Geriatrica
an excerpt

Once upon a time—about the year 2008—in a land far away—perhaps Ohio—there lived a very nice family in the very lovely town of Normal. This family was a perfectly normal family, with a mother, a father, and two very nice children. The children—Isabel and Osbourne Pickett—loved their mother and father, and were generally very good children. The parents—Vincent Pickett and Veronica Kurtz-Pickett—loved their children, their careers, and were generally very good parents.
As this story is mostly about the children, we shall discuss them further. Osbourne—known as Ozzy to his family and friends—loved movies, while Isabel—known as Izzy to her family and one friend—loved books and didn’t care much for movies. Ozzy loved baseball, and played every chance he got. Izzy, however, loved her peace and quiet and didn’t care much for running around and getting dirty. They were, in many ways, very different from each other.
As in many families, there were also grandparents—Frank and Evelyn Kurtz. They were very nice grandparents and loved the whole family as much as a family could be loved. The keen reader may also be able to guess that Frank and Evelyn were the mother and father of Veronica, the mother of Izzy and Ozzy.
As this story is also mostly about the grandparents, they merit further discussion as well. Frank Kurtz was a former accountant, recently retired, and enjoyed his days puttering around the house, generally making Evelyn wish he would get out and find a hobby instead of attempting to fix—and succeeding in breaking—things around the house. Evelyn was a retired school teacher who spent her days organizing parties with the local women’s club, generally making Frank wish she would spend a bit more time at home, talking to him while he fixed things.
Yes, things were all quite pleasant for the Kurtz-Picketts. Every Sunday, Frank and Evelyn would drive over from Hampfordsville to have dinner with their grandchildren, and it was on one particular Sunday that life changed dramatically for everyone and gave this story the thrust it needed to become worthy of recognition.
Don’t ask me, though. At times like this it is best to read and see for yourself the harrowing journey our characters will undertake.