foxydaisy

My roommate's dad just died.

I was washing my dishes after dinner last night, and my roommate walks in and says hi. I say hi without turning around, and we chat for a bit because we hadn't seen each other in a few days (opposite work schedules).

Then I turn around, and he's in a suit! I was like, "Wow! You look nice! What are you dressed up for?" I wanted to say, "Who died?" but a red flag went off in my brain. He told me his dad passed away a few days ago from cancer, and the wake was that afternoon. I felt bad for not knowing, but he said he hadn't told anyone about it.

We had talked about his dad before. They were never really close, and his dad was never around for him when he was growwing up. Years ago, they had a falling out because his dad's alcoholism and destructive lifestyle was running him into the ground, but he refused to change. The last thing my roommate ever said to his dad was something to the effect of, "I'm not going to have anything to do with you unless you change and turn your life around."

The whole thing has been really stressful for him. That half of his family holds it against him that he never talked to his dad, plus he was never very close with them to begin with, so it's been difficult for him.

I basically told him, "I'm here if you need to talk, or just to hang out," which I think he appreciated, but I kind of want to do something nice for him. I'll think of something.