Sober Friday

Today, I was up at the front of the store folding clothes and eavesdropping on people coming and going.

I was listening in on this blond lady in her late 40s. I heard her ask the person on the other end of her cell phone,
"When did it happen?"

Her mother died.

The blond woman started crying right there on the spot.

"I can't believe she's gone," she repeated over and over through her muffled tears. Her husband held her and slowly escorted her out of the store while a sad song filtered through the speakers.

It made me want to cry. I wanted to hug her, to somehow make her feel better even though I knew that a simple hug never could.

My parents are getting older. They will die someday, and that scares me. I will have to continue on without their guidance.

Sometimes I think that I haven't been a good enough daughter. That I haven't thanked them enough. That I've asked for too much and given too little back.

What a solemn night.