Death at Christmas

When he was far too young to process it, Kevin's father died.  He passed away at Christmas, and it was exactly the kind of insurmountable thing he would carry with him the rest of his life.

He did his best to put aside the particulars.  He never talked about them with his friends, anyway.  It seemed enough that they knew, the sort of thing people are just supposed to understand, and for the most part, that's exactly how it was received.  Except once.  It became a morbid fascination of his, trying to decide whether or not it was the best or worst thing that ever happened to him.  Finally, finally, his reality had been pierced.

And for the rest of his life, Kevin would struggle about what to do next.