1
ASH
If I didn't know better,I'd think my life is a fairy tale.
Orphan? Check.
Evil stepmom? Check.
A never-ending assortment of problems stemming from aforementioned stepmom? Check.
The only problem with my theory is the lack of a dashing prince coming to my rescue.
Dramatic much? Maybe, but try being on the receiving end of yet another bill to fix a truck that by any standards should be in a scrapyard, and you'll agree I'm entitled to being as dramatic as I like.
"She's hanging by a thread, Ash," Bill says, patting the dusty once-red hood of the old truck. "You know, today it was a loose wire in the battery, tomorrow it could be the transmission. You need a reliable truck if you're driving in and out of the city every day. Especially at this time of year. I hear it’s going to be a really frosty winter."
"I know, but I can't afford a new truck right now." Or more that I can't bear the thought of not driving The Duchess anymore.
Bill nods. He knows both the truck and me all too well, by virtue of having worked for my family business most of his life. Until my dad died, that is.
Now the only thing left is a pile of bills, and work that is too much for a single person to handle.
Still, I mustn't moan. I have a job and a roof over my head, just no dashing prince.
Like I even have time for a relationship, or to be swept off my feet, for that matter.
I get back into the truck and put it in gear, using the same trick I saw my dad use over and over again. So long ago, but as clear in my mind as if it were today.
The bunch of flowers I picked up from a friend at the farmer's market earlier sits, still fresh thanks to the cold temperature, in the seat next to me.
I don't turn the heating on. The last thing I need is for that to go wrong too, so I keep my gloves on and drive the ten miles to Cinder Farm. My childhood home, my parent's final resting place, and the only place on earth that I want to escape from as much as I want to see it thrive again.
Not surprisingly, the site of my parents' graves is deserted. I could say it's because of the winter chill, made colder by the rapidly disappearing sun on the horizon. But the truth is, even if today were the warmest, most beautiful spring day, you'd never see my stepmother pay her respects to the man she owed everything to, six years after his death.
"Hey, Dad, hey, Mom," I say, approaching the graves. I pull the elastic band keeping the bunch of flowers together and put it in my pocket before I split the bunch into two.
I place one half of the flowers on my mom's grave, the other half on my dad's.
"How's it going?" I say, obviously not expecting an actual answer. "Dad, The Duchess is back to her tricks again. I'm not sure how long she has left, but I have a feeling she's going to be joining you in heaven before spring comes."
The thought of seeing my dad reunited with his beloved truck makes me smile. I have fewer memories of my mom, since she died when I was only seven, but I still remember her saying that if she didn't know better she'd think my dad was married to the old truck rather than her.
Their love was the thing of actual fairy tales, and my dad wrote it as such in the journal he left me when he died. Apart from The Duchess, it’s my most prized possession.
To this day, it still puzzles me how he could love my mother in such a beautiful and timeless way, and then marry the evil wench that is my stepmother.
Okay, okay, she's notthatevil. But she's...difficult.
"So...with the truck needing a new battery, Izzy wanting a new iPad for Christmas, and Annie's music tuition, I've got to ask you. Is there some kind of ATM up there I can draw free money from? Because I'm kinda at a loss as to how to find all this money I'm supposed to magically grow."
No answer again. I sigh. "Fine, I guess you can keep your flowers and I'll come by next week. Don't get up to any trouble up there. And Dad…I still miss you every day."
Despite always trying to keep my chats with them light, and generally moaning a little about my family, a tear still escapes my eye.
Damn it. I promised myself I wouldn't get emotional.
I get back to the truck to make the rest of the way up the driveway to the large farmhouse.
