Two Months Later
Blithe and I drove to my father’s condominium in Brookings with one thing on my mind. Today was the day I would talk with him about the house. I told Paige two months ago that I would talk to him, but things got so hectic that it fell to the wayside. My father had a stroke that almost killed him.
I had gotten a phone call from the hospital in the middle of the night from the doctor. I had flashbacks of my mother’s body being carried out of my childhood home, and Paige was the one that encouraged me to go.
I took as much time off as I could before I had to go back to work. Then Paige traveled to his house and took my place. We eventually brought him back to Brookings to continue looking after him, but we could both tell he wasn’t doing well.
His motor skills weren’t what they used to be. His speech was still difficult to understand, and he was using a walker to get around. It took him much longer to pull memories from his past so he could relive them, and sometimes, he needed help eating.
It broke Blithe’s heart to see him that way. Night after night, she would curl up next to him, petting his cheek and telling him to feel better. I had no idea how to explain to her what was going on. How was I supposed to explain to her that a blood vessel in her grandfather’s brain had burst?
Paige and I took shifts. We hired an in-home nurse to stay with him in the condominium when neither of us could be there. Paige allowed her art to fall to the wayside again in order to take care of my father, and it hurt my heart. I knew she was stressed. I knew she was suffering. I knew she was doing the bare minimum when it came to taking care of herself.
I could see the grease stains forming at her hairline sometimes. I could see the bags underneath her eyes sagging more than usual. I could see the handfuls of beautiful blonde hair in the garbage can. And when I woke up to the sounds of her crying in the bathroom this morning, I knew enough was enough.
I told Paige to take the day to herself and that Blithe was coming with me to my father’s. Paige crawled back into bed. and I placed a kiss on her forehead. She drifted off back into a deep slumber, her red eyes puffing up with the force of her tears.
I readied Blithe to go see my father before we headed out the door, bracing myself for the conversation about to take place. Something in our lives had to give.
Taking Blithe’s hand, we entered the lobby of the condominium complex. The front desk attendant greeted us as we made our way to the elevator. We rode all the way up to the top floor as Blithe chattered next to me, but I wasn’t focused on what she was saying at all.
Instead, I was rehearsing my speech in my head.
“Good morning, Mr. Harte,” the nurse said.
“You know you can call me Zach,” I said.
The woman nodded. “Your father’s doing very well today. He’s eating on his own and getting up out of his chair without his walker.”
“That’s wonderful news. When did that happen?”
“For the first time, last night. After Mrs. Harte left.”
I still loved when people referred to as her Mrs. Harte.
“I think your father should be able to recover almost fully,” the nurse ventured. “It will just take some time.”
“Zach, is that you?” my father asked.
“Grandpa!” Blithe took off running for my father, her arms wrapping around his legs.
“Hello there, little one,” my father said. “You ready to play?”
“Actually, I was hoping we could talk,” I said.
My father’s eyes rose to mine before he looked down at Blithe. “How about you go with Miss Pinkett to pick out a movie in my room, huh? Once your dad and I are done talking, I’ll come join you.”
“Awesome! Thanks, Grandpa.”
“Come on,” the nurse said. “Let’s go find a good movie to watch.”
I watched Miss Pinkett take my daughter’s hand as my father walked up beside me.
“I still think she’s more than your nurse,” I said, grinning.
“Well, we wouldn’t want to ruin a beautiful lady’s reputation with such rumors,” he said.
I wrapped my arms around him and gave him a massive hug. “I hear you’re having a good day.”
“The first good day in a couple of months, I’d say. Now, what is it you want to discuss?”
“Wanna sit down?” I asked.
I followed my father out to his deck that overlooked the ocean. We sat there for a long time, just taking in the view. I enjoyed times like this with my father: moments of silence where the two of us were simply experiencing the same moment together.
“What’s on your mind, son?” he asked.
“I want to talk to you about that offer you made me the last time we were at your house,” I said, keeping my gaze trained on the ocean.
My father turned his eyes to look at me. “Have you made a decision?”
“I have. I mean, we have. Paige and I want to start a family, but we just aren’t at a point where we can. Money’s tight, and the things Blithe needs are becoming more and more expensive.”
“Have you talked to your work about giving you more hours?” my father asked.
“I have, but they’re very family oriented. They know it’s important for me to have time with Blithe, and the overtime they schedule is usually on the weekends. I told them to keep me in mind, but they haven’t called.”
“What about Paige? How is her art coming along?” I glanced over at my father. He nodded. “Ah. Put on hold for me.”
“It’s not like that, Dad.”
“I can’t help you if you’re not honest with me.”
I drew in a deep breath through my nose before I nodded. “Yes, she was just about to start trying to rework her business model a bit before you had your…”
I couldn’t even say it without tears cresting my eyes.
