A Feeling of Melancholy

This pregnancy has proved by far the most emotional one for me. My hormones have caused my feelings to be really tender even if I've hidden it to the outside world and those I love dear. There have been many times I've blinked back tears when noone noticed and I really had little reason to be expressing such a downcast emotion. Things that are really sad are really, really sad to me these days. One such sad account is the recent death of a former coworker of mine. I worked alongside a young man for 3 or 4 years, which is time enough to tuck away many memories of that person and of experiences shared together. Working closely with someone for 3 or 4 years is long enough to recognize the days that it's okay to walk on eggshells with that person, when to be relaxed around that person, and when to joke around that person. My best memories of Scott is of our getting into a pretty deep discussion (usually on medicine or health related issues) and he, being in thought, would pause to take a drink of his coffee, all the while wrinkling up his face in deep concentration. I remember that before he would speak he would clear his throat and you would know that a deeply, thought-out answer was about to spill from his lips. Then there were those days were he would pick up the phone to answer and noone would be on the other line, so he would take advantage of a little time to act silly. He would say, "Hello? Hello? Hello?" And with every "Hello" his voice would get higher and higher. We needed a good laugh like this, especially at the first of the month. Several times he would bring over a prescription for a second opinion, just to see if I read it like he did. This meant a lot to me. Every morning he would come in late and we would all look at the clock, as would he, and he would appear all innocent as if he was 10 minutes early. He would come in the same every day, coffee in hand and sometimes a paper or a medical journal. Several times, during lunch, things would get really busy and he would have it by himself. I would 'fly in' and he would just casually step away from the computer in mid-type. He never, ever acted like he was snowed-in, even if there were 10 prescriptions in line. He would be as calm as ever--that was his nature.
That was 8 to 10 years ago and I've only seen him one or two times that I remember. Funny how we lose touch with people we had friendships with as a result of school or a job. Makes me want to see if I can find out the address of the old man I worked with on Saturdays at that same job..........
Anyway, my heart is saddened and shocked. Life is so fragile and long life is not granted to the young, vibrant, and healthy. My friend was 38.