The Father stepped out of his car and sucked his teeth in frustration. The lawn of his son's house was in blatant disrepair. Weeds had grown up to nearly three feet near the fence while the regular grass went well past his ankle. The garbage cans were still left by the curb even though it was the weekend and pickup day had to be days ago. Fixing his suit jacket, he closed the door to his car and tried to use his key to get inside, but it was already unlocked. So stupid.
As he stepped in, he saw his grandson, Noah, eating cereal and watching cartoons in his underwear. At noon.
"Grandpa!" He shouted when he turned over to see him and ran to give him a hug. The Father hugged him back before kneeling and tussling his hair.
"Hey kiddo, why don't you go get dressed and I'll take you for some pizza. How does that sound?"
His eyes lit up and without another word he tore off back towards his room to change. The Father sighed. His grandson was too young to be dealing with all this. He was putting an end to it today. He stepped back towards his son's bedroom to see Danna lying sprawled on top of the sheets in a white tank top and underwear. A bottle of cheap whiskey was left opened on the side table and was only half full. The brown paper packaging it had come in was torn and hanging half off the table as well. Slovenly.
"Danna," he said, with none of the care that he'd had with his grandson. He repeated himself, but it wasn't until he physically shook her leg that she started to stir. Her eyes blinked against the sunlight coming in through the cracks in the blinds and she raised a hand up to shield herself from it as she peered at him.
"W-what?" She mumbled. "What are you doing.... here?"
He sighed. "I've just come to get you to sign some hospital papers about Richard's health. I'm also going to take Noah for lunch." Danna nodded blurrily, seemingly still drunk from the night before. The Father sighed, placing the paper and a pen beside her. "Sign that and I'll go grab you some water."
With some apprehension, he watched her slide over to the paper and sign her name on the bottom without reading it. As he gathered up the paper, he released a breath that he hadn't even known he'd been holding. Without another word to her, he grabbed her a glass of water and then picked up Noah from his room. Finally, the family would have some peace.
****
The Father watched as his remaining son and daughter told stories of Richard to their partners and children. All of them sat around a large dining table laden with food. The air was solemn, but they'd all already grieved for him. A year in a coma was enough to arrest most of any hope of recovery. Most. His wife nestled in beside him and he gently rubbed her back. The thought of her clasping her son's hand as she discussed Richard's faith with their pastor rose to the forefront of his mind. The pastor had assured her that Richard had accepted Jesus into his heart and they'd see him again in heaven.
It was a lie, of course, but a necessary one. Richard had never been a faithful Christian and Danna hadn't helped matters. He'd always thought they'd have more time. Let the weight of time bear down on them and the feeling of dread that comes from your friends dying one by one. But no, they weren't quite so lucky. Someone has to be the first friend to die. It appeared that Richard was that lesson for his friends.
The Father squeezed his wife tightly and then released her before standing before his other children. His clan. "Let me say a few words before we eat," the Father began, but paused as he saw Danna's red Ford Escape pull into the driveway. He'd known this would come, but he'd hoped she'd have some decency not to disturb the family gathering. Danna had never been one for proper decency. "Give me just a moment."
The Father stepped out of the house onto the long driveway in front of his house. The bushes and flowers that decorated the front of his brick and white walled three-story home normally brought him comfort. There was a certain solace to building something and protecting it. Danna just couldn't understand that. She focused too much on what she'd lost.
"Y-you bastard!" Danna stomped towards him. Her gait uneasy but determined. He assumed she'd been drinking which was a safe assumption any time over the past few months. "He's dead. You tricked me. I didn't know what I was signing. And Noah-" As she reached him, she pulled her hand back to backhand him across the face, but the Father was prepared. He caught her by the wrist, stopping her cold. She struggled against his grip, but couldn't break out. Tears of frustration sprang into her eyes and she looked at him pleadingly. "Please, Noah is all I have left. You can't take him from me."
The Father shook his head mournfully. He really didn't relish what he'd been forced to do. "Then you should have considered that before you neglected him. He's a child."
"But he's my child! You had no right. You had no right!" She beat her open fist across his chest, but he simply let it land. She used to be strong, but she'd wasted away since Richard's coma. The Father had always appreciated that she had the strength that Richard did not, but even that was gone now. He'd thought that she of all people would have the will to do what was necessary. He was wrong.
"Figure yourself out, Danna. CPS will do what they need to and we'll take care of Noah. He'll have a good life."
Danna's face flickered in a flurry of emotions and he had to catch her other hand from striking him, but the futility of it broke her. She shrieked wildly like some crazed animal, but then just collapsed to her knees, scuffing them harshly against the concrete. "What did I do wrong? Is loving someone such a sin?"
The Father didn't answer her asinine questions and instead picked her up, his limbs and back still powerful at his age from his yard work. He placed her into her still open SUV. "Just... go home, Danna." She stared numbly at him, but he just reached over her and turned the key on for her and then closed the door. She slumped her forehead against the steering wheel and laid there for a long minute. The Father wondered if she'd passed out, but eventually she lifted her head up and drove off.
As she left his driveway, he pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and let it ring.
"911, what is your emergency?"
"Hello, yes. I'd like to report a drunk driver. They're in a red Ford Escape..."
****
The wind whipped past Danna, as she spiraled from the long fall. It gave her a lot of time to think. A lot of time to have regrets. Some of them were big ones about how she could have been a better partner and mother. She wondered if she could have protected Richard from his Father. These regrets didn't have solutions though so they didn't make her regret the act of flying. No, there were only small regrets that told her that was a bad idea.
Like who would be tasked with cleaning her up.
The regret didn't last long though. If Danna had been able to feel anything at all past that point, she might have felt relief that it was finally, finally over.