Good News in the Diner Revisited
by
John W Frye

Jake leaned over the counter in the diner across the street from the hospital and breathed in the aroma of the hot, black coffee. He was tired from being with his daughter, Mandy, and her husband, Steve, all night. Mandy had complications with her pregnancy, went into premature labor and something caused trauma to the baby and he (little Jason) died in the womb. Mandy, devastated and drained and still in labor, will deliver a still born child. Steve is by her side. Jake needed some air and space to think.

Another man sat down on the stool next to Jake and placed a small and crumbled gift-wrapped box on the counter. He ordered coffee, too. They sat there side by side in silence until the man said to Jake with a slight smile, “Friend, you look as tired as I feel.”

“You got me there, pal. I’ve been up all night with my daughter and her husband. She just lost her first baby. Something went wrong in the womb. It was a boy. They named him Jason.” Jake paused a moment. “Yep, little Jason.” Then silence wrapped around the two of them again.

Jake took a sip of coffee and, glancing at the man, noticed tears in the man’s eyes. Jake shifted on the stool and feeling uncomfortable spoke to the man. “And what brings you here? Uh, to the hospital, I mean?”

“Oh, I’ve come to see my new granddaughter.” Picking up the crumbled gift, he said, “I got her one of those squeezy, noise-making things.” He gently laughed to himself.

“Is she…your granddaughter all right?”

“Oh, yeah. She and my daughter-in-law will probably go home today. I’ll go see them in about 20 minutes. I was told to come after the morning feeding. I guess I got here a little too early. Eager grandpa and all that. Uh, why did you ask if she was all right?”

Jake glanced away unsure if he should say what he had thought. He spoke anyway. “Well, I thought I saw tears in your eyes a moment ago. I wondered if your granddaughter was O.K.”

“Oh, yeah. Yeah, she’s fine. It was just that…when you told me about little Jason, I remembered when Clara and I lost our first…Kimberly. Clara’s my wife. We were so excited to welcome Kimberly. Somehow the cord got wrapped around her neck and she died. It was heart-breaking.” The man went silent and stared back in time. “When you said you lost Jason, it all came back. Let your daughter know that she is in my prayers.”

Jake was at a loss for words. This stranger’s heart broke over hearing about the loss of Jason. The man had been down this painful road himself.  He even knew more than Jake did about the deep sorrow in Mandy and Steve’s heart. Jake and his wife had never lost a child like this.

Jake said, “I will, friend. And, uh, thanks for your prayers, too…and congratulations on your granddaughter.”

“God bless you, my friend. Again, I’m sorry about Jason.”

Jake tossed two dollars on the counter and walked out. As the door closed behind him he heard the man telling the waitress, “…and there’s no pain quite like the loss of a child.”

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