One Missed Call

...your roommate tells you all about her day at work at the nursing home—about the old man that shat himself three feet from the toilet and the lady who carries a card around to remind her who she is and where she is and why. She even tells you about the man that passed away last week—Scotty Baldwin, the one who sang “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” as the nurses were putting him to bed at night and swore the character on General Hospital was named after him. You would have liked him, you think.

Halfway through your Cheerios—the last in the box, because on top of everything else you neglected to go grocery shopping this weekend—your mother calls. Her voice is softer and lower than usual, and as soon as she asks, “Do you have a minute?” you know it's bad news.

Your father's uncle passed away this morning,