Gemotions

“Well, this is it,” his brother, Daniel, had said, his voice flat. He had always been so stoic, so pragmatic. The will stipulated a division of their mother’s jewelry. He felt a dull ache in his jaw. He could feel it in his stomach – the familiar, gnawing emptiness. He found himself looking at the pieces, each item a symbol of a forgotten shared experience. The diamond ring, the sapphire necklace, the pearl earrings. He had hardly touched them. He'd never really known his mother, not in the way he thought he should have. He turned away, wishing this moment was over.