The following post is in participation of the Weekly Writing Challenge: Cliffhanger as promoted at Wordpress.com. I was really nervous about writing a piece like this. I've never ventured in this arena, but wanted to do something I've never done before. Enjoy my Cliffhanger!
Sam heard the doorknob slowly turn, but kept his eyes closed. The pitter-patter of little feet across the hardwood floor made it clear that he couldn't push back the day any longer.
Sam heard the doorknob slowly turn, but kept his eyes closed. The pitter-patter of little feet across the hardwood floor made it clear that he couldn't push back the day any longer.
"Be quiet, he's still sleepy." He heard a quiet whisper accompanied with a fit of stifled giggling as the two little girls tip-toed back out of the room. This, however, was not the truth. It was the first time he was able to close his eyes all night. He let a deep breath out and the uncontrollable sobbing overcame him; shaking his whole body. For the past three hours he had replayed the memories over and over like on a looping reel. He revisited the unanswered questions until it seemed they would consume him entirely. Even after almost two decades, he could recall the day he got the news.
He begrudgingly got out of bed, splashed some water on his face and put eye drops in his blood shot eyes. Turning the water off, he braced himself against the vanity. He didn't even recognize the face he saw in the mirror. Dark circles ringed his eyes and what used to be laugh lines had turned into wrinkles of worry that settled in permanently. A slight smile curved his lips as he imagined what she would have said. When he closed his eyes, he could almost feel her slender hand softly running through his now grey hair and on his neck. She would probably laugh and tease him about being old. He would never come up with a proper rebuttal because there was only a few months in between their ages.
He grabbed an old family photo from a camping trip one summer as regret began washing over him; that familiar flood of guilt and opportunities lost. He ran his finger over his wife's face behind the glass of the frame. He remembered how she desperately wanted more children, but he wanted to travel the world. They argued about it on this trip until she finally got her way, as per usual. She somehow was able to convince him that they could do both. They made love that trip by the lake under the moonlight with the trust that what was supposed to happen would happen. He could hear her voice exactly as she had said it then, 'Oh, let it be Sam'.
He never imagined he would lose her entirely. He never thought he would only be able to smell her from her half empty bottle of perfume on her dresser. It never crossed his mind that he would miss her icy cold toes being shoved under his legs when she crawled into bed. Or how she insisted that they hold hands or be touching somehow constantly. Or that she was in her words, 'fashionably late' everywhere they went. He didn't care if he had to be late to everything for the rest of his life, he would give up anything to hear her laugh and see her eyes light up when she looked at him again.
"Oh my sweet Elizabeth. I miss you." He whispered with a deep sigh.
Suddenly he heard a soft knock at the bathroom door. A brief moment of panic jolted him from his daydream.
"What." He snapped, instantly regretting the harshness of his tone.
"Dad, Morgan and Lainey made you breakfast.", a soft voice came from behind the door.
"I'll be out in a second, sweetheart", he replied in a much calmer tone.
The door opened and Sam saw his daughter with tears welling in her eyes.
"Not now, Dina please, not now." Sam gave her a quick hug, "We don't even know what information they have." he said as he walked in the closet to change his clothes.
"I know, but it's still about the case. It just makes me nervous." Dina said quietly.
She sat on the counter like she used to do when she was a little girl. She remembered how her dad used to come out of the closet wearing mismatching outfits just to make her giggle. She used to love picking out his ties on the days he had important business meetings. He always said that she was his good luck charm. But he wasn't that man anymore.
"How do I look?" he asked her as he tried to fix his tie.
"Handsome as always." She replied with a smile as she helped him with his tie, although the black tux was ill-fitting from all the weight he had lost from stress over the years.
"Thanks peanut." He said as he flashed her a fake smile and kissed her forehead.
Dina grabbed her dad's hand, they both took a deep breath and walked out to the kitchen.
Sam spent the rest of the morning trying his hardest to put on a happy face for his granddaughters. He ate the breakfast that they made for him letting them see his enjoyment with every bite. Morgan begged him to let her tie his shoelaces since she had just learned how at kindergarten. Of course he couldn't say no and let her try several times while he finished his coffee. The first grandchild from both sides of the family, Morgan was accustomed to getting what she wanted. She was so gentle and mild-tempered that she rarely asked for anything that he would be unwilling to give. They were so alike in this way that he had to guard his emotions carefully around her so she wouldn't feed off his nerves.
A loud thump brought his attention to Lainey in the hallway where he couldn't help but smile. Morgan peeked around the corner and erupted in laughter falling to the floor. Almost 3 years old, Lainey could barely drag her grandpa's briefcase out of the hall closet. Her auburn pig tails already a mess and her miss-matched pajamas a couple sizes too big painted a picture too cute for words. Often he questioned how it was possible that so much spirit and spunk could be contained in such a little body. Lainey was the spitting image of her mother, Dina, with a special spark that instantly won the spotlight everywhere she went. Sam knew that Elizabeth would have had a special place in her heart for Lainey like he naturally had for Morgan.
Sam gave hug after hug and kiss after kiss to the girls until Dina distracted them so he could close the door. The drive to his lawyer's office was short and silent. His hands shook as he unbuckled his seat belt in the parking lot. He grabbed his briefcase and locked the doors in his systematic way as if he were on autopilot. He didn't understand what could have possibly changed in the case. They had gone over the evidence, narrowed down the most probable facts of the story and solidified the verdict. Much was unresolved because they couldn't find her body, but there was no known reason that the case should be revisited so many years later.
