Chapter 35

It’d been months since the great divide! I was almost forty and feeling older. Did any of it matter? Not really. Over the past while, my ass had damn near turned to concrete sitting in this goddamn chair. But I suppose it wasn’t all bad. I had a good woman. I had peace here in the San Fernando Valley of California. The weather was uniformly good. And I was eating regular. Hell, I had it made.

But life is full of surprises and interruptions and distractions even here in our previously inviolate sanctuary. I say previously because I could see the man—he sure had aged—trudging up the walkway to our little two bedroom mid-range apartment complex. Oh him? Why Owen Cord of course.

Rina was inside putting hot dogs together for our midday caloric crime.

“Well, well, well, I guess there is just no way to escape a man when he’s got a much money as I’m sure you’ve got,” I said, as the man approached our gate.

Our new place was a one story complex. It had the apartment’s patio in the front as opposed to the more usual rear location.

“Yes, I’m very well, thank you,” said Owen.

Well, he was always quick with the retort.

“And you’re here why after all of this time?” I said.

“Look, can I come in. Standing out here in the walkway carrying on a conversation seems a bit odd or something,” he said.

“Not to be obvious Mister Cord, but why after all of this time would you want to be bothering us?” I said.

“It’s Sarah, she’s getting married—finally. She wants to see you,” he said. For the life of me I was pretty much instantly curious. I motioned him to come in a take a seat under my totally inadequate umbrella.

“It’s lunch time. You wanna join us?” I said. He gave me a look.

“Yes, sure, if your offering,” he said. I nodded.

“Soups on,” yelled my wife from inside the house.

He followed me in and the look on my wife’s face was totally precious.

“Yes, it’s really him,” I said, “and no I hadn’t invited him. He looks older huh?” Okay I was being a trifle snide and daring him to reciprocate—memories of a spitting contest of a generation gone came flooding back. But, he didn’t pick up the gauntlet, not this time.

“Hello to you, Rina. Hope you’re well,” he said.

“And hello to you, Owen. I can’t say I’m not surprised,” she said.

“Hmm, yes, I can imagine,” he said.

“You’re having lunch with us?” she said, looking at me not him when she said it.

“Yes,” I said, “he’s starving.”

After the fact, He had appeared to have actually been hungry: he had three hot dogs; I only had two and the woman one.

Done, he and I headed outside to talk under my still inadequate umbrella.

“And Sarah wanted to see me why?” I said. “She’s made no effort in over the past two years to do so; none of you have except Mia last year. So why now?”

“It’s complicated, but there’s the wedding of course. And as hard as it may be for you to believe, you do come up in conversation fairly regularly. Oh, and not always in a positive vein I’d have to say if I’m going to be honest,” he said. “Oh, and Abigail wants to stomp on your weenie and get you to see reason, her exact words actually.”

“Okay, sounds about right, like something she’d say about me or want to do to me. But, so, wedding or no wedding why? What’s complicated?” I said.

“The whole clan knows how bummed you were about Mia choosing me over you. The two of them the twins figure, logically, that if you were to walk Sarah down the aisle that it would square things with you on that score. Plus, there is the matter of Ronald. Whom you barely know, and he wants to know you. He’s made that very clear actually,” said Owen.

“And why would Ronald give a damn about me. I know you’ve all but brought them off with your big bucks and all of that,” I said.

“Yes, they’ve all had pretty much everything that they’ve asked for or needed certainly. But, money isn’t the only thing there is to parenthood. Of course you can be forgiven for ignorance of those kinds of things since you—and it’s been your choice—chose to be absent from the lives of the children. I have damn little sympathy for you in that regard,” he said.

“Hmm, so if I’m such a lousy father figure, and I will admit to that lack in my character, why have you bothered, I mean you, to come here and bother me?” I said.

“The kids asked me too. They think that I have a better relationship with you than any of the rest of them. And yeah, I know how weird that sounds, but it is what they said, and it was them that prevailed upon me to find you and come out here to plead their case,” he said.

“Well, you’ve failed. Your idea of a plea sucks, and I’m not interested in having my heart ripped out again. My face and body is bad enough; I don’t need to be humiliated and insulted anymore. Tell them that. Really, tell them that,” I said. “Nice seeing you, goodbye.”

“What! You’re turning down your daughter when she is so willing...”

“Yeah, to sacrifice herself to make me feel a little less bad. I don’t need no mercy shit from any of you. I’m not good enough to even get a phone call from any of you for all this time? And now you show up to tell me how lousy a dad I am and to allow me to lead the parade for one of my daughters! Well fuck you, mister rich guy. I don’t need your mercy, or your money, or any other of your phony bullshit. Get the hell away from my house! Like now!”

I spun around in my chair headed back inside to my wife. I had to get out of there right then. I was beginning to break up. I did not want him to see that. Oh no, that would not have been good.

“Look, Sam...” he said to my back as the door to my place slammed behind me. I didn’t go back outside until it was dark. I was afraid the man might actually be outside waiting to confront me. I really could not have faced him had he been. But, he wasn’t.