Late last year, one of my short narrative pieces was published in The Sun magazine. Each month, they have a section in their magazine called “Readers Write.” My piece was published under the theme “Men and Women.”
My mom passed away in June of 2017. It took me a while to start writing about her passing. The following piece is about how my dad and I have moved on since her death. You can see other pieces like mine by clicking on this link:
https://www.thesunmagazine.org/issues/515/men-and-women
Here’s the piece from The Sun:
Ever since my mom passed away a few weeks ago, my dad has wanted to get a pedicure with me. It’s something I always wanted to do with my mom, but I didn’t have a chance before her unexpected death from a stroke.
When my elderly father and I arrive at the nail salon, he insists I get the deluxe pedicure — complete with a warm-towel wrap, massage, and sea-salt exfoliation. The women at the salon know my father by name and express their condolences about my mom. He would bring her there each month and wait patiently for her to get her toes done. Once in a while he would get a pedicure, too.
The only man in the salon, my father settles into the cushioned recliner, rolls up his pants legs, and puts his feet in the tub of hot water. I sit next to him and do the same.
“You have your mother’s feet,” the woman says as she gently massages my calves and soles, and my eyes fill with tears.
When the woman is ready to paint my toenails, she asks me what color. I usually prefer muted tones, but my dad points to a bright polish and tells me it’s the one my mom usually picked. I agree it’s perfect. My father closes his eyes as the woman rubs lotion on his feet. We sit, enjoying our new father-daughter ritual, both missing my mom in our own ways.