Chapter 21 #2
“When you gonna give him his gift?”
“I don’t know how long I can hold out. When do you think I should do it? Before or after dinner?”
“As soon as everyone has had a drink. Get Ronnie a little relaxed, after finding out it’s really a birthday party for him. Then what? Are you gonna make an announcement? How you going to do it?”
“After a drink, but before he has to take a piss. It wouldn’t be good to miss his own surprise. I’m gonna take him to the garage. Do it in private in case he cries.”
I must look anxious, because he puts a hand on my shoulder. “It’s gonna be great.”
As we get closer to the house a cheer rises from the crowd. Whistles, laughter.
“What the hell is that about?” Lex says.
Rounding the final bend in the road, I see my Dad surrounded by the guests. Hugging, kissing. Greeting the seventy-year-old birthday boy. They’re early!
“Mom and Mark are here,” Lex says. “Good. They didn’t miss the surprise.”
Judy is kissing my father and he looks happy. They’ve always had a good connection. Mom’s friends hold a special place with him.
“Why didn’t Stacy text me?” I grab my cell and check. Shit. She did. I must have been admiring myself in the car. “Probably held him off as long as she could.”
“That was dangerously close, bro.”
Dad looks better than he has in years. Clean-shaven, dressed in light pants and a tan short sleeved shirt. Mom would be so happy he has resurfaced.
“Who is this guy?”
Lex is as thrown as I am, by the new and improved Ronnie.
“They cheered for him and his new look.”
The closer we get, the more details of the party decorations I see. A birthday banner, hats and horns on the gift table like a kid’s party. Some of the trees have lights hanging down. I point it out to Lex.
“Look at the lights.”
“The place looks great. As usual, the women knew how to make it special.”
Lex breaks off but sends one final thought.
“I’ll make sure you’re not followed.”
“Landon!”
Dad’s voice rises above the conversations around him as he walks my way.
“You little piss ant! You and your sister deserve Oscars. Thanks, son. It’s great.”
We come together in a hug and he kisses my cheek.
“Hey! Looking good, Dad! Let’s see the outfit.”
We part and he does his version of a man modeling. Head in the air, looking off in the distance. Legs separated and hands on either side of his waistband.
“Very nice.”
We laugh and he touches his clean-shaven face.
“What about this? Your old man hasn’t looked this good for a long time.”
“You look ten years younger.”
“Only ten?”
“Okay. Fifteen.”
“Let’s get you a drink. Where were you? I saw you coming from the garage.”
Oh shit. Think. Think.
“No. We were just walking the property.”
Lame. But he is too excited to investigate further or pick up the lie in my voice. We start walking toward the van that just now made it here.
He says straining his neck to see.
“Now who’s this? Is that Frank driving?”
“Some more friends of yours.”
Before we reach the van, the door opens and people start getting out. Frank and Shannon are first. Dressed in shorts and t-shirts they take on another vibe. It is like seeing your teacher at the beach. It shocks a little.
“Oh!”
It is just one word, but I hear the emotion in his voice, as the next two exit.
“Look. It’s Red. And Bill.”
The two men stay close to each other. Red carries a gift. They are a little lost. But they put their comfort aside and came for Dad.
He looks at me and I see the tears.
“Fucking allergies,” he says, wiping away the evidence.
“Yeah, we must be allergic to the same things.”
“Let’s go greet your guests.”
The party is what we hoped it would be. The food came out earlier than we originally planned, and once it did, all bets were off.
The big reveal had to wait. We sit at the center table, bellies full.
Even the dogs have had their fill and are stretched out on the grass.
Dad and Stacy are holding hands. Mine are sweaty.
All I can think about is the car. The car.
The car. Kim understands. She blows me a kiss and we have a silent conversation with a look.
The sun is lower in the sky, on its back half journey to setting. This is it.
“Come on, Dad,” I say standing.
“Where to?”
“I want to show you something.”
It’s true. He doesn’t fight me, but stands and watches the people at our table watching him. Something is up and he figures that out. I can’t stop their enthusiasm. At this point I don’t want to. They are excited for us. We leave the table and walk to the gravel road.
“So are you having a good time, Dad?”
“It’s a wonderful day. I’m grateful for all you and Stacy have done for me. And now this.”
His hands go inside pockets as we stroll the road.
“It may have started for you, but it ended up in my favor too. I never would have gotten to know Kim. Hunter. I didn’t expect to come for a visit and fall for a woman. Thanks for breaking your hip and having a heart attack.”
He chuckles. “So what happens now?”
“Now we see how a long-distance relationship plays out. I’m not worried. We’ll make it work eventually.”
He stays silent for a few beats, gathering the words.
“It’s good to be confident, but you don’t know what you’re up against. You think it’s going to be that easy being apart?”
“Not easy. No.”
I kick a rock across the road. He comes to a stop. I go a few steps, then turn and face what he has to tell me.
“It’s bullshit to think absence makes the heart grow fonder. Two people need to be together to make it work. You throw a kid in there, even more so.”