I cleared my throat. “We want to start a family. Well, grow the family we already have. I want to have a child with her. I want to give Blithe a sibling. But I didn’t take enough of my inheritance to be able to do that.”
“The house is yours, son,” he said.
“Just like that?” I asked.
“Just like that. You find the home you want, and I’ll buy it for you. Or, just take more of your money from the trust. Take it all. It’s yours. Yours and Mrs. Harte’s.”
I blinked as he said that. I wondered if it pained him that I had changed my name long ago.
“There isn’t… anything you want in return?” I asked.
I met his eyes for the first time since we’d sat down on the balcony, and I could see the hurt my words caused in his eyes.
“You’re a much better father than I ever was,” he said. “And when you and Paige decide to have another child, that child is going to be lucky to have a father like you. It takes a great deal of courage and confidence to ask someone for help. To admit that you’re struggling and that you need someone to reach down and help you out of your hole. I wasn’t strong enough to do that when I was raising you with your mother. I turned to alcohol to fix my problems. But you?” Tears rushed to my father’s eyes as he turned them back out to the ocean. “You have your mother’s strength.”
“You’re a good father now,” I said. “And that means just as much.”
“A boy needs his father growing up.”
“He also needs him when he’s grown.”
He turned his eyes back to me, and a tear trailed down his cheek. I could see my father’s lip trembling, the emotion encompassing his entire body. His shoulders began to shake, and without thinking, I got up and stood in front of him. I helped him out of his chair and pulled him into my arms, feeling him hold me close as he cried into my shoulder.
Tears I didn’t know I needed to shed barreled down my face, and as the ocean crashed behind us, we cried over our past. We cried over the death of my mother, and we cried over his wasted life. We cried over what had happened between us, and we cried over the hurt and anger we carried.
I kept hearing my father murmur “I’m sorry,” over and over again into my shoulder, and with every apology that poured from his lips, I hugged him tighter.
“I love you, Dad.”
“I love you, too, son.”
I helped him back into his seat before I quickly wiped at my tears. I cleared my throat and sat back down, my eyes peering out over the ocean again. I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders. I felt the last of the rift between my father and me finally close. His hand was resting on the table between us, and I reached out to take his hand within mine.
“My prayer every morning is that you are able to do the things for your family that I couldn’t do for you and your mother,” he said.
“That’s what I try to do every single day,” I said.
“Every morning, I wake up and hope that you guys will get your feet underneath you. That something will give and that the lumber company will see the asset they have with you.
“Thanks, Dad,” I said.
“But from the sounds of it, they aren’t going to see that.”
I sighed heavily as I released my father’s hand.
“I’m not sure if they will, no,” I said. “That’s the next step, actually. I wanted to talk to you about the house and get that settled. Now, the next step is to look for a new job.”
“I’ve got one for you, if you’re interested,” he said.
“What job?” I asked.
“Take over Kent Enterprises.”
I whipped my eyes over to him, and my lips parted in shock. “What?”
“Zach, I’m tired of people telling me I’m going to get better. I might improve, but I’ll never be better.”
“Dad, don’t say that,” I said. “We’ll have you back to work in no time.”
“I’m honestly not sure I want to go back,” he said, shrugging. “I’m tired, son. I worked myself into a stroke, and now I’ve compromised the only time I have left with a family I never thought I’d have again. I’m just not willing to go back to work and miss out on that.”
“Dad, I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll take the job,” he said. “Say you’ll take over Kent Enterprises. It’ll solve all your difficulties. You could have my home in Seattle. I’ll sign it over to you. Seattle is full of wonderful schools for Blithe to attend. It’s full of places for her to go and have fun and meet new friends. You’ll have a job that’ll support Paige’s passion for art, even if she never sells a thing. You’ll have the income you deserve, and you’ll be running a business you can pass on to one of your children. I still think you should take your full inheritance, but I know that making your own money is important to you, so you’ll have the job on top of that. And I’ll be here, near the beauty of the ocean. Recuperating and trying to be a better grandfather than I was a father.”
“You’re a good father now,” I said. “I want to hear you say it.”
“Only if you tell me you’ll take it. My home in Seattle and the business.”
I sat there in shock, unable to speak.
My father smiled. “One word, and it’ll solve everything, Zach. Take it, son. Reach out and take what you deserve.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. “I’ll take it. I’ll take over Kent Enterprises.”
“And the house,” he said.
“And the house. I’ll take the rest of my inheritance too. We can disband the trust and start a new one that gives me all of it in the best way possible. However your accountants and lawyers set it up. Now, I want to hear you say it.”
I held my father’s stare, and a lopsided smile crossed his cheeks.
“I’m finally a good father,” he whispered.