He was greeted by a new receptionist as soon as he walked in the door. She was obviously new and strangely nervous as she led him down the halls. The phone at the front desk began to ring so she asked him to please have a seat in the first room on the left and she turned to answer the phone. He walked across the empty office room to the gaze out of the window at the golden painted fall trees in the park. Footsteps turned his attention toward the door.
"Oh I'm sorry. She said to wait in this room. Maybe it was a mistake." a beautiful girl no more than 20 years old stood in the doorway. She gently tucked some long auburn strands of hair behind her ear to reveal a face full of freckles and the deepest brown eyes.
"I don't want to impose. I could go ask her. Or maybe I should just wait?" She laughed nervously as she took a couple steps into the room.
With perfect timing, Sam's lawyer walked into the room.
"Sam, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
He grabbed an old family photo from a camping trip one summer as regret began washing over him; that familiar flood of guilt and opportunities lost. He ran his finger over his wife's face behind the glass of the frame. He remembered how she desperately wanted more children, but he wanted to travel the world. They argued about it on this trip until she finally got her way, as per usual. She somehow was able to convince him that they could do both. They made love that trip by the lake under the moonlight with the trust that what was supposed to happen would happen. He could hear her voice exactly as she had said it then, 'Oh, let it be Sam'.
He never imagined he would lose her entirely. He never thought he would only be able to smell her from her half empty bottle of perfume on her dresser. It never crossed his mind that he would miss her icy cold toes being shoved under his legs when she crawled into bed. Or how she insisted that they hold hands or be touching somehow constantly. Or that she was in her words, 'fashionably late' everywhere they went. He didn't care if he had to be late to everything for the rest of his life, he would give up anything to hear her laugh and see her eyes light up when she looked at him again.
"Oh my sweet Elizabeth. I miss you." He whispered with a deep sigh.
Suddenly he heard a soft knock at the bathroom door. A brief moment of panic jolted him from his daydream.
"What." He snapped, instantly regretting the harshness of his tone.
"Dad, Morgan and Lainey made you breakfast.", a soft voice came from behind the door.
"I'll be out in a second, sweetheart", he replied in a much calmer tone.
The door opened and Sam saw his daughter with tears welling in her eyes.
"Not now, Dina please, not now." Sam gave her a quick hug, "We don't even know what information they have." he said as he walked in the closet to change his clothes.
"I know, but it's still about the case. It just makes me nervous." Dina said quietly.
She sat on the counter like she used to do when she was a little girl. She remembered how her dad used to come out of the closet wearing mismatching outfits just to make her giggle. She used to love picking out his ties on the days he had important business meetings. He always said that she was his good luck charm. But he wasn't that man anymore.
"How do I look?" he asked her as he tried to fix his tie.
"Handsome as always." She replied with a smile as she helped him with his tie, although the black tux was ill-fitting from all the weight he had lost from stress over the years.
"Thanks peanut." He said as he flashed her a fake smile and kissed her forehead.
Dina grabbed her dad's hand, they both took a deep breath and walked out to the kitchen.
Sam spent the rest of the morning trying his hardest to put on a happy face for his granddaughters. He ate the breakfast that they made for him letting them see his enjoyment with every bite. Morgan begged him to let her tie his shoelaces since she had just learned how at kindergarten. Of course he couldn't say no and let her try several times while he finished his coffee. The first grandchild from both sides of the family, Morgan was accustomed to getting what she wanted. She was so gentle and mild-tempered that she rarely asked for anything that he would be unwilling to give. They were so alike in this way that he had to guard his emotions carefully around her so she wouldn't feed off his nerves.
A loud thump brought his attention to Lainey in the hallway where he couldn't help but smile. Morgan peeked around the corner and erupted in laughter falling to the floor. Almost 3 years old, Lainey could barely drag her grandpa's briefcase out of the hall closet. Her auburn pig tails already a mess and her miss-matched pajamas a couple sizes too big painted a picture too cute for words. Often he questioned how it was possible that so much spirit and spunk could be contained in such a little body. Lainey was the spitting image of her mother, Dina, with a special spark that instantly won the spotlight everywhere she went. Sam knew that Elizabeth would have had a special place in her heart for Lainey like he naturally had for Morgan.
Sam gave hug after hug and kiss after kiss to the girls until Dina distracted them so he could close the door. The drive to his lawyer's office was short and silent. His hands shook as he unbuckled his seat belt in the parking lot. He grabbed his briefcase and locked the doors in his systematic way as if he were on autopilot. He didn't understand what could have possibly changed in the case. They had gone over the evidence, narrowed down the most probable facts of the story and solidified the verdict. Much was unresolved because they couldn't find her body, but there was no known reason that the case should be revisited so many years later.
He was greeted by a new receptionist as soon as he walked in the door. She was obviously new and strangely nervous as she led him down the halls. The phone at the front desk began to ring so she asked him to please have a seat in the first room on the left and she turned to answer the phone. He walked across the empty office room to the gaze out of the window at the golden painted fall trees in the park. Footsteps turned his attention toward the door.
"Oh I'm sorry. She said to wait in this room. Maybe it was a mistake." a beautiful girl no more than 20 years old stood in the doorway. She gently tucked some long auburn strands of hair behind her ear to reveal a face full of freckles and the deepest brown eyes.
"I don't want to impose. I could go ask her. Or maybe I should just wait?" She laughed nervously as she took a couple steps into the room.
With perfect timing, Sam's lawyer walked into the room.
"Sam, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
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