“In Death” was originally published in Spelk Fiction back in 2019. It was also one of the first stories I ever sent out on my Substack. Since there are new readers here, I figured I’d bring it back to the surface to see the sun again. Thanks for reading!
It had been a while since he’d shaved. Years, in fact.
He wasn’t so sure why he wanted the beard to begin with. His wife had probably made a comment about how handsome he’d look with one, or something to that effect. But when he sat to actually ponder the question, it hit him smack-dab in the face: his father had been clean-shaven his whole life.
He had butted heads with his father since the day he was born. There were no pictures, videos, or flowers for the occasion. On the day he went home from the hospital, his father carried him out alone.
When his father passed away in October, he imagined that tears would pour down his face and into his beard: sodden memories of the rugged, tough-loving man. But as the casket lowered into the ground, he felt nothing. He held his daughters tight as they cried for their Papa.
When November came, he knew he had to lose the beard – lose the act. He couldn’t remain mad at him. Maybe in life, but not in death.
Before the entire family came over for Thanksgiving dinner, he stood in the bathroom looking at himself, wondering how he had come to this exact moment – contemplating why he’d decided to hold on to the grudge for so long. It was a choice, after all.
That’s when the tears fell.
He didn’t let the beard catch them. They deserved better than that. He clipped it away with a pair of scissors and shaved it down with one of his wife’s razors from the shower.
When it was gone, he traced the lines, the wrinkles, the age with wonder, trying to figure out how he could take it all back.
Thank you so much for being here and for reading. I’d love to hear any comments and/or feedback on this one. It’s always great hearing from you all.
Also, have you ever held a grudge or witnessed someone else do so? What was the impact?
I hope you have a great week!
Fifties by the Fire
So, I was thinking…would anyone like to create a prompt for Fifties by the Fire? If interested, please feel free to send me an email at alongthehudson@substack.com. I will give you credit and mention your Substack in both the lead-in post and the thread itself.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
When I look in the mirror, I see my dad staring back at me. It's a moment in time we think will never overtake us, and when it does we wonder where the kid in the mirror went. In this case he disappeared with the beard!
This was gorgeous, Justin. Brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing this today. 💛