The Cabin

The Cabin
Word Count= 563

         The amber glow of the lake and surrounding sky warmed my heart. The cattails and tall grass held the persona of the setting: a vacation to myself for myself. A boat was tethered to the dock as it always had been and it all looked somewhat dirty through the old window of my cabin. There was a delicate mist setting over the lake that blocked out the surrounding forest.
         I admired the art around the room and one in particular stuck out. It was a picture of the dock. The same cheerful amber color had settled upon the lake, but I think that it was a shot during the morning. I believe I was in the shot, along with my two little sisters and my grandfather. Poppy and Susan were fishing off the end and Laura stood between them. I stood apart, feeling somewhat shunned. I then remembered that day.
         It was like every day at Poppy’s cabin. He focused on his two little granddaughters, I think they were five and seven at the time, but ignored his only grandson. He was ashamed of me. I was never smart enough and never did enough to prove myself worthy of his love. I had never written a great story like he had at sixteen, nor had I kept a steady relationship. I loved to write and God knows I liked girls! Even though he disregarded me, I knew that he loved me. And I loved him. It was that old-folk tough love; the kind of love that goes unspoken until the death bed.
         When he died a few months ago, I never got that “I love you like a son, Jimmy…” that I always wanted, but I did get something. He gave me the key to the cabin and said that the answer lies here. As curious as I was, I couldn’t go out to the cabin just yet. After a month I decided it was time and I left.
         When I got there, all I found were old troubling memories of lectures and rejections. I decided to search his room for a note or something. I eventually found something that I believe he wanted me to have: a letter. It was addressed to a Mr. James Leon O’Riley IV. I opened it to find this:

Dear Jimmy,
I’m sorry that I never got this to you before. I am sorry that I never said this before. I want you to know that I am proud of you. I want you to know that I was proud of you the day you were born and the day you sold your first book. Just because I never liked that horror and sci-fi junk doesn’t mean you don’t deserve credit. I also want you to know that I love you. You are my grandson, but that’s not the way I love you. I love you like a son.

         Love,
              Grandpa Jim

         I  Cried and cried, I knew what I had wanted to know for a long time. I know that he loved me and that he cared. I know that he was proud of me until the end. Now I know that it was that old-timer tough love. I love my grandfather, no matter what. He is an amazing man. I will never forget that day at the lake. I will never forget fishing with Poppy.