Travel Reference
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He picked up on the second ring. There was lots of background noise.
“Where are you?” I asked.
“At the hospital.”
“Oh.”
“Getting my chemo.”
I gulped.
“I'll call you back another time.”
“No, don't go. I'm bored as hell. Think about it…I'm here for hours, hooked up to an
IV, with no one to talk to.”
“Where's Sue?”
“Visiting her mom in Burlington. How are you and Michael?”
This was vintage Steve, steering the conversation away from himself, even in dire cir-
cumstances.
We chatted for five minutes or so.
“Thanks for doing such a great job on our house.”
He laughed.
“Hey, I just knocked down a few walls. I missed out on the rebuilding part.”
He was a master of self-effacement but I wasn't going to let him shrug off my praise so
easily.
“Jane tells me how great you've been, guiding her.”
“Bull crap. She could have done it by herself.”
“Okay, Steve. Just take a compliment. It won't kill you.”
Hmm. I wished I hadn't put it quite like that. But as always, he finessed the moment
perfectly.
“True enough,” he chuckled. “Thanks, buddy.”
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