I get home from working at the factory that olds people. Dog dead in the corner. Has been for days but, ya know, miracles sometimes wander by. Throw a treat at him that he doesn’t catch. Same as ever.
Open the door to quietly as not to wake her. She can’t be but 8 now. She was 25 when we got married. Looking back though, I doubt she was ever older than 16. Moves back in with her dad tomorrow. All she ever wanted, really.
A tree grows beside the window. Casket or crib I can’t recall. He sang jingle bell rock every Christmas. The song stayed. And his eyes. Blue like the boundless Texas sky. Like the highway signs down 35.
I sit on the floor, yesterday lapping at my mind like waves, stone succumbs to shore. The sea foam white as a wedding gown. I look over to her and try to speak, but I stutter; I drown.