Chapter 14
Luke
The evening air was alive with the soft chirping of crickets, a tranquil chorus that eased Luke’s restless mind. Glancing at his phone, he realized he had texted Emma impulsively, like a lovesick teenager. Although he had used his nosy neighbor as an excuse to initiate a conversation with her, the truth was that he wanted to talk to her.
Luke entered the kitchen and surveyed the aftermath of their dinner. How could two people create such a mess? To his surprise, Jeremiah had actually sat down at the table with him and eaten his meal, though in complete silence. The clink of forks against plates and the faint sound of chewing filled the air. As soon as dinner was over, Jeremiah retreated to his room and closed the door, leaving Luke to clean up the mess alone.
After wiping down the counters and rinsing the dishes, Luke moved to the living room and turned on the TV. He flipped through the channels until he found a baseball game he was somewhat interested in watching. During the commercials, he pulled out his phone and reviewed the messages exchanged between him and Emma. The blue light from his phone illuminated his face as he scrolled through their conversation, tracing over each word with intent focus.
Luke found it impossible to ignore the magnetic pull toward Emma. To Luke, she was like the sunrise, full of radiant beauty, warm kindness, and a wit that could dance upon the day. Yet the echoes of a divorce that still haunted her days and filled her eyes with guarded caution was a wound not yet healed. He understood, for he too was nursing his own heartache. In his world, the specter of Kate still lurked, a memory that was as painful as it was precious. Two years had drifted by, but his heart was yet to catch up with the passage of time. Was he ready to step into the future while still entrenched in the past? He wasn’t certain.
As Luke reflected more on his emotions toward Emma, he convinced himself it was his body’s response to being around a beautiful woman after so long. He didn’t want to risk losing their friendship by acting on his attraction. They were friends, and the last thing he wanted to do was lead her on. Given what he had heard about her ex-husband, he knew she had endured enough heartbreak for one lifetime.
Luke switched off the TV and rose from the couch, making his way around the house to turn off the lights and secure the doors for the night. Climbing up the stairs toward his bedroom, he paused briefly outside Jeremiah’s room and smiled. More than anything, he wanted to be a strong, stable presence for his son and knew it would be best to avoid any potential romantic feelings for Emma.
***
A few days later, Luke and Jeremiah entered the principal’s office at Hadley Cove High School. The walls were lined with bookshelves made of rich mahogany, and a large oak desk dominated the center of the room. The principal sat behind the desk, framed by a large window overlooking the courtyard. After Jeremiah’s transcripts arrived from his previous school in Chicago, Principal Kennedy requested a meeting with the father-son duo to discuss Jeremiah’s academic standing and plans for the upcoming fall semester. Despite the impressive surroundings, Luke had a sense of dread at the thought of Jeremiah’s potential misbehavior. He hoped his son would finally show some cooperation, as another expulsion was not an option.
Principal Kennedy cleared his throat and spoke. “Let’s get straight to the point, Jeremiah,”
he said in a stern voice. “Your grades from last year are concerning, and I have reservations about admitting you as a senior. We take academics very seriously here.”
Jeremiah looked down at the ground, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Luke leaned forward in his seat and addressed Principal Kennedy. “If I may, sir, Jeremiah was an honor roll student all throughout middle school and his freshman year,”
he explained. “The reason his grades suffered afterward was because of the death of my wife, his mother, after a battle with cancer.”
“I see,”
the principal said. “I’m very sorry for your loss.”
Luke nodded. “Thank you, Mr. Kennedy. It hasn’t been easy. Jeremiah and his mother were very close. But this year, I’ve reduced my work hours and plan to be more involved in Jeremiah’s education.”
Jeremiah glanced at his father before looking back down at the floor.
“Looks like we might need to take some time with this,”
Principal Kennedy said, shuffling through Jeremiah’s transcripts in search of his previous good grades.
As Principal Kennedy was browsing through Jeremiah’s transcripts, the intercom on his phone buzzed urgently. He pressed the blinking button. “Yes?”
“Sir, the staff supervisor of the history club is here. He has some forms for you to fill out to participate in the National History Bee this year.”
The principal paused for a moment, glancing up from his desk. “Can it wait? I’m in a meeting right now.”
“The deadline for the forms is tomorrow, sir.”
Principal Kennedy groaned and stood up. “Sorry about this...I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time,”
Luke said.
As the principal walked out and closed the door, Luke turned to his son. “Jeremiah, do you think you can try to show a little interest?”
Jeremiah started examining his fingernails. “Maybe I don’t wanna go to school anymore at all. Maybe I’ll drop out.”
Luke took a deep breath. “Drop out? And do what?”
He threw his hands up. “Whatever, I don’t know. You never cared about my life before, or Mom. Why do you care so much now?”
Luke felt a pain in his chest at Jeremiah’s words, but he didn’t let on how hurt he was. “Think about what your mother would’ve wanted for you. Do you think she would’ve wanted you to drop out and not finish high school? She had high hopes for you to go to a good college. What do you think she’d say now?”
