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Traditions: Consecutive Substack Story 1029

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

Eddie’s ashes sat in an urn next to the TV where Burke Rolsch knew he would look at them every day.

Missy sat on the stairs, watching the TV through the banister with one hand over her right eye, occasionally slamming the open eye shut.

The small living room was full of boxes and bags, and a metal clothes rack Eddie made himself.

Eddie’s last words to Burke were “She’ll let you know about the …you know. Be ready.”

He slept after that, curled up in the morphine, and died two days later while Burke was delivering disposable examining room paper to Gotz Urgent Care.

Burke wanted to dig in the boxes, but that was against Missy’s rules.

Burke quit his job with Narbor Paper to care for Missy. Eddie had left some money, not a lot, not enough really, but Missy came first.

Missy had been the first Rolsch child to call their parents by their first names and it stuck.

Now it was just the two of them.

Burry and Missy.

When she was younger, if people asked Eddie what was wrong with his daughter he would tell them she had “extreme individuality.”

She had that for sure, but there were other things too, and she wouldn’t leave the house. Burke had to move into Eddie’s to care for her, keep checking the very small list of doctors who would visit.

Alanders put their decorations up first, a skeleton hanging from the non-functioning gas lamp, then the Borzers put out some overstuffed bean bag jack o’lantern.

The new family in the Craftsman house down the block went apeshit with giant skeletons and purple floodlights and a coffin that opened and closed on its own.

Burke thought that would get Missy’s attention.

Days after that big display went up, Burke, following Eddie’s lifelong calendar, bought and carved a pumpkin to Missy’s exact specifications when she was seven.

Missy still hadn’t opened a box.

Burke flipped to a west coast hockey game, thought about cleaning up Missy’s dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets with mayonnaise that she left in the foyer, thought she might eat one more.

A commercial for a taco chain came on. Their mascot morphed into a very friendly looking vampire and unleashed a comically faux spooky howl.

Missy walked down the three steps as if she was seeing them, at the age of forty three, for the first time.

Missy smiled.

“Burry. Time to fun.”

She looked through three boxes before deciding on a bear that had been a very popular TV bear for a very short period of time.

Missy climbed into the costume.

She struggled and stumbled but the Rolsch kids learned early that Missy’s transformation was hers alone.

Burke Rolsch was barefoot and the Sharks had a 5 on 3 power play he wanted to watch. But he was off the porch like he was seventeen years old, across the street without looking both ways and banging on the Alander’s door.

Colleen Alander opened and Burke said “I know it’s kinda late but-”

“Missy?” Colleen asked.

Burke nodded, out of breath. He was not seventeen anymore.

Colleen was immediately on her phone. 

“Jackie, Missy time. Can you tell– of course.Excellent. Let anyone know I have extra peanut butter cups.”

Burke Rolsch jogged back to the house.

A few porch lights blinked on down the block.

The bear steps onto the porch holding a pillow case and a plastic jack o’lantern.

It is October 8th. The bear will trick or treat Rutherford Street tonight, and maybe Spiderman or a Princess the next night. Maybe the bear five nights in a row.

Burke watches Missy walk down the block and up to houses.

He thinks maybe he’ll borrow a piece of candy, and put it in Eddie’s urn.

Missy walks up the Petriski’s porch and screams trick or treat at a door she’d never visit otherwise.

Most of the neighbors cooperate, open the door, and give her candy or coins.

Some of them pity Missy.

And some of them, some of the adults, are jealous of her, just a little tiny bit.

***