The Kiss
By Wayne Mansfield
The ambulance siren screamed through the night, growing louder as it approached the open double gates of the Silver Waters Retirement Village. Many of the residents had come out in their pyjamas and dressing gowns to see what was going on, but saw no more than the lights of Villa 42 blazing.
Inside Villa 42, Susie Waters, the nurse on duty, was trying to comfort Everett Peterson, who was greatly agitated.
“Is he all right?” he asked, hovering over the figure lying sprawled on the carpet beside the bed. “I didn’t know what to do. He’s not moving.”
He looked at Susie, his red-rimmed eyes beseeching her to help, to make everything better.
“Please,” he said, his frail voice filled with desperation. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if he…”
Tears filled his e
