Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Other Four-Letter Words

by Michael Ausiello

One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Before there was a fourth ring, a gravelly-sounding man said, “Hello.” “Hi . . . Is this Bob?” I asked. “This is he.” “My name is Michael. I’m a friend of your son’s. His phone battery died and he asked me to call you to tell you he’s having his appendix removed. He’s in surgery now.” “Hold on a moment, let me get a piece of paper to write this down,” he said calmly, before plunking the phone down and returning a few seconds later. “Kit’s mother Marilyn is in Allentown at a basketball game so I want to make sure I get all the information. What hospital is he at?” “Mount Sinai,” I said. “Kit also wanted me to tell you that you shouldn’t come into the city.” “Oh, his mother is going to want to come in,” Bob said. “Kit assumed as much.” Crickets. “What did you say your name was again?” he asked, suspiciously. “Mike. Kit and I just met a few weeks ago,” I replied, choosing my words very carefully. “I’m headed to the hospital now. I can call you back with an update when I get there.” “You better give me your number,” he said. “Marilyn’s going to want to talk to you when she gets home.” I relayed to him my number, after which he very slowly repeated it back to confirm its accuracy. “Yep, that’s correct,” I assured him. “OK, we’ll talk to you soon, Mike,” Bob said. “Thank you for calling.”