‘Yes, I shall go and arrange for the papers in my office.’ The doctor retreated with the nurse from the room. There was a huge gush of hospital noise when the door opened and the pneumatic door closer slowly put the door back to its original position.
A child was crying somewhere. An injection, perhaps.
Trays with surgical instruments were being handled. Metal on metal.
Someone was calling for the janitor. Clear intercom system.
Lots of footsteps. Nurses with high heels.

The door closed and the room was once again filled with a low hum. If one strained the ear, the London November rain could be heard splattering on the stone benches in the lawn outside the room. Curtains were drawn, contributing more to the loud silence in the room. The periodic short and sharp beep of the instruments in the room made the silence even louder. It showed signs of life in the room.

Pip… pip… pip…

Joseph Merton lay on the spotless white hospital bed. He stared out in the open towards the side table placed at the far end of the room.

Two bouquets of flowers. Red, yellow and white.
A jug of water and a glass. A little spilled on the table.
A plate with nothing on it. Shining softly in the light.
A photo frame with inspirational quotes. Bollocks!

After fracturing his spine in a fall down the stairs early this year, he had been paralysed neck-down. At 73, paralysis is not quite the best thing to have. His wife Victoria passed away eight years back and Joseph retired to his quiet home in the suburbs. Apart from occasional visits from his children, Joseph did not have much to do other than watch television and play solitaire. The birth of his eldest son’s child was the best piece of news he had heard in these eight years. Joseph always wanted two kids. One boy and one girl. Went well with his British ideas. Victoria gave him Ralph and Eleanor Merton. Andrew came as a surprise. And that too six years after Eleanor opened her eyes for the first time. But Joseph was thrilled. He actually secretly wanted another child. However, two months after Andrew’s fifteenth birthday, Victoria was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was terminal. Victoria lived for nine years, the last three being the longest. Thirty seven years of marriage. Blissful marriage. Meanwhile the children grew. All the love, the affection and memories they every shared were there all through their lives. He had been a good father. Always helpful, full of support and advice, and always a constructive critic. He had had a good life. Not spectacular, but satisfactory.

Pip… pip… pip…

Ralph Merton. Aged 41, the eldest of the Joseph’s children. Executive sales manager in a company that deals with cars of a variety of makes and models. Could have had a better pay cheque, but always got in trouble with the management. Ralph was thinking of his old man. Quite a life he had led. He remembered the good times he had with his dad. He remembered the bad times. More of the bad times.

About his first job. Belittling and disparaging.
The day he brought Natalie home. Anger and disappointment.
When he announced his marriage. Shouting and screaming.
His interest in starting a new firm by himself. Don’t be ridiculous! Dad had said.

But in the end, Ralph loved him. He loved the way the old man bestowed Ralph’s kid with all the love a granddad could give his grandson. He loved the way the old man kept photographs of Ralph and his family framed on the walls of his living room. He loved the way the old man took care of all things in the house which had sentimental value… the way he nourished them as though personified.

It was a pity a decision was made to pull the plug.

Pip… pip… pip…

Eleanor Symonds, formerly Eleanor Merton. Aged three years younger to Ralph. As being a daughter to a socialite mother, she had grown closer to her dad more than anyone else in the family. Ralph and Andrew were too busy bickering at each other all through their childhood – and Eleanor was the quiet one. She looked at her dad’s wrinkled hand in hers. She remembered the guiding light in her life.

That taught her to paint. She was great at it. Thank you, dad…
That told her mother that she needed to give more time to her daughter. The necessity of one woman in making another. Thank you, dad…
That gave her a shoulder to cry on when she came to know of her infertility. Thank you, dad…
That sorted her husband out of financial trouble in the first few years of marriage. Thank you, dad…

Eleanor noticed that she had tears in her eyes. She blinked her eyes hard to make the tears go away. Her vision blurred. Another blink. The tears made way for the sight of the man who was so full of energy, so full of life, lying like a vegetable in front of her, his hand in hers. She was overwhelmed with emotion. She wondered if her dad understood the gravity of the situation now. She wondered if he knew that he lay there breathing the last few moments of his life; if he knew how much pain she underwent to give her consent for pulling the plug; if he knew how much was spoken in the three hours of silence that were taken to take this decision – a decision to end the pain, the torture… and a life. A life that had more to leave behind than a photograph. A source of inspiration. A life to look up to. Tears welled up again in her eyes, blurring her vision again. She saw her dad fading… Eleanor turned her face away.

Pip… pip… pip…

Andrew Merton. Youngest of the Merton children. And the most loved one. The one to whom Eleanor played big sister. After all, she knew six years of things more than him. He was a lawyer in a private firm he ran with his friends. It was basically covering insurance issues – however not doing very great. As he stood there at the far left of the room, resting on the wall, he looked at his brother with his wife, and his sister sitting beside dad trying hard to fight back tears.

