The Last Man Standing - Excerpt

Brother When the telephone rings, I know. He is gone, Brother says. I held a mirror to the mouth. Will you come on?

Sister I call Sister. He has passed, she says. I ask, How do you feel about your father's death? That, she replies, is a question I do not accept. I do not wish to answer that, says Sister.

Agnes As I speak with Agnes, she tells me that the undertakers have arrived for the body. Agnes orders her door shut. I don't want to see him, she says. Although Agnes has been blind for a decade, there has never been a problem seeing him.

Family As I speak on the telephone, my wife and infant daughter watch me from the living room. I gesture a thumbs down. My wife nods. When I join them, they wait for me to speak. I say nothing, my chest tight. Shall I arrange a ticket for you? She asks. The old guy is dead, I say.

Father Betty serves Father a side dish of fresh asparagus. Father orders her to take it back to the kitchen and warm the plate she has served it on. ON the third try, Father is satisfied that both the fresh, thin stalks of asparagus and the plate are of the correct temperature.