The reception hall was warm, bright, and full of noise. Karl had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves, and he looked happier than I had ever seen him.
He was laughing at something a guest said when his expression suddenly changed.
His hand flew to his chest. His body jerked as if trying to grab onto something that wasn’t there.
Then he collapsed.
The sound of him hitting the floor was awful. For one strange second, no one moved.
Then someone screamed.
The music cut off.
“Call an ambulance!” a woman shouted.
I was already on my knees beside him. My dress spread around me as I grabbed his face with both hands.
“Karl? Karl, look at me.”
His eyes were closed.
I remember people crowding in, then pulling back, then pressing in again.
I remember the paramedics arriving, kneeling over him, saying words like “clear,” and “again,” and “no response.”
Finally, one of them looked up at me and said the words that shattered me.
“It appears to be cardiac arrest.”
