#349 Wake- Beverly Jensen
Bill Hillock is dead. He leaves behind four children, a few
friends and a wake of dis--function. Two of his children, the least reliable of
the lot lose his coffin on their way from Connecticut to Canada for the funeral
As they recruit a more reliable sibling to help them, and
cart their dead father through a heavy winter storm, the rest of the family
gathers and waits in a church until they can have the service.
Remembrances are had and a flurry of clichés are uttered:
-“God knows we all have dirty secrets.”
-“Some things are left unsaid.”
-It’s all part of growing up.”
-“If you act like a damn fool, then damn fool things happen
to you.”
Despite the obvious mess of their family, they seem to love
each other. As tough as life can get, sometimes having someone around as
screwed up as you, is the best comfort you can get:
“They were both so lonely, she and dad, standing on earth
like that godforsaken house they lived in, spindly and forlorn atop that great
cliff, exposed to every wind that blew from any direction.”
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