| Family Fiction posted December 3, 2019 |
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906 Words
Beneath the Roses
by Mystic Angel 7777
Final Words Contest Winner
Randall McBride had struggled through a long, hard battle; finally reaching the point of surrender. He’d watched many a family member succumb to cancer’s lethal grip and knew from the start what the outcome would be. He had prepared well. All was in perfect order.
His family gathered around him to pay their last respects. Through expiry burdened eyes, he surveyed his life’s legacy.
His daughter, Alice, wept profusely. It wasn’t that she was saddened by his passing, not at all. She always did what was expected and she knew tears were called for at such a time.
His eldest son, Frank, paced about like a caged panther. Time was money for him and this waiting grated on his every nerve. Randall knew that Frank could not wait for this all to be over.
His youngest son, David, sat next to the bed holding his hand and praying. Randall sighed heavily, he realized just how much David meant to him and counted him among one of the few things he would miss.
“You okay, Dad?” David asked concerned about his father’s change in breathing. “Should I get the nurse?”
Randall motioned David closer and whispered, “Beneath the roses, son. Beneath the roses.” Then Randall breathed his last breath.
“Is he gone?” Alice asked.
A nurse entered the room and confirmed Randall’s passing.
“Well, I have to go. My ladies group will want to hear the news. They will want to offer me support in my hour of grief and sometimes even bring goodies along. I may not have to cook for a week.” Alice gathered her things and flounced from the room as if nothing significant had happened.
“I have a pretty hectic schedule this week so I assume you’re okay with handling all the arrangements,” Frank stated.
“He told me what he wanted and I’ll be happy to take care of it.”
“Thanks, David, much appreciated. Just make sure you don’t schedule the funeral for Wednesday as I have a big meeting that day,” and with those parting instructions Frank left David alone with the empty shell that had once been his Dad.
The reading of the will was a huge disappointment for the family. Other than the house and its contents, Randall had left them nothing.
Alice wept, but this time with real tears as she had been counting on a windfall that would make her dreams of travel come true. Frank cursed the cheap old man who had “left them all high and dry”. David simply went about the business of preparing the house for sale.
It took some time to clean the old place out. It might have gone quicker if Alice and Frank didn’t insist on inspecting every single thing before it was donated just in case something of value could come out of all.
David and Frank finally met with the agent to sign the papers putting the house on the market. It had been agreed that any offer had to be approved by the majority of siblings before the sale could be finalized. As Frank headed to his car, he noticed David grab a shovel from the shed.
“What’s that for?”
“Dad said something about roses before he died. I think he meant for us to bury him under his prize blooms. I’m going to dig up two of his favorites and transplant them on his burial site,” David replied.
“Do what you want. The old man was so drugged up he was probably rambling nonsense,” Frank scoffed and then drove off.
David remembered that his Dad had especially loved the lavender blooms. He began to dig carefully around them. The first came our easily. Wrapping the root ball tenderly in a piece of burlap, he took a swig of water and then started on the next one to be moved.
He was about halfway through when he hit something hard that prevented him from loosening the roots. He put the shovel down and used his hands to clear a trench around the mysterious object. It was a small safe. He pulled it clear of the rose bush to inspect it.
It wasn’t a combination lock, but a key lock. Examining it further, he found a key taped securely to its bottom. David opened the safe to find a letter and hundreds of large denomination bills.
Stunned, he fell like dead weight on the ground. The letter was a brief note from his Dad. It read:
“If you are reading this note, then you understood my last words. I converted everything I had to cash and placed it in this safe for you, David. If I had not done this, your brother and sister would have made your life miserable fighting for it. Take it and do some good in this world. You are the only one I can trust to do just that.”
David gathered up the safe and the letter and placed them in his car. He dug up the other rose and transplanted the two lavender blooms on either side of his father’s grave.
