I appreciate hearing that readers find this portion of the book as gratifying as they do heartbreaking. Jim and Cheryl spent the rest of Saturday with Paul and Bobby, playing croquet on the lawn, sipping tea with lots of ice, and chatting casually in the kitchen.
Sunday morning, however, Jim said he felt worse, and went back to bed in his motel room, sleeping in until nearly lunchtime. Jim tried to eat, but had little appetite. His cough had worsened, sometimes rasping so violently that he coughed bloodβsomething he disclosed to no one at the time, preferring not to worry his family. By late afternoon, Jim shakily mentioned that he might try to catch an earlier flight back to New York.
There were other factors to consider, too; beginning at ten the next morning he was scheduled to spend all day in a recording session for a Disney show, and wanted to make sure he, and his voice, were rested enough.
I chalked it up to that. Jim and Cheryl drove back to Norfolk, where they were able to swap their p. As Jim climbed out of the car, he told Cheryl he was going straight to bed. John took the camera away and led his father to the bedroom. Go lie in bed. Jim called his assistant, Anne Kinney, and asked her to cancel not only his breakfast meeting, but also the all-day recording session for the Muppets on Location that was starting at ten.
Jim may have had a whim of steel, but to the Muppet performers, he was also their iron man, never absent. Kinney stopped in later that morning to check on Jim and deliver some soup; at the same time, Jane called the apartment and spoke briefly with him. She had been upset with Jim about something the night before, and had called Cheryl, looking for him so they could discuss itβbut Cheryl had informed her that Jim was sick in his apartment, trying to sleep, and advised her to wait until morning to call him.
