Chapter 1

I was twelve when my father died in an industrial accident. The auto industry was booming at the time and Dad was getting all the overtime he wanted. As a skilled tradesman, he worked as an electrician. Even though he worked a lot of overtime, he always made time for me and Mom.

I still remember the day the plant superintendent knocked on our front door. Mr. Hillman and dad worked together for over fifteen years. He was a friend of the family as well as Dad’s boss. The sound of my mother screaming made me run from my bedroom to the living room to see what happened.

My mother was in Mr. Hillman’s arms, crying uncontrollably. I asked what was wrong and he held up one finger then put it to his lips. I don’t know why, but I began crying too. Mom must have heard me because she turned her head to look in my direction. She released her grip on Mr. Hillman, dropped to one knee, and held out her arms. I moved into her warm embrace, feeling her arms hug me tightly.

“Justin, your father’s gone,” Mom said.

Confused, I asked, “Where?”

Mr. Hillman knelt next to us, putting his arm around my shoulders. “Your father died in an accident today.”

Turning to Mom, I looked into her tear filled eyes. She nodded, pulled me closer, and resumed crying. Her tears retriggered mine and we sobbed together. Mr. Hillman stayed next to us, trying to comfort Mom and me. It took about twenty minutes before Mom regained enough of her composure to ask Mr. Hillman what happened.

“It was a freak accident. Sid was working on a crane track when one of the lifts surged, hitting the power cutoff switch. Sid had the power locked out, but when the lift crushed the box, it sent power to the track. It electrocuted him and he fell thirty feet to the floor.

“The paramedics and the doctor said he was gone before he hit the floor. Fran, Justin, please, if there’s anything I can do,” Mr. Hillman said.

“Where is he, Larry?” Mom asked.

“He’s at Memorial. If you’d like, I can drive you over.”

Mom nodded. We all got up, standing nervously as we each became lost in our own thoughts. Dad and I were best friends and now he was gone. We fished together a few times, with promises for future trips. I followed my mother to her room, waiting outside the door as she changed into a pair of slacks. Once she was dressed, we left for the hospital.

A nurse told me to wait until Mom identified Dad’s body. When she came out of the room, she asked if I wanted to go see him. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I nodded. The nurse pulled the sheet back and I broke down again. I flung myself at the lifeless body, hugging my father for all I was worth. Mom and Mr. Hillman had to pull me away.

The next few days were a blur. Mom took care of all of the arrangements for the funeral with Mr. Hillman’s help. For two days and evenings, I stayed near my father’s open casket. It seemed like hundreds of people filed by the coffin, some of them kneeling to say a prayer. They told me how sorry they were for Mom’s, and my loss, but it wasn’t very comforting.

Like Mom and me, Mr. Hillman was at the funeral home the entire time. His wife and daughter came by, but didn’t stay as long as Mr. Hillman did. I knew Kelly Hillman from the backyard barbecues and parties I attended with my parents. She was about a month older than I was. At my age, I had very little interest in girls or the things they liked. Kelly always talked about her favorite rock band or her involvement in school. I was very shy and only talked to her or any other girl, to be polite. My parents taught me to be nice and treat people the same way I wanted to be treated.

We buried my dad on the fifth of August. The funeral was my first and I prayed it would be my last. After the graveside service, we met at a hall for a luncheon. It was weird how much stress lifted from my mom’s and my shoulders. We visited with friends and family, talking about the things we remembered about dad’s life. Everyone I talked said something nice about my father.

I sat at one of the tables drinking a soda when Kelly Hillman came over. She pulled out the chair next to mine, sat down, and rested her folded arms on the table. Kelly didn’t say anything to me as she sat silently.

“Hi, Kelly, would you like a soda or something?” I asked, looking up at her.

“No thank you. Are you doing okay?”

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s hard, but I guess I’ll be okay.”

Kelly opened her purse, took out a pen and a small piece of paper. She wrote on it and then put it in my hand. “If you ever need to talk, you can call me.”

I put the paper in my suit jacket pocket without looking at it. “Thank you.”

Kelly smiled, got up, and went over to where her mom and dad were talking to my mother. I talked with one of my cousins for a few moments before going over to where mom sat. When I sat next to Mom, she took my hand in hers.

Mom and Mr. Hillman were talking about something I didn’t understand. When he told Mom he would be a witness if she needed him to. She shook her head.

“Thanks, but I don’t want you to jeopardize your job. You and June have Kelly to think about,” Mom said.

“I’m not worried about it. I don’t think anything will happen to my job. Sid would have done the same for me,” Mr. Hillman said.

Chapter 2 »