Birds of Jamaica by Frank Bernal
8 min @ Noir Coffee & Tea, TO
Kate and Robin hadn’t said a complete sentence to each other since 1995. Quite a feat in their garrulous and extended Irish family. Kate facilitated the arrangement by constantly being on assignment with Doctors Without Borders whenever the holidays rolled around. Robin was convinced Kate thought this made her a superior human being. Kate thought this just made her equal parts interesting and odd to her niece and nephew she barely knew. Their mother, the peace-loving English Rose and ever the outsider, strived for reconciliation up until the end. And so here they were, co-executors planning the details of her funeral.
“Who the hell care if the edges are cut off the sandwiches?” snapped Kate through grief tight jaws.
“No one! That’s not the point, people expect to be fed and we’re going to feed them as she would and she would have done goddamn tea sandwiches so that’s what we’re doing for her!”
By the time she finished, panting and breathless, Robin could only stare at her sister in amazement and wonder. Her blue eyes remained wide open as her vision flooded with salty water, loss and despair.
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