Box of Pricks

 I did not have a good relationship with my father for a lot of reasons, but a big one was his last wife. I had to live with them for a year when I was 15, and the neurosis that year inspired... Anyway - Dad died of Covid a couple of years ago. I probably would not have gone anyway (middle of a pandemic, plus... just didn't like him) but I felt the need to do something. 

So, I called a local flower shop and ordered a succulent garden. Well, that's what they called it - I referred to it mentally as a box of pricks. It did my heart some good to find a way to both express my condolences and be a sneaky snark. 

A couple of weeks later, Brandon (my half brother), calls and tells me that my stepmom loved the cactus because it was something she could keep in Dad's memory, where the flowers died and fell away,. but for some reason the cactus had all just died. You could call it Karma. I just called the florist and arranged for a replacement.