THE SETUP
Cian and Andrew are walking home after their first date, and Cian is relating the story of the only time he ever visited his dying friend Byron in the hospital.
(The full scene which includes this monologue is also available for viewing: “Bury Him.”)
“Touching him for the first time in the hospital room. That was the hardest part of it.”
CIAN
When I finally got up the nerve to visit — Touching him for the first time in the hospital room. That was the hardest part of it. His parents — I walked in and we all re-introduced each other and then they wanted to go get something to eat. I mean, they weren’t being callous or anything — they really hadn’t eaten anything in a long time so I guess they needed to but they were really just trying to be nice and let me have some time alone with him — Anyway, they were going to go and I realized at that moment that the reason I was having an anxiety attack is that I really didn’t want to be alone in the room with him.
I’d never been near it before. Death. Dying. And death and Byron together, it was like he wasn’t even there. IT had taken over. And I didn’t want anything to do with it. So I just sat in the corner and stared at him lying there until someone else came in. The guy walked right up to the bed and whispered in Byron’s ear and started stroking his hair. So I guess I felt it was safe to approach and I walked up to stand on the other side of the bed. I never even knew the guy’s name. Never saw him again. Not even at the memorial service. After a minute or so, the guy wanted to give Byron a foot massage so he asked me to keep stroking Byron’s hair. Said it relaxed him, especially after those brain seizures he had the first night. I was going to beg off but there was no one else to do it and I didn’t want to look like I was repulsed or anything, which I guess I was, so I just reached out and did it.
(photo: 1996 production by The Early Stage (Minneapolis, MN); Jim Lichtscheidl as Byron comforting William Franke as Cian)
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