He Said My Mother Dying Wasn’t His Problem

house?

I stared at it for a full ten seconds.

Not: How is your mother?

Not: Is she okay?

That.

I locked the phone and put it facedown.

The First Thing I Did

The lockdown lifted at 5:30 the next morning.

I drove to Cedar Valley still in yesterday’s uniform, hair twisted into something that had given up around midnight. The sunrise was coming in gray and thin.continue reading …