The Menu by David B. Bond

Author:David B. Bond [Bond, David B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-28T00:00:00+00:00

October 1993

“Mom, I got the job.”

When I set foot on the rickety pavement that marred the beauty of St. Claire Shores in northern Michigan, those were the first words to escape my lips.

She wore a prudent smile that slowly became a gasp and then a sob. I stood at the door when she dropped the pile of clothes on her shoulder and wrapped her arms around me. Hot, stinging tears rolled down her eyes while she clung to me.

“I wish I could give you a better life, Kevin,” she said with her face cupped within my hands. I dried the streak of runaway tears that slid out.

“It’s okay. I’m old enough to take care of you now.” Slowly, her smile widened, and she returned to her duties.

Ever since Dad passed away, the cabin had been our home. I saw her sitting outside, huddled with her arms wrapped around her knees against the exterior wall. The faint sound of her voice drifted in from the backyard; she must have been talking to herself.

The employment letter still sat pretty in my grasp, and she had yet to look at it. Once I snuck up behind her, she hurriedly wiped her eyes, pushing back the strands of brown shoulder-length hair behind her ear. I held the white envelope to her face, towering over her squatting frame, watching more tears flood her dark eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Kevin. I’ve failed you as a mother.”

As she spoke, she turned towards the massive oak tree in the backyard, where a makeshift memorial for her husband was set up. “He and I had big plans for you,” she murmured sadly.

I crouched at her eye level and gently massaged her delicate, bony shoulders. She hadn’t had much of an appetite since our father’s tragic death in a car crash six years ago. She peeled off the stamp with Burger Chef scribbled all over it and glanced through the contents.

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