The Empty Nest

On a Friday in November, Aaron left to take a job waiting tables in Banff.

He was the last.  His two sisters were long gone.  

Now the house was empty.  

Caroline sat at the kitchen table trying to think of what was different now.   

Aaron was never an early riser so his presence in the kitchen any time before 10:00 was rare.  

Still, sitting at the table at 7:30 in the morning felt . . . different.  

She held her breath to hear the house - the ticking of the clock in the dining room, 

A barely-audible whir of the fan in the furnace, the clicking noise when it turned itself off, 

Chattering of sparrows in the mountain ash, garbage cans being rustled in a neighbour's yard, 

Occasional cracking sounds as the house reacted to the colder weather, 

The fussing of leaves as they danced around the back porch looking for a way to move on or in.  

The sounds were new as if she had moved to another home.   

She sat in silence for as long as she could.   She was so still she thought she had fainted. 

What would she do now?