AN: Inspired by a photo of a brick wall with words painted in white: I MISS HER
The Heart's Cry
We can only keep our feelings in for so long before they must come out.
He waited until everyone else was asleep.
When they were all snoring, he quietly pulled out the bag he'd stowed under his bed, pulled on his jacket and knit cap, then let himself out of the house and made his way downtown.
The only thing stirring was his breath, making clouds on the January air. The paint cans rattled as he finally reached the blank spot of freshly painted wall and set the bag at his feet.
He almost chickened out right there. He could just imagine what people would say if he got caught. Not him, they'd say. Not one of the Tracy boys.
Resolve gave steel to his spine. Boldly, he seized a van and shook it, the rattle of the ball bearing inside sounding like gunfire in the silence. Taking a deep breath, he wrenched the cap off and let it clatter to the pavement.
"I love you, Mom," he said, then depressed the trigger and began.
On his way home, he dropped the shopping bag and the spent can into a trash bin. The house was dark and silent as he let himself in the kitchen door.
"Where you been, son?"
His father's voice. There was no use pretending he hadn't jumped about a foot in the air, so he fumbled in the dark until he found the light switch.
"Couldn't sleep," he lied. "Went for a walk." He made a show of yawning. "I'm going to bed. G'night, Dad."
To his utter shock, his father didn't move. "Goodnight, son."
The next day, everything was as normal as could be. They passed his handiwork on the way to school, but they were all too busy crabbing at each other, stealing sandwiches, flicking ears, fighting over the radio station to notice the two-foot-tall letters.
"Bye Dad."
"See ya Dad!"
"I love you Dad!"
"Later Dad!"
He was gathering his backpack to follow his brothers when his father's hand on his arm stopped him.
"Virgil–"
He turned back, heart in his throat. Now he was gonna get it.
There were tears in his father's eyes, and somehow, he wished he'd just gotten in trouble.
"I miss her, too."
