The Hug

It started Monday morning after I had already left for my class. Paul received a call that one of our granddaughters was sick and would he pick her up from school. As he and Clark were returning home from picking her up he received another call that a good friend of ours whom we have known for over 36 years had just died and would Paul come to the house. He was within a few blocks so he turned the car around and went there to be with the daughter, a grown woman who had been living with and caring for her 90-year old father. The death was not unexpected. When they finished talking, the daughter asked if Clark who was sitting in the car with the sick one would like to come in and see her father. When Paul got to the car to ask, Clark was out of the car almost before he finished the question. Five minutes later he emerged and talked about our friend until they arrived home. A few days later the daughter, with a smile on her face, told us what had happened when Clark came into the house. First he hugged her and then proceeded to offer words of comfort and assurance and then another hug and he was gone.