Page 20 of Starved Until Sunset

“Says everyone.” Dave pulled a few more withered impatiens from the ground. “Seriously though, you’re still going to be my best man?”

Cody pulled a particularly stubborn petunia, then turned his head to smile at him. “Yeah, little brother, of course.”

Dave smiled back. “Good.”

They worked in silence, moving closer across the lawn. Once they’d finished clearing the flowerbed, they sat on the grass, legs stretched out before them and leaning back on their hands.

“How are things at the DPW?”

“Stupid. Painful. Redundant.”

“And yet…?”

Cody sighed. “And yet, we get steady paychecks and health care. And we get paid overtime.”

“So, all in all?”

“All in all, it’s work that makes me think one day it might be possible to be out of debt and live in my own house.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“If you’re into that. How about you? How are things with the clicks and the visits?”

It was Dave’s turn to shrug. “It’s fine. I work from home most days.”

“You and Ollie drive each other crazy?”

Dave smiled. “Oh, yeah.”

Cody made a face. “Gross. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“That’s okay, I did.”

“Ugh.”

“You asked.”

“Anyway,” Cody said. “Have you been to see Felicia lately?”

“I went a couple days this past week.”

“Did she know you?”

“In one visit, she thought I was you, then Grandpa, then some guy named Harry.”

“Yeah, pretty much my experience as well.” Cody sat upright, plucked a couple blades of grass, and let the wind take them from his palm. “Not sure how much time we have left with her.”

“She’s ninety-nine years old.” Dave’s voice was quiet, respectful. “She’s lived a good, long life.”

“I know. It’s just that…” Cody made a face and took a breath. “I’m really going to miss her.”

“I know you will.”

Dave’s tone had shifted easily to empathy, which caused a weird and uncomfortable blend of emotions to snarl together and wedge high up in Cody’s chest like a ball of barbed wire dipped in hot sauce. The instant understanding without Cody having to try to explain himself made it clear why he felt closer to Dave than any of his other brothers.

“You’d be completely devoid of emotion if you didn’t miss her. You, out of everyone else in the family, has been seeing after her and visiting her the most. You’ve gone at least once a week for years to check on her, even before she moved to Parson’s Pines. And when she finally did move there, you made sure her care was at the level she needed.” Dave sat cross-legged and plucked a few blades of grass himself, spinning them into a twist between his fingers. “I’ve read a lot online about how the immediate caretakers experience a loss in many different ways from other members of the family.”

“Yeah, I’ve read about that, too. Trying to prepare myself for it, but…”