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The Family Garment by C Alexis

  • C AlexisC Alexis
  • April 21, 2021
  • 2021 SS Prompt 4: Fragile
  • 3 Comments
My family cloaked everything and everyone in secrecy. Over successive generations, this garment of invisibility muted every issue or problem, regardless of size or import. Now, in my fifth decade, growing into the wisdom of life's lessons learned, I intend to rend this elaborate cloth letting the light of truth shine on this vulgar cesspool. Although my heart hammers as if wishing to rush from my chest, I gird myself with courage before stepping into the chapel for my father's funeral service.   As my eyes adjust to the dimness, I smile seeing Nettie and Trevor waving from a pew near the front to the left. Across the aisle, my eyes skip over the stony profile of my only sister, Raven. Nettie shoves a wad of folded tissues into my hand. Trevor kisses my cheek. Ahead, my father's remains lie still and cold within an oaken coffin, ornate beyond his wishes or desires, shaped wholly to Raven's standards.   Favourite hymn melodies lift my spirits. In silence, I acknowledge how Raven honoured our father's musical preferences. My nose tickles with a stifled sneeze given the cloying scents of the floral tributes. Ah, Raven's handiwork.   The sunlight startles my pupils, forcing my eyes to squint, still red and sore after so many tears. Standing at the graveside, the minister's words float above my understanding, sonorous and soothing. Picking up a fist-full of dirt, I watch in morbid fascination as the soil blemishes the shiny wooden surface.   "It's time." Nettie's voice a flitting whisper in my ear. Hand-in-hand I walk supported by my two dearest friends, Nettie — the sister life gifted to me, and Trevor, my big brother and confidante — into the reception hall of the church. All of the players fill the stackable chairs, sipping teas and coffees with pinkies extended, chit-chatting about inane topics.   As a unit, Trevor, Nettie and I approach Raven, involved in an animated conversation with someone about something, so engaged she fails to turn to acknowledge her brother or sister. I would be glad to stand still, waiting behind her, all day; however, Trevor taps her shoulder.  "Ah, there you are." Her crafted smile belies the coldness in her eyes. "The ladies have outdone themselves with food. Do, go, help yourselves." With a curt buss on each of our cheeks, Raven swivels away.   "NOW is not the time, Bridget." My eyes roll in response to Trevor's counsel.   Later, back at the childhood home, in my girlhood bedroom, the weight of dread, of dirty laundry long stored, pounds upon my forehead, tap dancing on my temples. By dinner, meds flowing through my system, I take a deep draw of the proffered goblet.  We sit alone, as our small family unit around the vast dining room table. Nettie, although not a blood relative, is of our inner sanctum. Raven's husband, as usual, did not make the trip to the funeral, instead of looking after my delightful niece and nephew, who embody my father's spirit.   Trevor nods like a bobbing bird as we sit in a half-circle, facing the flickering flames of the den. This room overflows with memories of my dad, always a place of positivity. Yes, this is the ideal location.   "Raven."  Her long lashes shift upward, those cold quartz eyes making me shiver beneath their intensity.   "About the will."  Her pointed chin nods imperceptibly.  "I have been made to understand, by the solicitor, that changes have been made, revisions, while father was, well, dare I say, cognitively declining."  "Not in the legal sense."  "Moral sense," Trevor's baritone voice reverberates, drawing Raven's unflinching gaze. "I have returned the document to its former state, the one our mother, yours and mine, expected. This house will be funded, as it should be, in perpetuity, for our progeny — well perhaps, one day you'll procreate."  "Mother cheated on father. Mother spend money like a fool. Mother made father's life a living hell."  "Perspective, it all depends on one's point-of-view. I for one admired my mother."  "And you have fashioned yourself in her image rather successfully."  "But why, Raven, would you choose to short-change your own children's legacy, for education, travel, for this monstrosity of a house?"  "Contest the will, if you must, if you choose, and I'll see you in court."   "Everyone knows how you manipulated father."  "Tomorrow is the reading of the will. After that time, I do not wish to see, hear, be in the same space as you ever again. Good-night."  "Did you get all of that on tape?"

The Family Garment by C...

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