Bet Dad sees Hunter as a child.
“He’s not a kid anymore,” I remind him. “He’s nearly twenty.”
“Really? You’re still a kid to me and you’re thirty-five. Your child always needs your guidance and support. Forever. Period.” He calls the play. “If you end up with Kim, Hunter will rely on yours.”
“She’s worried about him. He told her last night he doesn’t want to go back to college. The kid doesn’t really have another direction though. Not yet.”
We resume our slow pace toward the white wood garage in the distance.
“You just made my point. She needs a partner. By her side.”
Now a hand on my arm stops me.
“You are in love with a mother. It’s who she is. In here,” he says, touching his heart. “You need to be around that, to know if it’s for you.”
“I think I’d be pretty good at it. I don’t know. If I didn’t kill him for the lake house clusterfuck, I never will.”
“One bad decision does not a lifetime make. He’s going to make a lot more mistakes. Just like the rest of us have. And it’s going to bug the shit out of you sometimes. Only loving the child makes it bearable. Think that’s a possibility for you?”
“I would have to be around him more to know.”
“Exactly.”
We walk.
“Kim needs to see if you are the kind of man that can be a good influence. Hunter’s almost a man. It’ll be too late to make the same impression on him you can make now. There’s a small window of opportunity for you.”
“I’m thinking.”
“This bullshit of living apart will make things murkier. You’re only going to see the parts she chooses to show you.
Same from you. Not that you’d be deceitful, but because you want to show your best selves.
Our best selves are a lie, Landon. They only show up maybe ten percent of the time.
It’s an incomplete picture of who we really are. Understand?”
“Fuck.”
He drives it home.
“Small moments build the love. Same for kids. I think about what your mother did to make my life beautiful. When we were together, I was a king in a fucking fairy tale. Kim treats you that way.”
My nod is agreement.
“Think things through. Don’t let life decide where you are headed. Make choices. That’s how to get what you want. What are you waiting for? An invitation to paradise?”
These are the talks we used to have. The deep down reveals.
“I’ll figure it out, Dad. Thanks for caring so much.”
“One more thing. Be ready to pivot. That’s my best tip.”
“Pivot?”
“Things don’t always look like you imagined.
I always thought you and Stacy would stay close to home.
I pictured this place with grandchildren running around and being involved with the everyday lives of my children.
It hasn’t panned out that way. And it’s alright.
That was my dream. You shape your lives. I’ve shaped mine. I had to pivot.”
I don’t know what to say at first.
“I never knew that, Dad.”
He presses his lips together and nods.
Reaching the garage, my stomach returns to its previous state.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Okay,” he says turning. “What’s this about?”
“Look inside.”
I feel the tears well and spill over. Some of it is about the car. He sees the struggle, and without knowing what is about to happen gets teary himself.
“What did you do, Landon?”
Meaty fingers grasp the handle. Slowly, he pulls the door back, and the grind of wheels against track sounds like music to me. I’m back in the nineties. He was thirty something then. God. Like me now. The realization of how young he was dawns. He made so many right moves in life.
The second he sees the back of the car, he transforms.
“What?” he says, dissolving into tears. He bends with the shock, trying to hold himself from collapse. The Galaxie presents herself, like the Queen she is.
“Oh my God. What! I can’t believe it!”
He covers his face. Now I’m for real crying too. No holding back nothing.
“She’s home now, Dad.”
Walking alongside the car, he runs a hand over her lines. He looks me deep in the eyes.
“This is her. This is my girl, right?”
“Yeah, Dad. All the paperwork is in the glove compartment. She looks great, doesn’t she?”
He can’t even continue. He is a mess of love and appreciation, mixed with shock. He comes to me and takes me into his arms, holding on stronger than I have ever felt before.
“I don’t believe it!”
“Happy birthday, Dad. You deserve it.”
“I never thought I’d see it again. Oh, I wish your mother was here.”
The crying builds.
“She is,” I say, holding tight.
When we part, he wipes his face with his fingers. A hand goes to his forehead.
“This is the greatest gift anybody has ever given me. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Well get in! Get reacquainted.”
I move around and get in the passenger seat. With a kind of reverence, he opens the driver’s side and slides in. A huge smile appears. It contradicts the red nose and bloodshot eyes.
“Oh man! She feels the same. Hello, baby!”
Hands grasp the steering wheel and touch the turn signal.
“Look here, Dad.”
I open the glove compartment and watch his face. He leans on the wheel and starts crying again. I pat his back.
“You’re killing me, man!”
“You big crybaby.”
“The Kleenex and candy,” he says, shaking his head.
I knew he’d like that touch.
“You remembered.”
“Of course I did.”
He takes my hand and gives it a squeeze.
“Where did you find her?”
“Kentucky.”
“The same guy still had it?”
“His family. I’ll tell you all about it later. Let’s drive back and blow everybody’s mind. They’re waiting! Back her out!”
I stretch out for the trip and right before he turns the engine over, he meets my eyes.
“I’ll never forget this, son.”