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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
Everything Is More Expensive Since My Dad Died
Three women living “alone”, and the men who take advantage of it.
Everything is more expensive since my dad died.
The first thing that caught me off-guard was the cost of a casket. He had paid for it in advance, choosing a metallic blue one that was donated to a children’s hospital after his own ceremony. But then came the ticket for the tissues, the water bottles, the flowers, the transportation of the corpse, the priest, the parking lot, the wake room, the cremation, the twenty certified copies of the death certificate. For someone who would now stay still and silent for eternity, only now living in the hearts of my mom, sister and I, he was very expensive.
After a while, things started falling apart at home. Not only emotionally for us, but also the material things: the waterboiler, the kitchen sink, a leak over the living room, my right knee, the cars.
My dad had “a guy” who would help him with everything back in the day. We called, no answer, so Googled a specialist in each area so we could turn to help. We went to the ATM and got out a considerable amount of cash to pay each, and after the first couple of fixers, our budget appeared naive. They explained the extraordinary…
