When we were wallflowers

16

"Hmm, they are taking kind of long, right?" I asked. I looked over to Papa, who finished setting the table up. I sat down at the table, and I looked toward the door. Papa looked at his watch and began to cross his arms. "You are right; they are taking long; it's been nearly forty minutes," he spoke. He began to scratch at his stubble worriedly and leaned against the countertop. "Here, let me call Alfred," I said. Papa nodded, and I took out my phone.

I placed the phone against my ear and waited as it dialed; why on earth would they be taking so long? I began to tap my foot anxiously, and Papa watched me nervously.

"Hey!"

"Alfred! Hey!"

"I'm not on the phone, but make sure the message is cool!" His voice box spoke. "Ugh!" I groaned. "What is it?" Papa asked. "Hey, Alfred, call back ASAP," I demanded. I hung the phone up, and Papa looked at me, worried. "Just voicemail," I explained.

"Try calling again," he spoke. I nodded and began to call again. At this point, Papa began to look for his phone. Alfred's voicemail went into effect again, and I hung up. "Nothing?" Papa asked. "No," I spoke.

Papa furrowed his eyebrows and began to place his phone against his ear. He waited a few seconds, and within seconds he looked frustrated. "Arthur? Call me back! What is taking so long?" Papa spoke. I'm guessing dad didn't answer either. Papa kept trying to call, and I watched as he dialed back four times. "Papa, something doesn't seem right," I spoke.

I had this ugly feeling in my stomach. He looked at me, worried, and put his phone away. "Matthew, I will be right back; stay here," he started. My eyes widened, and I watched as he began to turn the stove off. "Go get my keys!" He demanded. I nodded quickly and ran to the front door to grab his keys. He was starting to get dressed and put his shoes on.

"Do you think they are okay?" I asked. I stood by him as he put his shoes on. I looked at the time; it had been an hour since they left. "Just stay here; I will be back," he spoke. I nodded, and he began to put his coat on.

Suddenly...

A knock at the door made us stop moving around, and we both turned toward the knock. "That has to be them! Maybe something happened to their phones?" I laughed. Papa looked relieved, and he threw himself against the sofa. "Thank goodness," he spoke. "I will go get it!" I smiled. I quickly ran toward the door, and I thought it was weird that they didn't unlock it themselves.

I opened the door, and to my surprise, it wasn't them. "Uh... Hello?" I spoke, confused. Two officers were standing outside the door. "Hey, kid, can we talk to your parents?" One of them said. Suddenly I felt this weird feeling in my stomach; something terrible had happened.

"DAD!!!" I yelled, not breaking my eye contact with the officers.

I watched the officers lift their hats off their heads and heard my Papa stand up. "What is Matthew—"

Papa pulled me back, and I looked at him nervously. "What's going on?" Papa asked. I continued to listen to them, and the officers looked nervous. "Are you Francis? You were on the emergency card for your Husband and Son," the officer spoke.

My feet were wobbly, and I grabbed onto my Papa.

"Yes, what's going on? Where are my Husband and Son?"

"Sir... please, can we come in so you can sit down?" The officer asked. "What? There is no need! Just tell me what has happened," Papa demanded. I looked at the officers, who looked at each other nervously. "Your Husband and son were in a car accident... it was awful," One of the police officers started. I felt sick, and I looked to Papa, who was shocked. "Your Husband didn't make it; he was pronounced dead on sight," the officer started. I froze in my place, hearing what they said.

I looked at my Papa slowly, and he looked angry. "How could you say that? You are lying! This is a joke! My Husband said he'd be back!" Papa yelled. Tears began to well up from his eyes, and I held onto him.

"Sir, please, we need to take you to the station," the officer started. Tears began falling from my Papa's eyes, and I felt horrified. "No, this can't be true, please... please tell me you are lying,"Papa cried. He began to hold onto the door tightly, and the officers shook their heads at him. "I am so sorry, sir... There was nothing we could do."

"No, you could have done something," Papa cried.

I felt tears fall from my eyes and watched as Papa fell to his knees slowly. He looked down to the floor and held his hand onto his chest, as if he was just shot. He began sobbing into his hands, and his cries were of agony and despair. "No, not Arthur... not my Arthur," he cried. "Not Arthur...please, don't let it be true," He cried. I began to cry more, and I fell to my knees to hold him. "No, my Arthur...take me instead," he sobbed. He grabbed onto me tightly and began sobbing into the crook of my neck. I began to cry harder, and we held onto each other. I was sure the officers had no idea what to do.

Suddenly he stopped and looked at me, horrified. "Is Alfred?" He started, not even looking at the officers. "No, but he is in critical condition...there is a chance he might not make it, and we need you to come with us now," the officer spoke. I felt tears fall to my cheeks, and I started crying more. My dear brother, the idea of him also being gone made me die inside.

"Alfred, not my baby," Papa cried. He continued to hug me, but I knew that we had to go. "Papa, we have to go," I called. I was holding in my tears, but I wanted to faint. "I should have gone to look sooner," he cried. He held me tightly, and he did not want to let go.

My heart was shattering as I heard his voice break. Papa continued to sob into my shoulder, and I felt weak and sick. "Sir, please, you need to come with us," the officer spoke. "I will go with you; let's go, papa," I cried. He held my face and looked into my eyes. His eyes were full of misery, and he wiped the tears from my eyes. "Okay, papa is here; I'm here for us," his voice cracked. Papa wiped his tears, seriously pulling me up and looking at the officers. His demeanor had changed within seconds, and it scared me a little.

"Let's go then," Papa spoke. The officers Papaed, and we left the house without a second thought.