Goodbye Father, Goodbye Mother
A young man tries to deal with the loss of a parent.
"Way to go buddy, you did great." Beamed my Father as he rustled my hair.
"Let's go get our little champion a blizzard." Smiled my Mother, with her eyes crinkling in only the way that hers could. I am grinning from ear to ear as I walk off the field with my two favorite people in the world.
"Wake up Malcolm, it's time for breakfast" shouts Dad from upstairs in our small town house.
I am tearing up before I even realize it, you see, my mother died 3 years ago in a car accident after work. Some drunken teenager hit her head on along highway 4. He survived with a few broken ribs, my Mother broke her neck and was placed on life support for 2 weeks before the doctors told my Dad there was nothing that could be done, and he let them pull the plug.
"How's the omelet son?" asks Dad, glancing up from his newspaper.
"It's good, Dad." But Moms was better, I think to myself.
As I quietly eat my omelet I notice my Dad's stare.
"Are you alright, Malcolm?" he asks, no doubt noticing my eyes that must still be watery.
"Sure, Dad." I respond, moving my gaze back to the omelet in front of me.
"Okay...you know you can talk to me about anything right, Malc?" he asks, and I lose control of my tears yet again. She used to call me that.
"Dad..." I pause to wipe my eyes clear. "Dad I miss Mom, I miss her so much." Now the tears are flowing freely, there is nothing left to hide.
My Father sits quietly with a stunned look on his face that quickly turns to sorrow. We haven't spoken about her since the accident. His head sinks low and I can no longer see his face. We sit for what feels like hours, but what very well could have been mere seconds, until another word is spoken.
"Malcolm, she's in....she is in heaven now, you know that right." He says with a quiver in his voice that surprises me with its helplessness.
"Why did she have to die, Dad" I whisper as my lip is now trembling.
"Malcolm, she was very badly hurt, they said she had no chance to survive." He replies solemnly
"But...But you let them pull the plug." I say as a new wave of tears hits.
The silence is thick; I look up and see my Father with a blank stare on his face, his skin losing color.
"Dad, dad I'm sorry." I cry as I realize what I have just said.
My father stares at me with a look in his eyes that I have never seen before, one that sends a chill down my spine. His mouth begins to open, but quickly shuts. He gets up, grabs the dishes and begins washing them, like a machine.
"Dad?" I ask as my voice breaks.
Silence, my father puts the dishes away and leaves the room, without glancing in my direction.
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