Conflicting Emotions

The rest of Saturday consisted of Keeley trying to distract her dad. They watched movies, played board games, and went out to dinner at one of their favorite hole in the wall restaurants. The sadness in his eyes lingered but at least she was right there with him. She hoped it was making some sort of difference.

Sunday was different. On the anniversary, they always broke out old photo albums, talked about their memories, and visited the graveside. It wasn't a time for distraction; it was a time to embrace the pain by celebrating the lives that had been cut short.

When they arrived at the graveside, she noticed that there were some wilted flowers. They couldn't have been more than a week old.

Keeley glanced at her dad. How often had he been coming here on his own since she moved out? He must have been even lonelier than she thought.