They Called My Death a Tantrum, So I Stayed Dead novel · Chapter 21 of 24
Chapter 21: What They Said
My mother spoke first, because my father could not.
She stayed on her knees on the stone, with her hands open in front of her, and she looked at my face.
"On your twenty-sixth birthday I bought a cake," she said. "I put a candle on it for you. Pierce blew it out."
"I know," I said.
"You were standing right there. You said it was fine. And I let you say it was fine, because it was easier."
"I know, Mom. I was there."
"I saved your number in my phone as Ewan, repairs." Her voice broke. "Do you know that? So I'd know when to call. I called you every time the store's printer jammed. I never once called to ask how you were."
"I knew that, too."
"You knew?"
"Your name came up on my phone as the store's landline. It was always the printer, and I always drove over."
She pressed both fists against her mouth.
My father lifted his head.
His eyes were swollen and red.
"The award," he said.
"Dad."
"Three years ago. You won the regional award for the freight contract, and they gave you a plaque. You asked me to come to the dinner."
"You said the store was busy."
"It wasn't busy. Pierce had a cold." He said it flatly. "He had a cold, and your mother wanted to stay home, and I said we'd go to the next one. There was no next one."
"I found the plaque in the garage last Christmas," I said. "Behind the paint cans."
"I put it there."
"I know. I saw your handwriting on the box."
He closed his eyes.
"And the ankle," he said, almost to himself. "You broke your ankle on a delivery, at twenty-two. You drove yourself to the emergency room. You called to tell us, and I said Pierce needed the car that evening, so could it wait."
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