The house is still on the market because Frank and Alice never feel any offer is good enough. David gave up his right to any part of the proceeds and moved as far away as he could possibly get. He is in the process of creating a cancer hospice. Randall rests in peace with a smile on his lips beneath the roses.
Randall McBride had struggled through a long, hard battle; finally reaching the point of surrender. He’d watched many a family member succumb to cancer’s lethal grip and knew from the start what the outcome would be. He had prepared well. All was in perfect order.
His family gathered around him to pay their last respects. Through expiry burdened eyes, he surveyed his life’s legacy.
His daughter, Alice, wept profusely. It wasn’t that she was saddened by his passing, not at all. She always did what was expected and she knew tears were called for at such a time.
His eldest son, Frank, paced about like a caged panther. Time was money for him and this waiting grated on his every nerve. Randall knew that Frank could not wait for this all to be over.
His youngest son, David, sat next to the bed holding his hand and praying. Randall sighed heavily, he realized just how much David meant to him and counted him among one of the few things he would miss.
“You okay, Dad?” David asked concerned about his father’s change in breathing. “Should I get the nurse?”
Randall motioned David closer and whispered, “Beneath the roses, son. Beneath the roses.” Then Randall breathed his last breath.
“Is he gone?” Alice asked.
A nurse entered the room and confirmed Randall’s passing.
“Well, I have to go. My ladies group will want to hear the news. They will want to offer me support in my hour of grief and sometimes even bring goodies along. I may not have to cook for a week.” Alice gathered her things and flounced from the room as if nothing significant had happened.
“I have a pretty hectic schedule this week so I assume you’re okay with handling all the arrangements,” Frank stated.
“He told me what he wanted and I’ll be happy to take care of it.”
“Thanks, David, much appreciated. Just make sure you don’t schedule the funeral for Wednesday as I have a big meeting that day,” and with those parting instructions Frank left David alone with the empty shell that had once been his Dad.
The reading of the will was a huge disappointment for the family. Other than the house and its contents, Randall had left them nothing.
Alice wept, but this time with real tears as she had been counting on a windfall that would make her dreams of travel come true. Frank cursed the cheap old man who had “left them all high and dry”. David simply went about the business of preparing the house for sale.
It took some time to clean the old place out. It might have gone quicker if Alice and Frank didn’t insist on inspecting every single thing before it was donated just in case something of value could come out of all.
David and Frank finally met with the agent to sign the papers putting the house on the market. It had been agreed that any offer had to be approved by the majority of siblings before the sale could be finalized. As Frank headed to his car, he noticed David grab a shovel from the shed.
“What’s that for?”
“Dad said something about roses before he died. I think he meant for us to bury him under his prize blooms. I’m going to dig up two of his favorites and transplant them on his burial site,” David replied.
“Do what you want. The old man was so drugged up he was probably rambling nonsense,” Frank scoffed and then drove off.
David remembered that his Dad had especially loved the lavender blooms. He began to dig carefully around them. The first came our easily. Wrapping the root ball tenderly in a piece of burlap, he took a swig of water and then started on the next one to be moved.
He was about halfway through when he hit something hard that prevented him from loosening the roots. He put the shovel down and used his hands to clear a trench around the mysterious object. It was a small safe. He pulled it clear of the rose bush to inspect it.
It wasn’t a combination lock, but a key lock. Examining it further, he found a key taped securely to its bottom. David opened the safe to find a letter and hundreds of large denomination bills.
Stunned, he fell like dead weight on the ground. The letter was a brief note from his Dad. It read:
“If you are reading this note, then you understood my last words. I converted everything I had to cash and placed it in this safe for you, David. If I had not done this, your brother and sister would have made your life miserable fighting for it. Take it and do some good in this world. You are the only one I can trust to do just that.”
David gathered up the safe and the letter and placed them in his car. He dug up the other rose and transplanted the two lavender blooms on either side of his father’s grave.
