The Blog at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay

Author:Paul Tremblay [Tremblay, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781771480956
Publisher: ChiZine
Published: 2013-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Grant Lee, RIP

Becca Gilman • May 10th, 2009

* * *

It finally happened. A very close friend of mine, Grant Lee, died two days ago. He was twenty-four. I have been unable to get much information from his family. I talked to his older sister, Claire. Grant died at work, at the Pizza Joint, two blocks from my apartment. She said his death was sudden and “catastrophic.” I asked if he died from an aneurysm. Claire said the doctors told the family it was likely heart failure, but they wouldn’t tell them anything specific. I then asked for information about the hospital he went to, but she rushed me off the phone, saying she had too many calls to make. I called the Pizza Joint, wanting to talk to the co-worker that had found Grant dead, but no one answered the phone. I’m going to take a walk down there after I post this. It’s awful and terrifying enough that Grant died, but it looks like his cause of death will be covered up as well.

Grant. I met Grant in a video store a week after I’d moved to Brooklyn. We rented Nintendo Wii games and black and white noir flicks together. Grant ate ice cream with a fork. He always wore a white tee shirt under another shirt, even if the other shirt was another white tee shirt. Grant was tall, and slight of build, but very fast, and elegant when he moved. I’d never seen him stumble or fall down. He worked long hours at the Pizza Joint, trying to pay off the final four-grand of tuition he owed NYU so he could get his diploma. That debt wasn’t Grant’s fault. His father was a gambler and couldn’t pay that final tab. Grant had a crooked smile and he only trusted a few of his friends. I think he trusted me. Grant liked to swear a lot. He liked fucking with the Pizza Joint customers whenever he could. Sometimes he’d greet an obnoxious-looking customer with silence and head nods only. Invariably, the obnoxious-looking customer would talk slow and loud because they assumed Grant (who was Korean) didn’t speak English. They’d mumble exasperated stuff under their breath when Grant didn’t respond. Finally, he’d give the customer their pizza and make some comment like, “You gonna eat all that? You leavin’ town or somethin’?” and his voice was loud and had that thick Long Island accent of his. Grant drank orange soda all day long. Grant would be too quick to tease sometimes, but he always gave me an unqualified apology if I needed one.Grant was more than a collection of eccentricities or character traits, but that is what he’s been reduced to. I love you and miss you, Grant.

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