Author's Note
This story contains themes of incest. It is loosely based on events I experienced in the 1980s - things which I continue to benefit from today [and probably explains my sexually twisted nature]. Naturally, the names and some of the circumstances have been changed or altered for the sake of creativity and a sense of anonymity, while the Dallas area and businesses in that vicinity are factual. I hope you enjoy as we go back to a time of Ronald Reagan and the Cold War, Michael Jackson as the King of Pop, Yuppies, AIDS, and MTV! But first...
Prologue
A long line of mourners gathered in the grand foyer of an immaculate and enormous main building at the Sparkman-Hillcrest Funeral home in Highland Park, a swanky upscale neighborhood in Dallas. This building, and entrance, proved once again that everything was bigger in Texas - even funeral homes!
Three siblings had just buried their mother and were standing in the reception room down the hall preparing to greet the assembled guests who had arrived for an elaborate luncheon. They were going over last minute details and making a final review of all the arrangements before entertaining the crowd.
Sarah, a stunning 55-year-old, was outfitted in an elegant black, short-sleeved sheath dress. It showed off her trim figure and slim legs as she paced the room anxiously waiting for things to start. She walked over and hugged her stepbrother, Bobby, placing her head on his shoulder. "I'm really about done with all of this."
He gently rubbed a hand across her back. "Me too." Bobby was also 55-years-old, older than Sarah by a mere two months, and was dressed in a sharp black suit that was perfectly tailored. At his age, he had thankfully remained in pretty fit condition as well.
The youngest of the trio was Ella, who at 51-years-old looked at least ten years younger. She was attired in a sleek black dress and blazer combo that also showed off her fabulous body. "And if I have to hear one more person tell me how sorry they are, or how wonderful everything is...I swear...I'm going to spit in their eye."
The three of them had been carrying out their mother's wishes as dutiful children but, sadly, not out of any profound sense of love or loss. There had never been much love - or understanding, compassion or humanity - from their mother, so it was hard for them to reciprocate. Even in her death.
The only thing they were doing differently from her very specific instructions was this last part. Instead of inviting everyone back to the cavernous estate on Beverly Drive that their mother had called home, and had been the place these three stepsiblings had grown up, the kids decided to hold the reception right at the funeral home instead.
Individually, each of them wished they could have felt some genuine loss for her or had any kind of depth of feeling for the recently departed woman - something that had been quite evident and abundant when their father passed away. But, after years of her constant complaining, and judging, and criticisms...well, they were all just ready to be done with everything at this point and move on with their lives.
It should have been telling that none of their respective spouses or partners had shown up this weekend - not for the calling hours or the funeral. Their mother had long ago severed any chance of having a meaningful relationship with any of them. So, the sibling were left to themselves. However, the thought couldn't escape any of them that somewhere their mother was probably disappointed in them. Even in death, she cast a very large shadow over them.
"Here they come," Ella announced as a warning, taking note of the assembly of people heading toward them.
Some of the many guests she knew, most of them she did not. None of them really did. These people were a product of a world in which their mother had lived. It had been her world, not theirs. Yet, Ella couldn't help but wonder what these people would think if they had actually known her mother - or, at least, the mother she and her siblings had grown up with.
In Highland Park, the only thing that ever mattered - the only thing that really ever counted for anything - was appearance. It was as if everyone lived in an alternate universe. What you saw was a mirage, an image projected for the sake of fitting in and to create a sense of belonging. It was fake. All of it. Just the memory of it disgusted Ella, and she turned away from the approaching people to go stand in one of the corners to gaze out across the large expanse of graves.
As the crowd began filing in, Bobby and Sarah were there to shake hands and greet them while Ella kept her distance. She just couldn't face them, not anymore. She had reached her limit of pretentiousness for one weekend, thank you very much, and was eager to go back home to her girlfriend in Austin - or to be anywhere other than this place.
Ella had always been the more sensitive and compassionate of the three, so there was no need to explain herself or make excuses to her siblings. They instinctively understood, and were prepared to protect her unequivocally.
Whereas Sarah and Bobby had always taken their mother in stride and seemed to deflect her insults and insinuations, Ella had taken them personally. Of course, after a brief failed marriage right out of college, Ella began seeing Chrissy - the same woman she shared her life with today, many decades later. Their mother never understood Ella's lifestyle - not that she really tried - insisting her daughter was simply going through a phase. As a result, Ella came around less and less.
Truthfully, Bobby and Sarah were surprised their sister had held out as long as she had this weekend.
When the seemingly endless line had ended and everyone was seated at tables eating an elaborate lunch, Bobby made his way over to Ella. He came up from behind as she was still staring out the large window at the beautifully manicured grass.
"You ok?" he whispered, hoping not to startle her too badly.
She nodded her head - the only response she gave.
He touched her right shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. A small gesture but one he hoped would convey his feelings. When he motioned to leave, Ella rounded on him. Her radiant green eyes were filled with tears and her cheeks were moist. "Oh, Bobby," she sighed, and moved into his open embrace.
To those in the room, it was a solemn scene. One that befitted the occasion and the mood, and heads nodded in what they believed was sympathy and understanding. The poor woman had just lost her dear mother after all.
But, to Bobby and Ella it was so much more than the death of their mother. In fact, the death of their mother might have been the least of the issues.