The house is still on the market because Frank and Alice never feel any offer is good enough. David gave up his right to any part of the proceeds and moved as far away as he could possibly get. He is in the process of creating a cancer hospice. Randall rests in peace with a smile on his lips beneath the roses.
His family gathered around him to pay their last respects. Through expiry burdened eyes, he surveyed his life’s legacy.
His daughter, Alice, wept profusely. It wasn’t that she was saddened by his passing, not at all. She always did what was expected and she knew tears were called for at such a time.
His eldest son, Frank, paced about like a caged panther. Time was money for him and this waiting grated on his every nerve. Randall knew that Frank could not wait for this all to be over.
His youngest son, David, sat next to the bed holding his hand and praying. Randall sighed heavily, he realized just how much David meant to him and counted him among one of the few things he would miss.
“You okay, Dad?” David asked concerned about his father’s change in breathing. “Should I get the nurse?”
Randall motioned David closer and whispered, “Beneath the roses, son. Beneath the roses.” Then Randall breathed his last breath.
“Is he gone?” Alice asked.
A nurse entered the room and confirmed Randall’s passing.
“Well, I have to go. My ladies group will want to hear the news. They will want to offer me support in my hour of grief and sometimes even bring goodies along. I may not have to cook for a week.” Alice gathered her things and flounced from the room as if nothing significant had happened.
“I have a pretty hectic schedule this week so I assume you’re okay with handling all the arrangements,” Frank stated.
“He told me what he wanted and I’ll be happy to take care of it.”
“Thanks, David, much appreciated. Just make sure you don’t schedule the funeral for Wednesday as I have a big meeting that day,” and with those parting instructions Frank left David alone with the empty shell that had once been his Dad.
The reading of the will was a huge disappointment for the family. Other than the house and its contents, Randall had left them nothing.
Alice wept, but this time with real tears as she had been counting on a windfall that would make her dreams of travel come true. Frank cursed the cheap old man who had “left them all high and dry”. David simply went about the business of preparing the house for sale.
It took some time to clean the old place out. It might have gone quicker if Alice and Frank didn’t insist on inspecting every single thing before it was donated just in case something of value could come out of all.
David and Frank finally met with the agent to sign the papers putting the house on the market. It had been agreed that any offer had to be approved by the majority of siblings before the sale could be finalized. As Frank headed to his car, he noticed David grab a shovel from the shed.
“What’s that for?”
“Dad said something about roses before he died. I think he meant for us to bury him under his prize blooms. I’m going to dig up two of his favorites and transplant them on his burial site,” David replied.
“Do what you want. The old man was so drugged up he was probably rambling nonsense,” Frank scoffed and then drove off.
David remembered that his Dad had especially loved the lavender blooms. He began to dig carefully around them. The first came our easily. Wrapping the root ball tenderly in a piece of burlap, he took a swig of water and then started on the next one to be moved.
He was about halfway through when he hit something hard that prevented him from loosening the roots. He put the shovel down and used his hands to clear a trench around the mysterious object. It was a small safe. He pulled it clear of the rose bush to inspect it.
It wasn’t a combination lock, but a key lock. Examining it further, he found a key taped securely to its bottom. David opened the safe to find a letter and hundreds of large denomination bills.
Stunned, he fell like dead weight on the ground. The letter was a brief note from his Dad. It read:
“If you are reading this note, then you understood my last words. I converted everything I had to cash and placed it in this safe for you, David. If I had not done this, your brother and sister would have made your life miserable fighting for it. Take it and do some good in this world. You are the only one I can trust to do just that.”
David gathered up the safe and the letter and placed them in his car. He dug up the other rose and transplanted the two lavender blooms on either side of his father’s grave.
The house is still on the market because Frank and Alice never feel any offer is good enough. David gave up his right to any part of the proceeds and moved as far away as he could possibly get. He is in the process of creating a cancer hospice. Randall rests in peace with a smile on his lips beneath the roses.
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Writing Prompt Your character is going to die within moments. What are the final words? Describe the circumstances of the pending death. |
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