Suddenly I heard the back doors open and I swear I jumped a foot in the air. I turned around to see Clarabelle’s father, Mr. Clemons walking my way. He was a busy business man who could not have a conversation without work being brought up. He wore a grey business suit with a white button down, and shiny black dress shoes that clacked on the white tile floor.
Finn, you’re still here?” He said, surprised, still walking towards me.
“Yes sir.” I replied still in shock of what just happened. “I’ve been here all day.”
Someone had to stay here. I though to myself.
“Ah, yes I wish I could have. Something came up in the office and I just had to leave right away. I haven’t been able to get away. But you know, that’s one of the responsibilities of having a well paying job.” He boasted.
My hands clenched and un-clenched at my sides almost wanting to strangle him. He never gave Clarabelle the attention she deserved, the attention she needed. And now that she was dead, he still didn’t pay any attention to her.
I looked back down at Clarabelle’s small figure laying on the soft silk. The looked the same as when I first got there. If must have been a dream. Some sick game my mind was playing on my due to exhaustion. Clarabelle was dead and that’s all there was to it.
“Oh, Finn. I went home before I came here” Mr. Clemons said, his eyes switching between looking at the floor then looking back up at me over and over again.
“ And Cristine… um… well… she found this among Clarabelle’s things…” He said reaching his hand into his inner jacket pocket to pull out a small powder pink envelope. He walked over to me, his eyes on the floor again.
“It’s addressed to you …. Um… we assume she wrote it as a goodbye or an explanation. I don’t know . She wrote us one but it didn’t explain much.” He said.
His tone was almost aggravated. He was upset that she had killed herself. This was all her fault.
“It’s been tough at work. People look at you… differently.” He said, adjusting his tie and standing up more straight.
Clarabelle was gone. His little girl was gone. His only little girl killed herself and all he cared about was his reputation. His appearance. Work. All he cared about was work.
I tried to contain my rage. My hands were trembling and I was seeing red. He handed the pink envelope over. I took it with shaking hands and looked down at my name that was written in her dramatic, messy, but legible writing.
“I assume this will all blow over in a month or so and then we can all move on with our lives.” He said sighing. I couldn’t hold back any longer.
“You’re kidding right?” I said, my voice shaking.
“Excuse me?”
“I said” raising my voice, “You’re kidding”
“No, Finn, I am not kidding. This will all be over within a month and Cristine and I can move on with our lives. Honestly, I hope other people get over it too, it’s harming my business.” He said in a business tone. That’s it. I stepped closer to him and looked him dead straight in the eyes.
“This isn’t some business deal, sir. This is life. Your little girl just killed herself and you’re telling me that it’s a detriment to your job? You never cared about Clarabelle and to be honest, I don’t think you even care now. All she wanted to do was please you, make you notice her. But you never paid attention to her. And now that she’s gone and done something to make you notice her, you’re angry. But you’re not angry because she’s gone., no, you’re angry because of how it makes you look. You didn’t deserve to have a daughter like Clarabelle., and she deserved better than this. This isn’t business. This isn’t something that’s going to go away. Clarabelle’s gone. And she’s never coming back”.