Jeremiah looked at Luke, glaring at him. Luke knew he was mad, but Jeremiah stayed mute and looked back down at the floor. The uncomfortable silence between them was finally broken a minute later when Principal Kennedy returned to his desk.
“A thousand apologies for that interruption,”
he said. “We’re preparing to enter the National History Bee again for the upcoming year. Last year and the year before, two of our students placed in the spring competition. We’re hoping this year we can finally bring home a championship to Hadley Cove.”
Luke smiled politely as Jeremiah continued to stare at the floor. Principal Kennedy picked up the transcripts and began flipping through them again.
“Now hold on here. It says in your freshman and sophomore year you took part in several history bee championships. You were the Illinois State History Bee champion, and the second runner-up at the National History Bee two years ago. Why didn’t you say so?”
Jeremiah looked away and shrugged. Luke reached over, placing a hand on Jeremiah’s wrist. “Principal Kennedy is asking you a question.”
Jeremiah snatched his wrist out of Luke’s grasp. “I guess it slipped my mind.”
“You shouldn’t be so modest, Jeremiah,”
Principal Kennedy said. “A streak like yours is quite impressive...better than anything we’ve seen from any of our students over the years.”
Luke sat frozen, his heart heavy with regret. How could he have missed so much of his son’s life, consumed by work? The realization struck him that his pursuit of unchecked ambition led him to neglect the things that were truly important. Faintly, he recalled receiving texts from Kate about Jeremiah’s competitions while on business trips, but he had never bothered to inquire further about them.
As the weight of his mistakes hit him, he understood why Jeremiah resented him. He had never shown interest in his son’s life and had missed out on so much during his pivotal years. Luke didn’t think he had been that terrible of a father, but now more than ever, it was clear he had been blind to his own shortcomings.
Luke looked at Jeremiah, a silent apology in his eyes. He wanted to wash away all the mistakes he had made. He wanted to tell him he was sorry for everything. But they were still in a meeting with the principal and had to find the words to convince him to allow Jeremiah to start his senior year.
Principal Kennedy turned back to his computer and began typing. “I did a quick Google search for your name, Jeremiah, and I’m finding all the competitions you’ve participated in over the years. It’s quite impressive.”
Luke felt a surge of pride for his son. “He is, isn’t he?”
The principal nodded and leaned back in his chair. “I’ll tell you what, Jeremiah and Mr. Grayson. I’m impressed by your achievements, and I understand the impact a death can have on a student’s coursework. Here’s what I propose: I’ll pass you to your senior year on the condition that for the first semester you’ll be on probation to see how things go. It would also be nice for you to join the school’s history club. They sure could use your help.”
Luke’s heart leapt at the offer. “Thank you, Principal Kennedy. We really appreciate it.”
Jeremiah, however, remained quiet and looked down at his hands. Luke knew his son was still upset with him, and he couldn’t blame him. But this was a start, a chance to make things right.
Principal Kennedy stood up and extended his hand to Luke, who shook it firmly. Then he turned to Jeremiah. Luke nudged him in the side, prompting him to shake the principal’s hand.
“Thank you so much, Principal Kennedy. We look forward to registering for classes later in the week.”
Jeremiah was the first out of the office. Luke hurried to catch up, struggling to match his son’s quick pace.
“Jeremiah, this is great news,”
he said, trying to hide his excitement. “I had no idea about your achievements in history. I’m sorry I missed all those competitions. Your mother sent me the information, but I was always away on business trips.”
Jeremiah sighed and gave him the cold shoulder as they reached the main entry doors. Luke wanted to keep praising his son but sensed now was not the time. It seemed like the last thing Jeremiah wanted was to be around him.
Luke and Jeremiah drove home in an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the occasional sounds of cars passing by. When they arrived, Jeremiah headed straight upstairs and slammed his bedroom door shut. Meanwhile, Luke walked into his office and sat down at the desk. He opened his laptop and logged in to his wife’s digital scrapbook, labeled Kate’s Mementos and Memories, which she had put together before falling sick.
He took a deep breath when he saw a picture of himself, Kate, and a five-year-old Jeremiah, all smiling happily together. The scrapbook was organized by year, so he clicked through the folders of Jeremiah’s freshman and sophomore years. Within those folders, he found photos of Jeremiah holding numerous trophies and medals he had earned from competitions, videos of him practicing with Kate, and recordings of the competitions themselves. Luke was even able to find photos and videos of the historical landmarks Kate and Jeremiah had visited together.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Luke shut his laptop and slumped back in his chair. A bitter realization creeped in, overwhelming him with remorse for not having been an active part of Jeremiah’s life, no matter how hard Kate had tried to fill in the gaps. Tears welled up in Luke’s eyes as he realized the magnitude of what he had lost.
But Luke wasn’t one to let circumstances hold him back. With a renewed strength surging through him, he slowly rose from the chair and vowed to do whatever it took to fix the broken relationship with his son.