the high desert and Joe’s Stetson was the most beloved out of all his scant possessions.
“And now it’s yours. He wanted you to have it.”
Stretch as he might, Ray could read nothing from Alex’s mind, but the regretful shimmer in his eyes belied a truth he didn’t want to believe.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Ray…” Alex took a deep breath. “Joe died…he died not long after you woke up.”
“Died?” The word tasted foreign and bitter on his tongue, his features scrunching to display his distaste.
“The last time he visited, he hold us he wouldn’t be coming back, and to tell you goodbye for him.”
Ray said nothing, only contemplated the beaten hat on his knees. The impulse to try it on tickled at the back of his mind. Instead, he handed it back to Alex.
“Set it on the top shelf.”
“You don’t want to wear it?”
Ray shook his head. “Not yet. Just leave it up there. I’ll get it down myself.”
“The hell?”
Alex and Dan looked up from their respective boxes of trinkets to see what Ray’s remark had been about.
“What is it?”
“…it looks like Joe’s hat.”
It was exactly that. Ray, perplexed, turned the old Stetson over in his hands, tracing the beaded hatband and the vulture and eagle feathers with one finger. Although he’d been told his mentor had visited often during his sojourn into unconsciousness, Ray had never gotten to speak with his old mentor. How the hat had gotten mixed in with the get-well memorabilia was beyond him.
“Why the heck is it in here?”
Dan took the hat and examined it. “He must have left it… I guess Margie packed it up with the rest of the stuff; probably thought it was yours.”
Ray took the hat back and set it on his knees. “I’ll have to give it back to him.”
The long silence that followed made him look up again.
“What?”
Alex and Dan each shifted, exchanging an uncomfortable glance. Sinking to one knee so he’d be at Ray’s eye level, Alex did his best to brace himself for what had to be said.
“You don’t need to give it back, buddy. He gave it to you.”
“Yeah but…it’s his hat” Ray insisted, since hats were important things to have in the high desert and Joe’s Stetson was the most beloved out of all his scant possessions.
“And now it’s yours. He wanted you to have it.”
Stretch as he might, Ray could read nothing from Alex’s mind, but the regretful shimmer in his eyes belied a truth he didn’t want to believe.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“Ray…” Alex took a deep breath. “Joe died…he died not long after you woke up.”
“Died?” The word tasted foreign and bitter on his tongue, his features scrunching to display his distaste.
“The last time he visited, he hold us he wouldn’t be coming back, and to tell you goodbye for him.”
Ray said nothing, only contemplated the beaten hat on his knees. The impulse to try it on tickled at the back of his mind. Instead, he handed it back to Alex.
“Set it on the top shelf.”
“You don’t want to wear it?”
Ray shook his head. “Not yet. Just leave it up there. I’ll get it down myself.”
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