Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 166(@200wpm)___ 133(@250wpm)___ 111(@300wpm)
“Yeah, bub. She’s sure. I asked her, Mom asked her, and Uncle Andy asked, too. We all sat down with the doctor. He told her what they could do, and she shut them down immediately. Said chemotherapy and radiation weren’t going on her schedule. Instead, she’d rather explore a few more places she hasn’t seen yet and go her own way.” Breast cancer, metastatic. Already spreading to other parts of her body. Leave it to Gran to know exactly what she wants.
“Still doesn’t seem fair.” I tilt my head back, allowing it to rest on the back of the patio chair. I know this shit is a part of life, I know I’ve been lucky enough to have Gran this long, and I know this is what she wants. It doesn’t make it any easier. I close my eyes, swallow down my emotion, and take a deep fucking breath. The next however long is going to be hard, there’s no doubt about it.
“Life isn’t always fair.” He’s more than right about that. I’ve seen and heard a lot of shit with my job. I came out of the academy, did additional training, the police department I worked at assigned me to a shit patrol, and I slowly moved up as much I could. It took me ten years to land where I am, and I’ve yet to look back. Being a detective is what I’ve been born to do. I like the thrill of the chase, to be able to crack a case that’s been sitting on my desk, and tonight, this next one should be signed, sealed, and delivered.
“No, it really isn’t.” I open my eyes. The clogging of emotion has eased some, and I’m able to look at my dad without having to blink the pain away in the form of tears.
“Which leads me to the other reason I asked you over. Gran wants to sell the car. Whatever she makes from it is yours to keep. She is also giving you her and Gramp’s wedding rings. Whatever you choose to do with them is yours.” I do a double take, unsure of why she’s doing this right out of the gate. “You’re the only grandkid, Trent, you’ve known this. I’ve got no use for either of those items. Neither does your uncle.”
“Yeah, but the money from selling her car, Dad, that’s screwed. It’s her car, her money, and doesn’t she want to do a few things before shit goes sideways?” Before I left the precinct last night, I pulled the captain off to the side to let him know I’d be in a later than anticipated. He told me to take all the time I needed when I gave him the gist of the story. I assumed it’d be bad, but not this bad.
“Son, she’s got money. I’ve got money, your uncle has money. Whatever Gran wants, she’s going to get. Don’t worry about that. You do what she asks, she’ll be happy, and that’s all we can ask for,” Dad says. The sliding glass door opens. I look over my shoulder and see Mom stepping out with a cup of coffee in one hand and the pot in the other. Dad hops out of the chair to help her out, and I watch as they say their good morning to one another.
They’re night and day different with their sleep patterns. Dad goes to bed early and rises early. Mom stays up late and tends to sleep in. She gets sucked into a television show, and there’s no way to get her up and moving. Especially if it’s one of the documentaries about a serial killer. You’d think with the line of work I do, she’d steer clear. Nope, she likes to know the case inside and out.
“Good morning, Mom. You’re up earlier than normal,” I tease once they’re done kissing and doing their usual morning deal.
“Good morning, son. Yeah, well, between the garage door going up, the coffee pot spitting and sputtering, and the television out here on the deck talking about this plague and that crime, it’s impossible to sleep soundly.” Dad took everything out of her hands, and she hugs me from behind, laying a soft kiss on the side of my head.
“Sorry about that. Work’s been a bitch lately, and this is the only time I’m able to get away.”
“I understand. You okay with everything?” she asks the ominous question.
“Is anyone ever okay with watching someone they love slowly slip away from them?” Mom laid to rest both of her parents without any help from her siblings. They disappeared when shit got rough and only reappeared when they left this earth and the will needed to be read. I’ll never forget how pissed Dad got, red face, clenched jaw, and closed fists. I thought he’d for sure knock some heads together in the form of Mom’s brothers. He refrained, barely, probably because when the lawyer did his reading of what they left, it wasn’t to the brothers. They put some money into a trust for my cousins, and Mom’s brothers didn’t get dick. Mom got what they put into the house for the mother-in-law suite plus some. I got the same amount as my cousins, and everything else was to be doled out via Mom’s discretion. They still hold a grudge, which means family functions barely happen, and while it hurts Mom, there isn’t a damn bit of good it would do to talk to my uncles.