[ WP ] Humanity has cured old age . You were a friend of the last person to die of natural causes .

She held his limp hand in hers, the strength of grip having ebbed away. He would give a weak little squeeze from time to time, but it had been many hours since that had happened. She examined the hand. It was thin, knobbly. The skin felt like soft paper. There were age spots on the back, and the veins protruded. She could just faintly see the pulse in one of them. 
 
 With her eyes, she traced the path of the vein to his wrist, then up his thin, bony arm, until she reached his face. He had drifted off to sleep. She could still see him there, the young man she had met in college. They had immediately hit off, and before long were inseparable. She fell head over heels for him. It drove her crazy for a while that he had made no romantic overtures toward her. She tried dozens of times to work up the courage to make the first move. Weeks turned into months. She missed him terribly over Thanksgiving break, when she gushed about him to her sister. 
 
 `` You just need to tell him, Lulu. When you come home for Christmas, I expect you to have a boyfriend. You hear me?'' 
 
 Another couple of weeks slipped by and before she knew it, it was two days before Christmas break. She did n't think she could stand being away from him for two weeks. But that evening, she was going to do it. For real, this time. 
 
 He beat her to it. Sort of. 
 
 `` Lucy,'' he said, as they sat on his bed, `` I want to talk to you about something.'' 
 
 `` Okay, Jake,'' she replied. Her heartbeat had increased. 
 
 `` We've gotten really close, you know?'' Lucy nodded. `` You have become such an important person to me. And while what I have to say may change our relationship forever, I hope we only get closer. I've never really had anybody I could tell this to.'' Lucy thought she might pass out. Jake took a deep breath. `` I'm gay.'' 
 
 Lucy had opened her mouth to immediately say, `` I love you, too!'' but, fortunately, kept it from coming out. Jake was looking hopefully at her. She could n't speak for a moment. Jake looked at his hands. 
 
 `` I'm coming out to my parents over break, but I wanted you to know first, and I was hoping I would have someone to talk to after I'd done it.'' 
 
 Tears had started forming in Lucy's eyes, try as she might to hold them back. The good news was that she had been through this before, having a friend come out to her, and she had what she said that time to help her say the right thing now. 
 
 `` Thank you, Jake. Thank you so much for trusting me with this. I will absolutely support you in any way that I can, and,'' she choked a bit, `` I love you.'' 
 
 Jake was also tearing up. `` I love you, too,'' he said. If he only knew how much that hurt her. 
 
 But she had said the words, so she took Christmas break to grieve and try to repair. She knew that she would definitely rather have him as a friend, than not have him at all. 
 
 Jake's parents were supportive. Lucy and Jake graduated. They managed to get jobs fairly close together and continued to see each other frequently. He met a man, Caleb, fell in love, got married. 
 
 Lucy never did. 
 
 When Jake and his husband decided they wanted a child, they came to Lucy to be the surrogate. She agreed, as long as Jake was the biological father, and she could be the baby's mother. There was a bit of a sparkle in Jake's eyes when she said this; he liked the idea. But would Caleb? 
 
 There was a big discussion, lining up ideas of parenting, education, religion. They had to make sure they could raise a child together. In the end, it was decided they could. 
 
 `` This baby will be so loved!'' Caleb said. `` Two daddies, AND a mommy!'' 
 
 So they moved in together, and before too long there was a baby boy running around. He looked just like Jake, except he had Lucy's dark hair. They named him Taylor, which was Caleb's middle name, and so there was something of his in him too. And truly, Lucy was happy. She even became immune to the pangs when Jake and Caleb were affectionate with each other. 
 
 Taylor was four when the cure was found. There was a cure for old age! Now there was potential for immortality! And with the advances in medicine having made so many diseases curable, and others extended the prognosis greater, there was such life potential! 
 
 Lucy imagined being with Jake forever. 
 
 Being four, Taylor was going to have to wait until he was an adult, so the three parents hired a babysitter and went to the clinic. Lucy received her shot, and sat in the waiting room. Caleb joined her. Then there was a lot of activity and rushing around. Lucy and Caleb were scared. After about half an hour, the doctor came out and told them Jake had died. 
 
 As it turned out, not everyone could receive the cure. It was almost like an allergy to something in the vaccine. Rather than preventing aging, it killed people. This had n't really emerged until the vaccine had gone public, since it only affected about 1 % of people. But it was genetic. 
 
 Taylor could n't receive the cure. 
 
 A couple of years after Jake died, a house only a few doors down came up for sale. Lucy bought it. She loved Caleb, as a friend, and they remained close, but without Jake they did n't feel they could, or perhaps even should, continue living together. They worked out a co-parenting system that worked very well, and Taylor grew up happy. 
 
 112 years had passed since Jake died. His parents had tested positive for the allergy and had passed long ago. Lucy's parents had opted out of the vaccine, and were also long gone. Her sister had died of cancer a dozen years before. Caleb's parents had died when he was a child, and had no other family. Taylor and Caleb were all that Lucy had left in the world. 
 
 All of the others, that 1 % that could not receive the vaccination, had already succumbed to age. Taylor was the last. The last human who would die simply because he was old. Lucy was thankful for being able to keep her son for so long, but was bitter that she had to watch him slowly deteriorate. A mother should not have to go through this. She had had that thought thousands of times. 
 
 She stared at her son, examining again the lines in his face that she had come to memorize. Glimpsing the man she had loved, and the boy she still loved. She had survived Jake's death for her son. Without him, how could she bear to exist any longer? 
 
 The door behind her opened. She felt someone come up behind her, felt a hand on her shoulder, and received a kiss on the top of her head. Caleb moved to the other side of the bed, taking Taylor's other hand. 
 
 `` He fell asleep about fifteen minutes ago,'' Lucy whispered. Caleb nodded. This was their ritual. While Taylor was awake, they took care of his needs like food and diaper changes. When he slept, they held his hands. Twice a day, Caleb would give an update to what they were calling Taylor's `` fans.'' Since he had become the last old man, people had congregated near their home, out of support or morbid curiosity, Lucy was n't sure. She did n't care. She only cared about her son, fading away before her eyes. She only cared about the wilted hand she held in hers. 
 
 They sat quietly. An antique clock ticked on the dresser. The heart monitor blinked his slow heartbeat quietly. The nurse, who spent most of her time tucked in the corner reading, got up to make her hourly notes and returned to her e-reader. Then there was nothing but ticking, breathing, and the periodic click of turning pages. 
 
 After about forty-five minutes, Taylor coughed a few times. Lucy and Caleb sat up, leaning toward their son. His next few breaths rattled. Then there were no more. The heart monitor began it's long, single beep. Caleb's hand went to his mouth and his usually lineless face crumpled. Lucy leaned down, laying her forehead on that precious hand she held. It was soon wet with her tears as she heard the sobs from the other side of the bed. She heard movement from the nurse's corner, and the beep soon stopped. 
 
 Lucy stood, keeping a hold of Taylor's hand, and kissed her son for the last time. `` Good night, sweet prince,'' she sobbed. `` And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.''
