She straddled him and he grinned up at her.
“Oh, you the boss now?”
She laughed. “I am chief now. You may call me Chief … Always Ready for Action.”
“A fine Native American name.”
“I thank you.”
“Chief?”
“Yes?”
“I think that’s my night stick you’ve got hold of.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Okay then …”
It was late evening when the residential home called Sandor to tell him his father had passed. Sandor listened in silence then thanked the nurse. “I’ll make the funeral arrangements,” he told her, stoic as ever, but when he hung up the phone, he felt a shift inside him. Damn it, Dad, couldn’t you have waited until after Christmas?
He felt bad then. He had known this was coming, that his father was spiraling downwards, but it was still a shock. His last remaining family. s**t.
His cell phone rang a
