The Young and the Hopeless
Story of My Old Man
"Joel!"
He caught me as I jumped up. "Hey, baby. I missed you."
"I missed you, too. A whole freakin' week without you...I went damn near insane."
"Me, too."
"Me, three."
"Shut up, Benji. This is a couple-moment."
"So I don't get a hug from my future sister-in-law who's been gone for a week?"
"Later."
"Okay." He pushed past me and Joel, and went inside. "Mom! Mickey's home!"
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
Joel sighed and released me. I pulled him to sit next to me on the porch; he stared at his hands, deep in thought.
"I saw my dad's car."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Outside Charlie's Bar. I could see him through the window. He was sitting in the corner, drinking. I wanted to walk in and ask him why he left. Did he not want us anymore? Were we not good enough? Did he not think we needed him? Did he realise how this would hurt us? Josh, Benj, Sarah, Mom, me...What'd we do to make him leave?"
"It wasn't your guys' faults. He left for his own selfish reasons. You guys weren't the reason. You didn't make him leave. And, quite honestly, you couldn't have stopped him. You guys are better than him. You guys are good enough. Especially to me. Josh and Benj have become my older brothers, and Sarah the little sister I never had. Your mom's the mom I lost. And you hold my heart in the palm of your hand. You guys are my core existence. So don't worry about being good enough. You're perfect."
He wrapped me in a tight hug. "You're an amazing girlfriend."
"Yeah, I know. So tell me the story about when you're dad left."
"It was Christmas Eve. We were setting up the tree while Mom was finishing up cleaning the kitchen. Dad said he had to go to the store for something and then left. Didn't wait for a bye, didn't offer to take one of us. Just left. When he didn't come back after two hours, Benji and I checked his room. Everything he had was gone. That night, after Sarah had gone to bed, Mom told us what we already knew. Dad had offically left and was never coming back. It hurt, though, to hear it out loud, especially from Mom." I stayed quiet---what was there to say?---"It still...it's painful to this day to think about the story of my old man and his extremely selfish ways."
He caught me as I jumped up. "Hey, baby. I missed you."
"I missed you, too. A whole freakin' week without you...I went damn near insane."
"Me, too."
"Me, three."
"Shut up, Benji. This is a couple-moment."
"So I don't get a hug from my future sister-in-law who's been gone for a week?"
"Later."
"Okay." He pushed past me and Joel, and went inside. "Mom! Mickey's home!"
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
Joel sighed and released me. I pulled him to sit next to me on the porch; he stared at his hands, deep in thought.
"I saw my dad's car."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Outside Charlie's Bar. I could see him through the window. He was sitting in the corner, drinking. I wanted to walk in and ask him why he left. Did he not want us anymore? Were we not good enough? Did he not think we needed him? Did he realise how this would hurt us? Josh, Benj, Sarah, Mom, me...What'd we do to make him leave?"
"It wasn't your guys' faults. He left for his own selfish reasons. You guys weren't the reason. You didn't make him leave. And, quite honestly, you couldn't have stopped him. You guys are better than him. You guys are good enough. Especially to me. Josh and Benj have become my older brothers, and Sarah the little sister I never had. Your mom's the mom I lost. And you hold my heart in the palm of your hand. You guys are my core existence. So don't worry about being good enough. You're perfect."
He wrapped me in a tight hug. "You're an amazing girlfriend."
"Yeah, I know. So tell me the story about when you're dad left."
"It was Christmas Eve. We were setting up the tree while Mom was finishing up cleaning the kitchen. Dad said he had to go to the store for something and then left. Didn't wait for a bye, didn't offer to take one of us. Just left. When he didn't come back after two hours, Benji and I checked his room. Everything he had was gone. That night, after Sarah had gone to bed, Mom told us what we already knew. Dad had offically left and was never coming back. It hurt, though, to hear it out loud, especially from Mom." I stayed quiet---what was there to say?---"It still...it's painful to this day to think about the story of my old man and his extremely selfish ways."