Page 66 of Finding Parker

His eyes closed and breathing sounded very labored and wet. As he attempted to speak again, he began to cough deeply.

“So much to…tell you,” he coughed.

I turned to face Downes. Quietly, he nodded his head, turned, and closed the door behind himself as he exited the room. Reluctantly, I faced Kenton again. As I did, I began to blurt out questions, hoping for answers which would support a quick recovery.

“What happened? Did you ingest something in Chile? Are you going to be okay?” I wiped my nose with the back of my hand.

Before Kenton was able to respond, the bedroom door opened. Downes walked in holding a rather large syringe and quickly made his way to the opposite edge of the bed. As he knelt beside Kenton and pulled the blanket away, exposing Kenton’s frail arm, I raised my eyebrows in wonder.

“It’ll allow him to talk to you for a while without much difficulty or pain,” he responded.

“Morphine?” I asked.

“Not exactly,” Downes shook his head.

“It acts like a steroid – a very strong steroid. This should give him an hour before he passes out again. Please, pay attention,” he stood and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Again, I turned to face Kenton. This entire event seemed so surreal. Just a matter of weeks ago, Kenton was fine, or at least he seemed like it. I covered my face with my hands and began to quietly cry.

And pray.

“I need to come clean, son,” Kenton’s voice was deep and rumbled from his lungs.

“What happened?” I asked as I wiped my face.

Slowly, Kenton raised his hand and extended his index finger, “Shhh. Let me talk. I have so much to say.”

I nodded.

“Parker, I haven’t been totally truthful,” he said slowly.

I shrugged, not knowing what to say.

“I learned of you years ago,” he said as he pointed to a glass of water sitting on a night stand beside the bed.

I reached for the water glass and sat in the chair beside the bed. As I handed Kenton the cup, I realized he was incapable of holding it. His hand was unable to grasp the cup and hold it firmly. I tilted the cup to his lips and poured a small amount of water into his mouth. As he blinked his eyes, I removed the cup and held it in my shaking hand.

“Learned of me?” I asked, confused.

Again, he held his finger in the air.

“I haven’t got much time,” he breathed, “let me talk.”

I nodded.

“Tallert. He was a professor at your college. He’s Downes father,” he took a shallow breath.

“He told us of you one night about two years ago. When your grandmother died,” he raised his hands and wiped his lips.

I knew I recognized that name from somewhere.

He explained how you were a phenomenon, an anomaly…he said you were a four point zero student in high school, and the same in college. He explained of your gentlemanly behavior. And he explained although,” he took another shallow breath.

“Although he didn’t learn from you directly, he learned from another professor, one you were friends with, that you were a virgin. He spoke of your moral values, and the fact that he wished all modern men were a little more like you.”

“Zenner?” I asked, “Professor Zenner?”

Kenton nodded.