Bedtime Stories

When Kenny was here, we would read books together before we went to sleep. He actually read more than I did and the thing he liked the best is that I would so quickly fall asleep. When we first started reading together we would both be in bed, Kenny propped up and I scrunched down, legs entwined. Then eventually, Kenny found it better if he could sit in his wheelchair. He would place the chair right under the overhead light and begin reading. I usually lasted just a few pages but he would keep reading out loud anyway. Then we went to a Kindle because it was easier to hold and he could "turn" the pages more easily. His breathing became more and more difficult, yet it didn't deter him from reading out loud. And then, eventually the Kindle became too difficult to hold and that was the end of Kenny reading to me.

He had an idea that he thought was great, but I didn't think so. He wanted to record his reading so that I could play it after he was gone. He thought if I was having difficulty it would help me fall asleep and that I would find it comforting. Maybe so, but I don't know. I just know that so often at night now, when it's time to go to bed and read, I sometimes just turn out the light instead. I lay there and think, and wish to God I had him beside me, legs entwined, lulling me to sleep once again with our latest read.