Jessie Alone

 
Jessie Buddy and I rushed in, me from Des Moines, he from Tulsa, to give Baby a spell and start putting their affairs in order. Mother and Father dead at the scene but Helen lived on two days and five hours. Everyone said she wouldn’t want to live if she knew. Head wound, upper right temple. Internal hemorrhage. Broken pelvis, two broken wrists, concussion, broken cheekbone. Face purple. You wouldn’t think it was her lying there. Only once did she come to. Buddy was down at the post office trying to send a telegraph to Aunt Frances and Baby was back at the house. She kind of blinked and said it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. She told me I would have to care for them, now. The last unmarried sister. I couldn’t tell if she knew. Only the last thing she did say, the very last thing I could understand, was, “I guess Buddy’ll get the house.” Buddy!  

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The End of Time