The Long Goodbye
A novel by Rhonda Hanson
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Read SampleThe Long Goodbye
the latest from Rhonda Hanson
The Long Goodbye is dedicated to anyone who has ever become its victim, and who may even now be unable to move ahead without looking back.
It is for those who will one day find themselves faced with the difficult decision to be willing to be part of another's journey of transition, even though it will be painful to watch them go through the door.
Although the story centers around a mysterious man who generates a lot of intrigue and speculation about his odd behavior, he will become a willing victim of the long goodbye and will be forever changed because of it.
There are many kinds of long goodbyes. There are the fading friendships, where communication becomes scarce, and the emotional connection dissipates slowly, excruciatingly, over time. There is the lingering grief after the loss of a loved one, where the pain and sadness persists for an extended period of time, hindering one's ability to fully move on and find closure.
One of the most tragic, long goodbyes is that of Alzheimer's Disease, because there is still a physical presence. There is still a hand to hold, while speaking brightly and animatedly, in a vain attempt to draw a response, only to be met by a blank stare at some indistinct something in the distance.
There is the goodbye that begins when an accident causes complete, permanent paralysis, or by the onset of a disease such as ALS, and a life support chair and artificial support for breathing are all that keeps one attached to this earth.
While some of these are touched on in some form or another, The Long Goodbye focuses mainly on those who choose to remain close to a passing loved one's side during hospice care. They are willing victims of the long goodbye, which can be a prolonged and emotionally draining process of saying farewell to someone who is dear.
The author is well acquainted with long goodbyes, having spent a great amount of time keeping vigil over loved ones who are now gone from this realm, but are alive in another. The Long Goodbye persuades the reader to look beyond the present sadness and toward a God who is not far off from His humans.
Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.*
And so we wait for the morning.
* Psalm 30:5
"Clarissa, I have something for you." There was a quality in his tone that alerted her to the fact that he was here as a reluctant messenger. Rather than question him, she stood gazing up at him, her eyes lowering as she watched his hand reach into his pocket for the letter.
He stopped and looked at her intently. "Where is your phone? May I use it?"
She wrinkled her brow, but looked around and saw it, and brought it back over to him. He took it from her and added himself as a new contact, then messaged himself from her phone before handing it back to her. Things were beginning to feel nightmarish to the beautiful, anxious woman, but she waited without saying anything.
He reached for her hand and gave her fingers a slight pressure, before lifting it and placing the envelope in her palm. She stared down at the envelope and recognized the artistic, but unsteady penmanship and prophetic tears immediately rushed to her eyes.
"Clarissa."
He knew what she was feeling. He couldn't change that.
"I must go. I feel that you need to be alone to read this, and I promised I would return straight away. My number is in your phone. If you need to, please call me, regardless of the hour."
He moved toward the door and heard his name cried out in a broken, panicked, watery voice. When he turned back to face her, similar tears were in his own eyes, and he came closer and reached a hand around her waist to give her a quick, awkward, consoling hug.
Clarissa's eyes were wide with dread as she watched him quietly leave. She stared back down at the envelope. She could hear the faint sound of a tear splashing down on it.
"I can't," she whispered to herself. "I can't."
She lifted her eyes and saw a stark, pale, ghostly version of herself in the hall tree's antique mirror. There was an envelope in that strange woman's hand as well, and Clarissa stepped back from the mirror and turned away, bowing her head and allowing a soft moan to escape her lips.
He was finally going to tell her, she realized.
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