Free Wired by Robert L. Wise

turned on the shower. The water splattered against the door. Graham
     leaned against the glass, pressing his head against the pane and listening to the pounding of the water. The shower sounded
     certain and predictable. If there was anything he needed, it was something certain and predictable.
    When Graham came downstairs, Matthew was sitting at the kitchen table with George next to him. George had on his bathrobe
     and silently stared at the tabletop. He had slipped into the chair at the end of the long table.
    “Good morning, boys,” Graham said.
    “Good morning, Dad,” Matt answered.
    Graham leaned forward and put his hand on little George's shoulder. “Good morning, son.”
    George looked up. His eyes weren't as blank as they had been last night, but he still looked disengaged. For a moment he stared
     at his father as if waiting for the right words to come out by themselves. “Yes,” he finally said.
    Graham sighed. “Good. Good. Can you talk to me, George?”
    George frowned and this eyes teared up. “I… I… think so.”
    “Fine.” Graham patted him on the hand. “I'm glad to hear it.”
    “Dad,” Matt said. “What are we going to do?”
    Graham ran his hand through his hair. “We have to take it one step at a time today, son. We have to be tough.”
    Mary came in leading Jeff by the hand. She sat down and put Jeff next to her. Mary had on an old sweatshirt and Jeff was still
     wearing his pajamas. Jackie followed them with her wet hair wrapped in a towel. She looked plain, drawn, and worn.
    “Grammy always fixed breakfast,” Mary said and sniffed. “Now we have to do it for ourselves.”
    Nobody said anything.
    Finally Matthew asked, “All the churches I know about are empty and closed. How can we have a service for Grammy?”
    Graham looked at Jackie. “That's the last problem I've thought about, but Matthew has a point. Apparently most churches are
     locked up.”
    Jackie didn't answer. Her eyes looked almost as empty as George's did.
    “I mean,” Matt muttered, “I don't know… after all…” He stopped.
    “Son, the funeral homes have rooms, auditoriums,” Graham said. “I'm sure we can work out something with them.”
    The family sat at the table, staring into space with each person thinking about their own special set of memories. No one
     said anything for several minutes.
    “I never thought about death.” Matthew finally broke the silence. “In fact, other than Grandfather Albert's service, I've
     never even been to a funeral. Of course, I was young then. I didn't even know what to think about someone dying.”
    Jackie nodded. “My parents died before you children were born. They were killed in a car wreck.” She shook her head and covered
     her eyes. “It was a terrible, terrible experience. I guess we avoided talking about death after the accident.” Jackie looked
     at Matthew. “We never talked about the subject with you children.”
    “It's been like a topic that didn't exist,” Matthew said. “Always unmentioned. I don't know anybody at college who ever brought
     up the issue. Death simply hasn't been in any of our discussions.” He cleared his throat. “But I need to know what it means
     when someone dies.”
    Silence settled over the kitchen again.
    “George,” Graham said, “maybe you would like to go in the other room?”
    George looked up slowly. He shook his head.
    “You want to stay with us?” Jackie asked.
    George nodded very slightly.
    “Matthew, I don't know how to respond,” Graham said. “No one ever sat down and gave me any input on this subject and maybe
     I avoided thinking about it.” He gestured aimlessly. “I guess that I assumed people's lives just stopped. Ended. You know…
     they were gone.”
    “Grammy's
gone
?” Matthew protested. “
Only gone
? I can't accept that idea. My precious grandmother can't simply have disappeared like a dinosaur vanishing. I simply can't
     handle that.”
    “Matthew, we don't have to decide this