Family Weave by Lee Sowder

Author:Lee Sowder
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: family bonds;loyalty;love;past trauma;difficult choices;conflict;senior center;independent living;assisted living;bullying;trials;persistence
Publisher: Torchflame Books
Published: 2020-12-08T00:00:00+00:00

8

Florence is

a Family Name

A few minutes later I am settled back in bed and have just turned on the TV when a special bulletin alert scrolls across the screen. The weatherman is saying something about squall lines and river flood stages and power outages, assuring us that they are in close contact with the National Weather Bureau and that they will be our number one source for information throughout this storm. There is something about this weatherman, a smile in his eyes that doesn’t go away even when he is reporting on sad news, that is unsettling.

I fall asleep with the TV still on. Sometime in the early morning hours I wake up to a woman selling Instapots. I turn over and fumble for the remote on my bedside table and turn the TV off. The sudden quiet combined with the earliness of the hour and the warm bed are all I need to drift back off to sleep.

I wake later than usual to the sound of rain pounding against the house and my cell phone ringing beside my bed. I answer on the third ring.

“You will not believe this,” Perk says without even saying hello.

I sit up and say, “What now?”

“Laura. The woman,” Perk takes a breath here, before going on, “called me at nine last night to tell me Mama had fallen asleep with the TV on and was very hard to rouse. And we had just been there hours before. I asked her why and she told me it was a courtesy bed check. I almost told her we did not need courtesy calls, but she was talking so fast I decided to let her talk. Laura said when Mama didn’t answer the door, she got maintenance to open it. I didn’t even call you, Pauline. When she finally quit talking, I told her that after the day Mama had, I imagine she was worn out. Pauline, I didn’t even wait for her to answer. I thanked her and hung up.”

“Do you think Mama is all right, Perk?” I have already started to worry, fretting over what else I can be doing for her.

“Pauline,” Perk says, “Mama is fine. I am going to stop by at lunchtime and I promise I’ll tell you if you need to do anything. There’s plenty of days to worry about Mama, but today’s not one of them.”

Hearing Perk’s words calm me down. Mama always used that same tone of voice, the one that was full of strength and reassurance. Mama could punish you with a look that would make you wish you had never gotten in trouble, but she could also soothe you with a voice that made you believe everything was going to be okay.

When Mama drove home the day that Daddy died and called me in from the afternoon game of kick the can in the Sneads’ side yard, she stood at the top of the front steps, holding me with a look that felt more like a hug. She bent down then, saying the words, “Daddy died.

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