I Paid My Father $250 in Rent Every Month for Five Years. After His Funeral, His Best Friend Gave Me a Key and a Box.
I wondered how many of the small pleasures he had given away because it felt disloyal to enjoy them without her.
I carried my mug into the living room and opened the guitar case in his closet.
His old acoustic guitar was still inside.
The wood smelled of dust and dry varnish.
A folded sheet of paper lay beneath the strings.
It was a set list from a summer concert held the year before Mom died.