He looked back at all the years he’d had with his family. They all paid attention to him. Too much attention to get some private space of his own. His dad, especially. Right from his first few words to his dad’s last few, Andrew grew tired of all the spotlight. Through his teens. Through the last twelve years.

Where are you off to? None of your business, dad…
How is Alice doing? Sleeping with her boss, dad…
Do you need any money for the firm? No no no! We’re doing fine, dad…
Are you thinking of remarriage? No, I’ve decided to remain without a shag throughout my life, dad…

Andrew needed a smoke. It was ‘No Smoking’ all through the hospital. He felt irritated due to the rain outside. He felt irritated at the way Ralph’s kid kept staring at the beeping electronic gizmos next to the old man. He felt irritated because Alice was no longer with him. He felt irritated because he had not had a shag for the last three months. Not after that girl at the bar. She was such a whore!

He thought of his wife. Ex-wife. Alice had left him for another man early last year.

He looked at his pager again. In case he had missed a message. He hadn’t missed any. Andrew hoped that he would not inherit the house. The house was old – hardly had any more resale value. He needed the money. Hard cash. He did not want stocks and shares. He wanted to get out of this hole as soon as possible. May be go to the States and start a new life. Get married. Have kids. And never come near this family again.

Pip… pip… pip…

Natalie ‘Cooper’ Merton looked at Ralph, her lawfully wedded husband. She had reasons to complain. His pay cheque. They wanted money. Raising a kid in London was expensive. Her teaching job was not giving her much monetary support. Their apartment was small and crammed up. She wanted to move.

She turned to look at her father-in-law.
Lying there wasting. Spastic. Inept.
She remembered how much of a scene he had created when Ralph took her to his parents’ place.
You’ve literally picked her off the street, Ralph!

Obviously she had not come here out of respect or love for the old guy. She came here with Ralph, because he had insisted. She just hoped that he inherited a majority from the will. If that’s what he willed, that is.

Why does she have to retain her maiden family name? I am telling you Ralph, this woman is bad news!

It’s her wish. If Ralph does not mind it, why the hell should he interfere! What an arse…!

She decided not to have bad thoughts about the old man while he was on his death bed. While she was thinking nothing, she saw her five year old son drawing birds and houses on the table using the spilt water. She quietly dragged him from there to keep him close to her. She did not want him to drop the glass and hurt himself.

It was on Joseph’s insisting that her child was named William. It was the name of Joseph’s father. She wanted to give the name Douglas, in memory of her grandfather – but Ralph’s dad won here. She didn’t mind it. William Merton sounded just about as fine as Douglas Merton.

Natalie gave a glance at what Eleanor was wearing. Surely she did not do much to hide her chubby ankles. But she realised that Eleanor had the most beautiful neck she had ever seen. And her face features were sharp. She definitely didn’t look like she was close to 40. There was something more to Eleanor’s moist eyes – it showed love. Love for this man who had been her father. She had never known Eleanor as a single woman – Natalie had got married after Eleanor.

She looked at Eleanor’s husband, Alan Symonds. He sure looked uneasy. He kept sweeping his hair back every couple of minutes or so.

Why don’t you tie it up? You look like such a wanker!

Pip… pip… pip…

Alan was definitely uneasy. Eleanor was close to breaking down. Natalie was giving him glances. He was trying to figure out whether they were of admiration. He kept sweeping back his hair.

He was in a room with a man who had helped him through a very tough period in his life. The man was Eleanor’s father. His father-in-law. This man was dying.

Alan had been a part of that discussion that had taken place a week ago. It was horribly silent. Andrew had come up with it first. Actually everyone knew that it was the best solution. But they were too overwhelmed to bring it to words.

Pull the plug. Let him not suffer any more. Dad has given a lot to us. And we should give him what he wants.

Ralph was not looking up. He was staring fixatedly on the table in front of him. Eleanor was in tears. Alan had come in to hold her. She was trembling.

Alan was pulled back into the present. He noticed that Eleanor was standing next to him, holding his hand. He hugged her shoulder, smelt her hair, and gave her a reassurance. He was not sure of what. He noticed William hovering around the bouquets. He had got free from his mother. William was counting the flowers with his fingers.

One red, then one yellow, and one white.

He felt the kid was smarter than he was. William had figured out simply by looking that the number of flowers of each colour were almost the same. And he will always be having one red, one yellow and one white flower to count till the end.

He noticed that the kid had not made one sound the entire day.

Pip… pip… pip…

The familiar gush of sound which came from the door opening distracted everyone from their thoughts and activities. The doctor walked in softly, looking solemn. He held a few papers in his hands. Everything was still for a few seconds as he ruffled William’s hair. And then he glanced at everyone else.

‘We are ready.’