Mom
734 Words
DAMIEN POV
I just dropped Madeline off at her condo. I’m trying to wrap my head around what happened last night. What exactly triggered her panic attack? She said a man named Peter was the big bad wolf, but why? I know it’s not really my business, but she seems to have some unresolved trauma when it comes to whatever situation that is. I hope that she doesn’t put a wall up between us. Everyone has a past. Everyone makes mistakes. I want her to be able to trust me. There is something about her that makes my heart beat faster. Sighing, I decide I need to go sit down with my mother to discuss the funeral arrangements. I’ve been putting of that conversation for too long and I know the situation needs dealt with.
“Mom, I’m back. I picked us up some lunch on the way here.” No response. Weird, my mother is always up bustling about the house, keeping herself busy. I walk to the kitchen, but it’s empty. I peek down the hallway and see her door is nearly closed. As I approach, I hear her silent cries. I close my eyes, taking a deep breath before pushing the door slightly. Sitting on the edge of the bed, my mother clutched to my dad’s favorite shirt. An old, tattered, Grand Canyon shirt. He’d wear that stupid shirt constantly. It had torn and been sewn more times than I can count. My heart broke for my mom. They were together for 36 years, married for almost 30. I walked in and sat next to her on the bed. She didn’t look up, just continued crying into the shirt. “I just miss him so much Dam. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him.” she sobbed. “I miss him too mom. I wish one of us wouldn’t have been so stubborn in the last ten years. I missed out on a lot of time.” She finally turned to look at me. Her eyes were swollen and I noticed that she’s aged so much since I last saw her. Surely from losing the love of her life. “He really was proud of you, Dam. He loved you. He may have had a really poor way of showing it. But he was proud of the man you’d become.” I internally groaned. Poor way of showing it, if that’s what you would call it. While I loved and missed my dad, my mom’s love for him was blind. Even when it came to me. “I brought some lunch. How about we eat and discuss plans for his funeral.” She stood up quickly, folding the shirt perfectly and placing it into the top drawer of her dresser.
We spent the next few hours discussing plans for his funeral. Mom insisted that he wouldn’t want anything too sad, so we opted for a celebration of life. It was fitting considering dad wasn’t big on showing emotions. He wouldn’t have wanted everyone crying over him. I called a few banquet halls, settling on one not too far from the beach. They had availability for that Wednesday, so we lined up for the celebration to be held after the funeral. Hopefully Gemma wouldn’t mind me coming in a tad late that day. I need to remember to discuss that with her this afternoon. My mother suggested that we cater his favorite barbeque restaurant and thankfully they were able to accommodate the amount of people that we expected. Dad didn’t have a lot of living relatives, but he was friendly with everyone. My mother called the newspaper to place an ad for the funeral and celebration. She was still old fashioned like that. After finalizing the smaller details, I realized that it was time for me to head home and get ready for work this evening. “Mom, I’ve got to go and get ready for work tonight. If there is anything else that you need, please don’t hesitate to call. I will take care of anything that you need.” She smiled a genuine smile. “Thank you Dam. I don’t know what I would do without you. I’m happy that you’re home.” She wrapped me in a big hug, kissing my cheek before I headed out the door and prepared for my evening at the bar.
- Writer
