(Continued from the last post. Click here to catch the whole story from the beginning.)
“Okay.” She nodded. “Why don’t you start at the beginning? What’s the first thing about your parents that comes to mind?”
So I told her about my father, how he used to tuck me into bed when I was a little girl, how he used to read to me, and how he always understood me and accepted me for who I was, unquestioningly and unconditionally. I didn’t get very far through before Ange was handing me the Kleenexes.
Then I told about my mother, how she explained to me the other kids in school, how she helped me get ready for my first date, how she helped me move into my first dorm at college, and all the other firsts she did for me that only a mother can do for a daughter.
“It sounds like you loved your parents very much,” Ange said. Loved, in the past tense. I had never told her about any of this, but she must have picked up on what was coming. “What happened?” she asked.
And so I took a deep breath, and I told her the story, the short version, because I don’t think I could have handled the long version just then, and even the short version was a big step forward for me.
“I was just finishing up my first year of college,” I explained. “I planned to go home over the summer to stay with my mom and dad. I was really looking forward to it. What I didn’t know was that they were coming to surprise me. But they never made it. They were driving along a curved part of the road, and the pickup truck coming the other way must have been driving too fast and swinging wide around the turn.” I shook my head. “They never had a chance.”
At that point, I didn’t know what to feel. Actually putting the story into words seemed just to make me numb.
“I found out,” I said, “when a policeman visited me at my dorm. It was finals week. I was packing for the trip home, planning to take the train. He told me my parents had been in a fatal accident and he needed me to identify the bodies.”
I had stopped crying.
“Have you ever told that story to anyone?” Ange asked.
I shook my head. “No,” I said.
“Why do you think that is?”
“I just didn’t want to think about it.”
“What does thinking about it remind you of?” she asked.
I shook my head again, this time in wonder of what they had done, all those years ago. “If they had just called me, I would have told them to stay home and let me take the train. They were going to surprise me. And I guess they did.” I stopped a beat. I was hurt and angry, angry at them, angry at me. “They made hotel reservations and everything. They probably planned to help me pack and everything. But damn it, why didn’t they just stay home?”
“So how to do feel about that?”
I couldn’t put my feelings into words. All I could say was: “They were coming to see me. Do you get that? Me. Damn it.”
“Damn what?” Ange asked, unemotionally. “Damn them? Or damn you?”
I froze for a moment, nausea rising through my heart. “Damn… both.”
I felt like spitting, to get the bitter taste of this awful conversation out of my mouth. It tasted like soap.
“I just have one more question for you to mull over,” Ange said. “You don’t have to answer. Just think about it. Is any of that Clydene’s fault?”
“No,” I said, answering the question anyway. “It isn’t.” Then I said, “I think I owe her an apology.” The words felt dirty, grainy in my mouth, but I knew them to be true. Sometimes, the truth is jagged to swallow and painful to learn.
(To be continued…)
This story is tangential to The Conscience of Abe’s Turn and takes place in the Abe’s Turn universe. If you enjoy this story, please also check out The Conscience of Abe’s Turn (the novel).
Hey! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the excellent work!
yukon gold casino san pedro sula honduras, Kitty, app, united kingdom poker league ceo and free
spins no deposit united kingdom casino, or new zealandn online casino no deposit bonus 2021
100% casino bonus
Visit my blog post Heutige kenozahlen
Awesome blog! Is your theme custom made or did you
download it from somewhere? A design like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog stand out.
Please let me know where you got your design. Many thanks
betting payouts explained
Here is my blog post basketball-wetten.com
tischspiele online um geld spielen
Also visit my web-site: bsg casino bonus ohne einzahlung
casas de apuestas promociones
Also visit my site; basketball-wetten.com
online casino 15 euro einzahlung sofortüberweisung mindesteinzahlung 5
online casino ab 3 euro sofortüberweisung
Also visit my site … spielcasino münchen (Angela)
online casino 20 euro einzahlung lastschrift 20 euro paypal
pronostici scommesse crypto (Mariana) extra
horse racing betting sites racing
results today southwell
die besten wett tipps
My blog :: Wetten dass live kommentar
online casino Am föhrenhain Bamberg (https://Rollnorth.Hu)
500 euro einsatz
casino app berlin
My web blog :: Spins Bonus ohne einzahlung (Kofferbar.hu)
roulette casino skrill
my webpage; Online Slots Echt Geld
spielautomaten online spielen mit echtgeld
Feel free to surf to my site Casino Wurzen
beste ethereum casinos
Look at my web-site: online Casino Bezahlen
casino 4 euro flexepin
My blog Slots Gewinn
spielbank ohne ausweis
Review my web page … risiko glücksspiel online spielen
sofort geld bingo erfahrungen
my webpage – bestes online casino brandenburg (gotaperuanarosa.com.br)
roulette strategie zahlen
Also visit my page; casino Mindesteinzahlung 2 euro sofortüberweisung
erstes Online casino mit virtual Sports casino deutschland
roulettekessel anordnung
Feel free to visit my blog post – casino neosurf ab 10 euro (Breanna)
horse racing bet strategy
Look at my web site: https://Horse-Betting.Com/
casino 1 einzahlen 20 spielen
Feel free to visit my web-site … gute casinos
einkommen aus glücksspiel
Look into my page casino kreditkarte Ab 3 euro (https://Buziosturismo.com.br)
kenozahlen vom montag
My web blog – 1 euro einzahlen 100 freispiele (Wilhelmina)
roulette strategie zahlen
My blog post; casino freispiele ohne bonuscode (tokiwa.co.th)
online casino mit skrill echtgeld bonus mit einzahlung
roulette gewinn maximieren
Also visit my blog … freispiele code 2026
spieleseiten Online Casino 300% Willkommensbonus
zweiteinzahlungsbonus casino Jokers willkommensbonus deutschland
newcastle results horse todays Greyhound racing Tips, https://Grayhound-Betting.com/,
app control apuestas Béisbol (https://fr-betting.com/)
online casino deutschland gutscheincode
my site; Beste Slots Mit Progressive Jackpots
slots gewinnen percentage
Here is my site: roulette ohne ausweis
Muchbetter casino erfahrungen paypal
saarland
roulette spielbank
Here is my homepage: Casino Ohne Oasis Handyguthaben (Kosmeticke-Studio-Wish.Cz)
retro slots um geld spielen
my blog post – casino kein Echtgeld
slots villa online Casino mit handy guthaben ohne anzahlung bonuscodes 2026
online casino handyrechnung ab 2 euro (Fran) chancen
online casino willkommensbonus neu casino
ab 2 euro eps
online casino giropay schnelle auszahlung (Mei) 1 euro
klarna
jackpot slots spielen
my website :: Registrier Bonus Casino
wow vegas online Casino freispiele ohne rollover ohne anzahlung bonuscodes
die erfolgreichsten dice spiel online echtgeld casinos
roulette bonusgeld casino deutschland (franwiseme.com) neosurf
spieleinsatz beim Online GlüCksspiel Berlin
paypal casino liste (Mia)
mit den besten kartenspiele