Hoke groaned as he reached for the phone. He didn’t know what time it was, he simply knew it was too late for anyone to be calling, especially teenage sons asking for another extension on curfews.
“No, you can not stay out any later. Get Kristie home and get your ass to bed,” he answered the phone, not bothering with any polite salutations. He started to hang up, having said his peace, but paused when he heard a stranger on the other end.
“Mr. Dorough?” the voice on the other end asked.
Hoke lifted the reciever back to his ear, “Who is this?”
“I’m Detective Connor. There was an accident earlier, and I’m afraid I’m going to need you to come down to the hospital,” the voice on the other end said.
Hoke sat up quickly, “What kind of accident?” he asked, starting to climb out of bed and struggling to get dressed while still on the phone.
“I can’t go into details over the phone, sir, but I will tell you what we know when you get here,” the detective said.
Hoke hung up without another word and reached over to wake up his wife. “Paula, get up. We have to go.”
Paula woke up slowly and stretched before looking at the clock. “It’s two in the morning, Hoke. This isn’t funny,” she said, starting to lay back down.
“Paula, get up. We have to go to the hospital,” Hoke said, pulling a shirt on. He was ready to go, but something told him there was something he was forgetting. As his wife frantically got dressed, he reached into his sock drawer for a vial that he had been holding on to for sixteen years, but had nearly forgotten about.
A few minutes later, the worried parents were speeding through town, on their way to the hospital. They arrived just as Kristie’s parents were walking towards the entrance. The two mothers held each others hand for support, hoping for the best yet fearing the worst.
It was Hoke that took command of the worried group. He walked over to the nurses station, waiting for someone to acknowledge him. When one finally looked up at him, he cleared his throat, not realizing how dry it had become. “I’m Hoke Dorough. Detective Connor told me to come down.”
The nurses expression melted from a stone cold bitch instantly. Tears sprang to her eyes and she nodded softly, “Detective Connor is in room 315 with Ms. Herrington. Are her parents here as well?”
Hoke nodded quickly, “They arrived the same time we did.”
The nurse stood and wiped her eyes before asking him to follow her. Hoke got the attention of the others, and together they all followed the nurse.
Hoke hung back with Paula, latting Kristie’s parents in the room first. The detective looked up at the parents and cleared his throat, starting to stand up. “Mr. and Mrs. Dorough?” he asked, looking between the two sets.
Hoke nodded, starting to raise his hand since his throat felt like sand paper. He wanted to speak, but no words were able to get past his throat.
“Follow me, please,” the detective said, starting out of the room.
Paula looked back at Janice and Dane, “We will be back.” She smiled softly, trying to reassure the other parents.
Hoke wrapped his arm around his wife and paused at the doorway to let the doctor in. They both glanced over their shoulders, hoping their friends would receive good news regarding their daughter. They were also hoping for good news regarding their son, but with each step they took, hope slowly began to fade. The detective eventually led them to an unoccupied office, sitting on the desk. He signalled for the Doroughs to sit and was about to speak when Paula finally opened her lips.
“Where is my son? Why didn’t you take us to Howie?” she asked, gripping Hoke’s hand as she looked at the detective.
“There was an accident, Mrs. Dorough. A drunk driver appears to have run a red light and collided with your sons car,” he stated, very matter of factly. “Unfortunately, the main impact of the collision occurred on the driver’s side of your sons car.”
“So what are you saying?” Paula asked, wanting the detective to get to what he was trying to say.
“He’s dead, Paula. Howie’s dead,” Hoke said, looking up at the detective. “Aren’t you supposed to ask us to identify the body now?”
The detective was shocked at how blunt the other man was and simply nodded. “Yes. Whenever you both are ready,” he said, standing up.
Paula looked between the men, “No!” she said, raising her voice. “No! You can not ask me to identify the body! That is my son not a body! My baby boy! Do you hear me?” she asked, looking between the two men.
Hoke sighed, knowing he had been the one to call Howie nothing more than a body. He looked at the Detective apologetically before reaching for Paula’s hand. “You’re right, Polly… Let’s go see our son.” He wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders, leading her after the detective.
The mourning couple were silently lead to the elevator, then taken to the basement, where the morgue was.
“I should warn you, he was hit head on by the driver. It- HE,” the detective corrected himself and cleared his throat. “Your son may not really resemble himself,” he said. Or a human the detective finished silently.
Hoke looked at Paula, “I can do it by myself, if you want me to.”
Paula shook her head no, reaching a hand up to wipe away the tears that had begun to fall. “I want to say goodbye to my son,” she said strongly.
Hoke nodded and reached for his wife’s hand before looking at the detective, “We are ready.”
The detective nodded, leading the parents in to a table with a body on it, draped in a white cloth. He looked at the two, realizing this job never got easier. He took a breath and pulled the sheet back, revealing the head. Paula let out a sob and fell against Hoke who instinctively wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from falling to the ground.
Hoke looked at the hair he knew so well, the crystal that his son had his entire life haning around his neck, the nose that was always slightly crooked but wouldn’t look the same any other way. He nodded and could barely choke the words, “That is our son, Howard Dorough.” Paula could barely hear the words, but they were loud enough for the detective to nod. He began to put the sheet back over the rest of the body, but Hoke shook his head no, stopping the other man. “Can we have a minute?” he asked, looking at the detective.
Detective Connor nodded and moved to step out of the room, allowing the parents some privacy during this difficult time.
Hoke watched the other man leave then turned to Paula, “I need you to trust me…” When his wife slowly nodded, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a vial of a red and yellow liquid. He opened it and tilted the vial into his sons mouth. He held his breath, hoping for the best.
