Seeing that I posted last Tuesday just astounds me! That feels like a year ago to me.
I went to the gym after work then home. Dan wasn't feeling well and didn't want to "contaminate" our dinner, so I cooked then started scrapbooking. I came out around 7:30p to get my camera and see Dan on the phone.... I knew something was wrong, but wasn't sure what. His face totally fell and it was a look I'd never seen before. I asked 'what'... think that's all I got out.
"Well, my Dad's dead," is what he said! I started crying immediately... asking what happened.... I felt like it was some cruel joke... but I knew it was true... I asked what happened and Dan's first instincts were 'he drank himself to death.' I figured he knew this to be true, and I was just stunned.... he'd been doing so well. We'd all just seen him at Christmas. How could this be happening?
But there was no time to think. Matt had found him on his bedroom floor and was alone at the house in Scituate to we put on some warm clothes and headed out as fast as we could! In the car we talked a little... I asked if he knew he was drinking, and Dan said he suspected he was Christmas Eve (I didn't)..... but that Matt hadn't said anything about alcohol and that he shouldn't have jumped to that conclusion. Matt found him face down on the floor by his bed, some blood, some vomit... but really no idea when it happened, or even what happened.
We got to the house in record time, thankful that Matt wasn't alone... I can't really remember who was there because much of it is a blur, but the first thing I heard getting out of the car was David Dauphinee crying and crying, and DJ right beside him... Cheri was there, Ray and Lillian, Chris, Becky, Gen and John, Larry and Leslie and Ilene (Bill's friend from AA).
Ilene was the one who called Matt. She was worried that he hadn't called her back in over 3 days. He does that sometimes, but he always calls back. She went to the house earlier that day and the door was unlocked and the chimney was without smoke. Both are very out of the norm for Bill and she got worried.... As the stories went around it seems like David was the last to talk to him, Friday afternoon. Dan was at the house Saturday (12/30) in the morning before picking up Ray and Ben for their Christmas outting. His Dad's bedroom door was closed and the radio was on. He figured he was sleeping, watched tv for a few and picked up the boys. When he left, he forgot to lock the door.... and where Ilene found the door unlocked, it doesn't seem like Bill came or went since then.
It was an awful night... Freezing cold, everyone standing around the yard, crying, talking, telling stories.... waiting while the policeman blocked the door for the state medical examiner to come and confirm the death and that nothing was suspicious (it wasn't).
I left only for a bit to pick up Krissy and bring her over...
We stayed there til just about midnight. Long, agonizing night... just trying to get our heads around the idea of it.
Not wanting to go home after, Dan and I went to Matt and Krissy's and just sat and talked for another hour or so....
What a horrible day. So shocking, so unexpected. So young.
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