Carpe Diem Read Free Page A

floor.
    “I don’t want to hear any more conversations about how your hair grows faster in the summer than in the winter or how weird it is that dog’s feet smell like Fritos,” I continue.
    “All right then,” Abby says with a smile.
    “If Jack was here he would be cracking dumb jokes and making an ass of himself to make us smile. Since he can’t be here, we are going to have to do it ourselves,” I continue while popping the cork from the bottle of wine.

A few short hours later, I hear the front door swing open and my beautiful daughter calling out for me.
    “Mom! Mom, where are you,” Bryna shouts.
    “In here sweetheart,” I call back to her from the dining room, trying to once again fight my tears.
    As Bryna comes around the corner and I can see her eyes are filled with tears I cannot save her from this time. I quietly watch as she drops her bag and runs toward me, extending her arms. Her arms surround my body when she reaches me. She is holding on so tight I think I may lose my ability to breathe, but I say nothing. I embrace her tightly in return and gently rock her as I did when she was a baby.
    “I know, sweetheart, I know,” I say to her softly.
    “He can’t be gone, he can’t be,” she cries out.
    “I know, sweetie. I don’t want him to be gone either.”
    “He is too young. You guys are supposed to be old and senile when you die.”
    “As much as you wanted that to be our future, I wanted it even more.”
    “It’s not fair. I’m not ready for him to be gone.”
    “Sweetie, it was just his time. We have to cherish the memories we had with him while he was with us and not be angry about the ones we will not have.”
    Bryna looks at me with her wet eyes and it breaks my heart all over again. She is right; this is not how it was supposed to be. She should have had at least another thirty to forty years with her father. This is not how our time together should have come to an end. I can feel my tears fighting hard to come out, but I will not let them loose, they will not win this battle. I have to be strong for Bryna.
    I am startled when I see movement in the corner of my eye. I am relieved when I quickly realize that it is Flynn. He has been patiently waiting and is now holding in his hands the bag that Bryna had dropped to the ground.
    “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to intrude,” Flynn says.
    “You are most definitely not intruding,” I say and walk toward him.
    I retrieve Bryna’s bag from his grasp and gently lay it on the floor before embracing him. Flynn is, was, Jack’s best friend, but actually they were more like brothers. Several years ago they went into business together. For most friendships that would have been a death sentence, but not for them. Since they were the age of ten, the two of them had formed a bond that could never be broken. When Jack told Flynn his college plans had changed and that he would be staying here with me to raise the baby, Flynn dropped out of the far from home university each of them had both been accepted to, to stay close and attend the local tech college. It was all a bit weird if you ask me, but that was the nature of their friendship. They had been friends for so long and I learned early on not to question things too much.
    “Did you get much sleep?” Flynn asked
    “Some, not much,” I respond. “I can’t thank you enough for going to pick up Bryna for me. I don’t know how I can repay—” I say.
    “There is no need to thank me or repay me. I am glad to help in any way I can,” he interrupts.
    “Thank you just the same, you are a good friend.”
    Flynn responds, giving me a smile and nods.
    “Did you stop to eat? There is some leftover spaghetti in the fridge I can heat up for you.”
    “No, thank you. We went to the drive-through about an hour ago, but you might want to try and get Bryna to eat some, she didn’t eat much.”
    “Thank you, I will.”
    “I really should be going,” Flynn says, looking over to Bryna and then