She heard from one of her workmates that he wasn’t well.
No one seemed to know what was wrong with him. She decided to give him a call when she got home. However, things got busy with the kids and coping because her husband was going to be late home. It was almost eleven when she remembered her friend and told her husband what people at work had said about him. They both agreed that it was too late to call. The next day in the warehouse, she asked if anyone had heard whether he was still poorly. She was told that he was more than poorly. Apparently, he was really sick and confined to bed. When lunchtime came she stood outside and rang his number. There was no reply.
That evening, knowing that he lived alone and was probably unable to get to a phone, she decided to call again, but if there was no answer, she’d send him an email. There was no reply so she fired up the computer. She immediately saw that the in box had a message with his name on the subject line. It was from his brother, saying that he would be staying with his brother for a few days until he was better. She immediately replied with a request to call in on the following day after work. The answer came back that his brother didn’t feel well enough for visitors just yet.
Two days later she heard that he had been admitted to hospital. She was scheduled to work a couple of hours overtime that evening, so she made arrangements with her husband to look after the children and she would visit him in hospital when her shift ended. Unfortunately, when she got there she was told that only immediate family could visit.
Several days after that, she heard that he had died. This sad news was followed up soon after with an invitation for the funeral, which she attended.
By the grave, she whispered, “I wish I had visited you when you were poorly.”