(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).
juegos Edad de ingreso al casino casino demo gratis
wettstrategien test
Also visit my homepage :: basketball wetten Bei betolimp
jugar bonos gratis apuestas casino online (Madonna) online sin registrarse
codigo bono sin deposito casino (http://blog.Supol.cz/?p=11674) online en español latino
Hi there would you mind stating which blog platform
you’re working with? I’m looking to start my own blog soon but I’m having a tough time choosing
between BlogEngine/Wordpress/B2evolution and Drupal. The reason I
ask is because your design seems different then most blogs and
I’m looking for something unique. P.S
My apologies for getting off-topic but I had to ask!
Valuable info. Lucky me I found your website unintentionally, and
I’m stunned why this twist of fate didn’t took
place in advance! I bookmarked it.
predicciones apuestas para hoy de sistema como funciona
statistics of gambling in canada, casino online australia real money and free spins no
deposit bonus codes canada, or usa mossel bay casino accommodation;
Hollis, no deposit bonus
what does fixed odds mean in horse racing yesterday’s winners racing
top casino bonus ohne einzahlung
my website Erfahrung Mit Online Roulette
bonos de mejores apuestas formula 1 (https://es-betting.com/) deportivas
zagraniczny bukmacher bonus
My homepage: totolotek zakłady sportowe android [Latisha]
I always spent my half an hour to read this web site’s articles every day along with a cup of coffee.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate your efforts
and I will be waiting for your further post thank you once again.
Scommesse Papa Nuovo pallavolo
A powerful and insightful article. Recovery is a complex journey,even relationships provides valuable insight into the emotional challenges people may face during the healing process.Thanks for sharing.
O que cartão de crédito aposta Online; https://pt-betting.com/, inteligente online
10 euros gratis a que edad se puede entrar al casino
I always spent my half an hour to read this webpage’s articles every
day along with a cup of coffee.
casinos las venturas
Here is my web blog – como jugar juegos de casino gratis (Velda)
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally,
it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point.
You clearly know what youre talking about, why waste your intelligence on just posting
videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something informative to read?
descargar ruleta juegos de casino Blackjack gratis casino
gratis en español
mejores Slots casino barcelona en la paloma
casino retiros Rapidos talavera
juegos de marca casino 150 Giros gratis gratis jugar ahora
casino jugar en casa
Look at my web blog Casinos Regalan Dinero Por Registrarte
juegos bono De €500 Casino casino top
combi online wedden website 2026, Soila,
juegos de casinos gratis juego De Frutas Casino frutas
juegos de Casino Regalo Bienvenida para
android
apuestas del día que puedes
hacer con tu novia
juegos para descargar para casinos
Feel free to surf to my blog post gane en el casino
voor promo wedden registratie (ubs-Bd.com) sportcompetities
casino Online bono De €400 online juego
del duende
juegos tragamonedas reales de casinos gratis [https://ladynafisa.org/2026/03/07/Que-es-la-escala-De-blackjack/]
casino bonos
Casas de apuestas Con Handicap asiatico gratis sports
juegos casinos en córdoba
my homepage; hasta que edad puedo entrar al casino [Zulma]
casino tiradas sin deposito
My webpage … casinos en madrid este (https://karyalasanugrah.com/)
quiero jugar gratis al Casino remo why take a chance
casino en pucon; Chara, en villarrica
bonificaciones de casino (Kellee) bono tiradas gratis
juegos maquinas tragamonedas de casino gratis nuevas (Garrett) casinos gratis para descargar
casino en joy sant pere de ribes
tragaperrasgratis con bonus sin descargar Palmas Del Mar EspañA Casino
online
juego aplicacion de casino del Canelo casino mejores juegos
descargar juegos de casino en cincinnati (Marita) para jugar sin internet
premios de la ruleta casino online tiradas gratis sin deposito
juego de apuestas online casino gratis (Norman) faraones
casino ruleta gratis españOl ondara cuando abre
casinos con tiradas gratis por registro
Also visit my page – gran casino de las palmas (Sputniksays.com)