A Bitter Disappointment
By Amanda Lawrence Auverigne
Copyright © 2012 Amanda Lawrence Auverigne
Smashwords Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
Chapter One
William Bertram lay in his bed dying.
The old man’s withered hands clutched at a large black sack of shimmering satin. His eyes were partially closed and his thin lips were parted.
The aged man’s chest rose and fell in unsteady intervals while loud gasps poured in intermittent bursts from his emaciated form.
William’s near opaque eyes looked up at nothing. His head moved slowly from side to side during each labored breath and the last remaining strength he seemed to possess, the old man stroked the tips of his thin spidery fingers atop the small satin bag of shimmering black satin he clutched in his grasp.
Natalie, his dutiful nurse and informal companion, sat in a chair at the old man’s bedside.
The middle aged woman was dressed in a crisp white uniform with a worn wool sweater of pale blue draped across her shoulders. Her legs were crossed primly beneath her while her hands were folded tightly in her lap.
Natalie pressed her lips together in a gesture of concern while she watched the waxen fingers of William Bertram’s left hand stroke continually at the tiny black satchel in his failing grasp.
William stopped the motion of his hands suddenly. He closed his eyes, released a rattling cough before his entire body stiffened.
A low exhalation of breath that possessed a sound similar to the faint cry of a distant banshee poured from the old man’s lips. The whining noise stopped and the sound of a loud sigh poured from the aged man’s form.
William exhaled with a noticeable shiver before the stiffness that plagued his decimated body disappeared. The old man’s form relaxed and he was still.
The black sack fell from the old man’s grasp and slid across his chest before landing atop the bed.
Loud clinking noises poured from the sack and several moderately sized gold coins fell from the interior of the sack and landed on the bed.
Natalie unfolded her hands and raised them from her lap while leaning closer to William. She pressed her fingers against the side of the old man’s neck. She allowed her digits to remain atop his flesh for a few moments before she looked up from his still form and gazed across the room.
The middle aged woman focused her sight on Dr. Adam Price with a solemn nod.
The tall elderly physician stood across from her. He blinked several times before moving closer to William. He stood beside the bed and grabbed the aged man’s gnarled hand.
The physician pressed his fingers against the old man’s inner wrist while gazing at his face.
After a few seconds, Dr. Price released his grasp on William’s wrist and he placed the aged man’s limb gently atop the bed before leaning forward and closing the old man’s opened eyes.
Dr. Price turned away from William and he stared across the room.
A handsome middle aged man and a pretty blonde woman stood a few feet away from the bed. The couple with a mixture of hope and longing.
“Your grandfather is dead,” Dr. Price stated with resignation.
“Finally!” Janey Bertram shouted.
“Oh, that is so wonderful,” Ben Bertram added.
Natalie rose from her seat and grabbed at the sheets before pulling the coverings gently atop William Bertram’s placid face.
Ben Price grabbed his wife and kissed her. He pushed her away from him roughly and ran across the room.
The middle aged man kicked several chairs, stools and discarded oxygen tanks from his path on his way to the bed. He stopped beside the pallet and shoved Natalie away from her perch beside his dead father.
“Move it cow,” Jim hissed.