This is weird. I know grief well, but not this kind of grief. I can dress it up and use whatever defences I want, but...
There was nothing 'peripheral' about that relationship. He cared deeply about every single person who crossed his path, whether in person or virtually. I was one of a great many whose lives were made more bearable, simply by the fact that he was in the world.
And now he's not, and I have to get through three more days and three more sleeps before we can talk about it, in a way that won't even come close to what I need.
__________________
'Somewhere up above the great divide
Where the sky is wide, and the clouds are few
A man can see his way clear to the light
'You have all the grace you need for today, and today is all that matters.' - Steve Austin