Perfection

“Breakfast is served,” Smiled the beautiful blonde mother, as she set down a plate of steaming bacon. She must’ve just gotten done frying it, for the fatty meat was still sizzling as it was placed in front of the two hungry teenage boys and their business savvy father. Along with bacon, there was sweet French toast, fresh squeezed orange juice, and sunny side up eggs.

             “Dig in boys!” She exclaimed. Brandon and Luke began shoveling food into their mouths like it was the last meal they would ever eat, while John, their father, delicately sipped on black coffee.

            “Honey, why aren’t you eating?”

            “Well, dear, I don’t want to spill on my suit, nor do I wish to digest such greasy and unappetizing food. And oh, look at the time, I really must be going, I have meetings to attend.” With that, he stood up, kissed his wife on the cheek and strode out to his brand new black BMW. But mother did not frown; she would never dare to show restraint or pain. In fact, ever since the accident, she never really did. Most of Brandon and Luke’s friends would comment on how perfect she was. She always had food cooked, ready to eat, so of course in any teenage boys eyes, she was a jewel. But that wasn’t the only perfection of mother. Her blonde hair was always in place, not a strand astray. Her make-up was flawless and looked natural, giving her that glowing appearance. Mother was always smiling and never raised her voice to her kids or her pessimistic husband. She knew her place, as a woman, was staying home to raise the children, while her spouse was out doing what he referred to as “hard work”. He was the breadwinner of the family, just how it should be in any spectacular suburbia family. She cooked and she cleaned; she shopped for groceries and did the laundry. Mother hosted parties, kept in touch with the neighbors, and made sure to send out every last one of the Christmas cards. The boys’ friends, you will see, were uncannily correct when calling mother “perfect”.

            One day, when mother was out shopping, the boys had a few friends over. Like any group of testosterone filled teenagers, they were rough housing in the living room. Amidst all the wrestling and football passing, one of the boys friends, the calmest of them all, watched a picture as it fell off the wall.

            “Guys! Stop, you made Mrs. Raymond’s picture frame fall,” he ordered, still looking at the shattered glass on the ground. Now, I did say he was the calmest, but he most definitely wasn’t the brightest. For on the wall, where the picture used to be, there was a safe.

            “Hey, Luke? Since when did we have a safe?” questioned Brandon. Luke just stood there, and shrugged his shoulders. The group of boys surrounded the safe. Before long, Luke walked up to it, and began trying to open it. After trying the family’s birthdays and anniversaries, he gave up. A few more moments passed before Brandon tried something; the date of the accident.

            “10… 26… 2,” Brandon mumbled under his breath as he twisted the lock. October 26th, 2002 was the day their parents were in a major car accident. It was peculiar, because they were on an empty road, when out of nowhere, a car came racing into them. At least, that’s how their dad describes it. Their mom doesn’t remember anything before that day, including the accident.

            Just as Brandon turned the last number, a soft click was heard, and the safe generously opened. Standing in awe, the boys saw medical records and police reports, marked ‘CONFIDENTIAL’, which they grabbed and read.

            “October 26th, 2002 – Caucasian Male, six feet tall, brown hair. Said his wife was with him, yet she is missing. Car crash, with only one car. License plate F9LR4T.” Read the first police record. Astonishingly, the boys looked around at each other, and then flipped open the medical records, which turned out to be lab reports instead. They read: “Blonde woman, 5’8”, athletic build,” and so on in excruciating detail. By this time, mother had returned, at the same time John was pulling into the drive way. When he walked inside and saw the files out, he calmly took out his pager, and pressed the upper left button. Brandon and Luke’s friends attempted to run out the door, but were stopped as multiple men in suits appeared from thin air. John walked up to his boys, smiling in devilish manner.