An Da Shealladh

Part 2

The following Saturday I drove up to visit Bert in hospital again, he was improving, but slowly.

I greeted Bert with a handshake and asked how his week had been, chatted about Stewart and Graham and my life in Glasgow. All the while I desperately wanted to turn the conversation to An Da Shealladh, but Bert knew this and he asked me to turn the tv on.

This time was the turn of Toronto, it looked beautiful, I had an amazing downtown apartment, membership at the Blue Jays to watch the baseball, regular day trips to the botanic gardens, Lake Ontario, Toronto Islands. Man it looked idyllic, but then it went out of focus and the image broke up and crashed. I looked at Bert and he made that face that people do when something has gone wrong.

He said this one is not so clear Finlay, I wasn’t sure how it would play out but your story there remains unfinished.

Bert was looking a bit drowsy, so I asked if he wanted me to call a nurse, he said no and that he was just tired.

So I arranged to meet the boys for dinner, Bert could rest and get some sleep and I would see him again early evening.

The boys said I could see him first then they would sit with him for the evening.

So around 8.00pm I arrived back to see Bert and he was sitting in a chair next to his bed.

“Would you take me out to the gardens Finlay.”

I of course agreed to this, and asked for a wheelchair so I could help Bert get outside.

We went down in the lift and out the side door to the Wellness Garden. It was a beautiful spring evening and I wheeled Bert around the garden chatting, about the past, about the future, books we've enjoyed. He particularly liked Lanark by Alasdair Gray, he'd had time to read, over the last week or so, and he found the sprawling surreal masterpiece enthralling.

I said I was struggling with the Magician by Colm Tóibín,he told me to persevere, write summaries of what I'd read so far and map the story.

As the evening temperature started to drop, I thought it best to get Bert back into his hospital room.

I wheeled him back in and got him back into his bed and again he asked me to turn the TV on.

This time it was Melbourne, with beautiful views over the Yarra and Port Philip Bay.

I had a small villa near the Botanic Gardens, and would regularly attend Aussie Rules games at the weekend, or take treks into the Dandenongs, there were friends, male & female, meals in beautiful restaurants, and a clip of me meeting Stewart & Graham in Auckland.

But as we watched this, I could sense something with Bert, then he convulsed and swallowed hard to hide his pain, but I could see it. I pressed the emergency alarm & shouted for help.

I held Bert’s hands and he touched my head.

Stuart & Graham arrived & could see the urgency of the situation, Graham found a nurse & we told Bert to hold on.

The nurses cleared the room and set about crash procedures, but it was too late. Bert passed on to wherever our souls go. His, would go somehow to a higher level I'm sure.

The three of us fell to our knees holding each other!

My body ached in sorrow, but I could see him reach out to Ina and they smiled at us.