A real man.

Chapter 4: Full Circle

Having been sober for ten years, Lemuel Addison Parker III came back into my life a changed man. He worked as a counselor for drug addicts and alcoholics while spending his days as a bank teller. A part of me wanted to hold onto my anger toward him, but I simply didn’t have room for such emotions. As broken and tarnished as he had been, he was family. This was simply something I had come to believe was too precious to squander.

Two years after that game I came home from a jog one Saturday to find my father and my son watching a baseball game on T.V. Chips and cokes were on the coffee table and the two were laughing as they argued over who was heading to the World Series.

“Hey dad!” Edward said. “Grab a coke. The Yankees are beating up on the Tigers pretty well.” My father grunted in false anger then chuckled. “Damn Steinbrenner bought all the talent. Bugs Bunny could coach those guys to the World Series.”

As I sat and we watched the game, my son suddenly remembered something and blurted out, “Oh dad, Grandpa was just telling me that there’s a racetrack about an hour away with campgrounds in the middle of the track. He just bought a bunch of camping gear and suggested that we can go camp out Saturday night, and then watch the races on Sunday. What do you think?”

My dad added, “The tent’s big enough for three, plus room for luggage. I snore a bit, but I’m sure you guys can deal with that. What do you think Joe?”

I smiled. “Sure, sounds like fun.”

After Edward had gone upstairs to work on a school project I looked over and smiled at my father. He looked back and asked “What?”

“Hey Dad, congratulations. Now you’re a real man.”