'I hate it when stuff falls!'� Duvall shouted, bending over to pick up a cup that had dropped from his hand as he unloaded the dishwasher.

'Hon, lighten up. It's just a cup on the floor.'� His wife Marlene chided him from the adjoining sitting room.

'No it's not, picking stuff up makes me feel like a damn idiot,'� Duvall replied, standing up and throwing the cup against the cupboards. 'Now I've got to friggin' rewash it 'cause it fell.

'Hon, slow down, you're getting really loud over a cup. Not a big deal,'� Marlene said.

Duvall took a deep breath. 'Yeah, you're right. Not a big deal. I'm sorry.'� He finished unloading the dishwasher.

Duvall Klein was generally a thoughtful and insightful person. He and his wife were both educated and when he slowed down he was quite enjoyable to be around.

'Hon,'� he said, plopping into his recliner. 'I don't know what comes over me sometimes. I get incensed when stuff falls. If I drop a cup, or my keys fall outta my hands, or the dishes in the dish drainer fall over ' it's like someone else is controlling my hands.'�

'It's because you're a perfectionist. You don't believe anything should fall? Perhaps, someone is teaching you a lesson in fallibility,'� Marlene said and chuckled.

'Where are the boys?'� Duvall asked.

'They're getting pajamas on.'�

'I'll go in and hang with them after I take a short restroom break,'� he said with a little chuckle. After flushing, he opened the door. 'Talyn, Ranger, get your butts over here.'�
'What dad?'� Talyn asked, walking out of his bedroom in superhero pajamas.

'What daddy?'� Ranger asked running up the hallway.

'Who wrote on the mirrors?'�

'Not me, dad.'�

'Not me either, daddy'�

'What's up, Hon?'� Marlene asked.

'Check this out,'� Duvall said, pointing at the bathroom mirror, where the word 'oops' was written in purple.

'Well, it couldn't have been the boys, their penmanship isn't that good.'�

'So what are you doing writing on the mirrors, my dear?'� Duvall asked, obviously annoyed.

'I did not do that,'� Marlene said, her eyes narrowing. 'And I am not going to get into a conflict over it because it's no big deal. Talyn and Ranger will you please get the glass cleaner and clean this off?'�

'You're right. Not a big deal. Do as mom says and then we'll all watch a little Scoobie before bed guys. Ok?'� Duvall said, taking another big breath. 'Ok, now that's just weird,'� He and Marlene sat back down in their respective recliners. 'Maybe one of the boys brought something from school and copied it onto the mirror?'�

'I wouldn't worry about it. They're cleaning it up and not complaining,'� Marlene rejoined.

'Good point,'� Duvall said. He set his glass of juice on the table between the chairs. It fell to the carpet with a muffled 'sploosh', as he turned to get a book to read. 'Dammit, I know for a fact I set that damn glass fully on that table.'�

'Ok, Dad, we're done,'� said Talyn, walking out of the bathroom.

'Let me take a look,'� Duvall said and stood up. Something rapped lightly on the back of his hand and his book fell to the floor. 'What the hell is wrong with me? I can't even hold onto a book? Oooooo!!'� He flexed his hands into claws and growled.

'Duvall. You're going to scare the kids.'� Marlene said.

'Yeah, Dad, it's only a book,'� Talyn the older son said.

'Shut your mouth.'� Duvall barked turning to his wife. 'You don't understand. I've spent my whole life having stuff knocked out of my hands. Ever since I lived in that house in Devils Lake where that psychiatrist shot his family, I've spent my whole life bending over and picking stuff up. I hate looking stupid. Stuff that falls makes you look stupid,'� his face turned red and the boys cowered behind her.

'Hon, calm down.'�

'Don't tell me what to do.'� He barked, stomping into the kitchen to get a towel to clean up the juice spill. When he pulled the towel off of the rack it fell to the floor like it'd been yanked from his hand. 'Damn It,'� he yelled.

He felt his wife behind him about to tell him it was no big deal. He looked at the floor and saw the words, 'lighten up, clumsy', written in grease on the white tile floor. It is a big deal. It's a great big friggin' deal, he thought, as he stood up, turning quickly, putting all his power into the punch.

The kitchen was empty.

Duvall went looking for Marlene and the boys.

He found his wife tucking Ranger into bed. 'Marlene,'� he said walking up behind her.

'Yes, Hon?'� Marlene asked, standing up.

'It's a big deal.'� He yelled and swung his arm in a fat overhand arc. Her mouth blossomed in blood. 'I hate stuff that falls.'�

His son screamed.

'Ranger, get your brother and run to Mrs. Walters. Now,'� she yelled. His son ran from the room and he heard the front door slam. Duvall beat her, with ceaseless blows, screaming, 'I hate stuff that falls.'�

The books fell off the shelves; the toys fell off the dressers; the knick-knacks fell off of the mantels; and the pictures all over the house fell off the walls.

Marlene passed out.

The officers and ambulance arrived before he killed her.

Filing past the mirror hanging above the fireplace, Duvall read, 'Oops, lighten up, you clumsy bastard. Things fall and so do you.'

The smiling face drawn on the mirror began to laugh.

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