Tatiana Penz

A Sweet Goodbye

He sat in his window seat, staring off into the clouds. They looked as though they were soft enough to lay on. How beautiful they appeared, floating in the blue sky. This was what he needed. Anything to take his mind away from thinking about the reason why he was headed to his hometown of Virginia. Jacob got the call from his sister Lidia. It was one of those calls no one wants to get in the middle of the night. That sound of a phone ring bursting into complete silence always represents an emergency. A week before, his father had been rushed to the hospital for shortness of breath, only to be told he unfortunately had Covid-19 after being tested for it. It was the scariest time for any elderly person, facing pre-existing conditions to be told they have the Corona Virus. He went from being stabilized to being put on a ventilator, and in a matter of days was gone. Now, Jacob along with his sisters were planning to bury their father. He kept hearing his fiancé’s voice going off in his head, telling him days ago, “just go get on a plan babe and see about your father, Covid can be tricky. You never know.” Yes, those were her words, but Jacob actually thought his father would be fine and make it back home. Once he landed, he headed straight for his father’s home. It had been two years since the last time he was there, so he needed to quickly be in his father’s space. He wanted to smell his colognes, see his favorite book and glasses sitting on the nightstand next to the bed. He wanted to look up at the wall to the right side of the room at the article he had framed on the wall that read "Hail To The Redskins." He was the biggest Redskins fan, which made Jacob be the same die-hard fan. He walked through the room slowly, taking deep breaths in and out. The tears came, and the tears fell. He couldn’t stop nor help it. It was like a faucet turned on inside that no one could turn off.