Oh for fucks sake

I saw my uncle today. The one I haven't seen in over nine years. The one who always rings at christmas but never accepts any of my invitations to come over. The one when I ask my Dad how he is doing is always vauge in his replies and quickly changes the subject. My uncle has full blown aids. He has no hair and several of his teeth are missing. He is living by himself in a flat near where he grew up. I didn't recognise him, it was only when he said my name that something clicked. He still has the same lovely deep voice that I remember when I was a kid. I couldn't stop my jaw from dropping when it finally sunk in who it was. He just smiled and said that he guessed no one had told me. We went for coffee. I couldn't help but be conscious of people staring at us. We made an odd couple, the overweight girl with the shiny hair, business suit and pink cheeks and the walking skeleton with a stained brown peacoat, no front teeth and a scarf wrapped around his head.

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