Gumshoe Griffiths » Places

         It wasn't supposed to be like this.

My heart stopped when I got that fateful call a few days ago and so far there are no signs of it starting again. I'll admit, that's a little dramatic; but it wasn't supposed to be like this!

Your parents are meant to make your life miserable well into their 90s. They are supposed to nag and tease about calling more often or giving them grandchildren. My father wasn't supposed to die before I saw him again. Before I told him I was sorry I didn't live up to what he wanted me to be. Before he saw that my dreams were real too, but I just can't reach them.

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I wasn't sure what made the silence more insufferable: my thoughts or the arrhythmic clinking of spoons on bowls that was only slightly drowned out by the ad for 'Men's Discreet Diapers'. I glanced between the other two parts to the world's saddest dinner party.

Mama was putting on a good front. Her hair was pinned back and her face made up. It didn't take a detective to see the spots in her make up that had been rubbed off from crying or that her hair was already starting to fall from it's slapped together updo.

Kace looked almost exactly as he always did. It wasn't unusual for him to look like he rolled out of bed and found the best smelling clothes from his floor. The newest addition to his ensemble was the sadness in his eyes. Lucky for him, sadness is on trend this year given all the stuff that's been happening.

Just as I finished my thought about Kace, he stood up and scurried out of the room toward the bedrooms. Typical. Of course he'd leave us with the dishes as if we had nothing better to do.

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While I scrubbed the dishes for Mama, my mind wandered back to a point just a few months ago where everything was going so well. I was employed at Hickory & Bramble, a well known law firm that handled cases that ranged from Multi-million dollar deals to International intrigue cases. The company was large and had various departments for most types of litigation. It was anything a budding lawyer could ask for. I was living my dream. At least, I had been.

CRASH

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud noise from the other room. "Ma!" I shouted as I ran back into the living room. "You okay?"