The Old Man

The Old Man
One look told him his father had become a shell of the man he’d once been. Benny hadn’t seen his old man in many years. The years hadn’t been kind to his father. He was still tall, but now he was stooped over a bit. He’d lost a lot of weight and instead of the ruddy complexion Benny remembered he was pale, almost ashen. One thing hadn’t changed he was seated on the same chair of the kitchen table sipping on his black coffee.
Both men had decided long ago that they just didn’t like each other. There wasn’t the deep hatred you saw in some families, only simple dislike. When it was Benny’s time to leave the nest, he did. There wasn’t a tearful blubbering goodbye, only a simple handshake. Benny’s mother had passed away three years before he’d left home for good. The three years hadn’t been pleasant for father or son. After the separation neither ever thought of making that phone call that might bring them back together.
Benny did keep in touch with his Uncle Rocco. His uncle was his father’s brother, and Benny began to think of him as The Angel of Death. Almost always if Uncle Rocco was on the other end of the line someone in the family was either dead or dying. Benny had never been close to most of the deceased so he never made the thousand-mile trip to his old home town to attend any of the services. By now Benny had a wife and a beautiful daughter. The thought of bringing his new family to meet his father had never crossed his mind. Everything changed when he got a call from Uncle Rocco, “Your father’s dying Benny, he’s got terminal lung cancer. He didn’t want me to tell you but I thought you should know.”
That’s the reason Benny was standing uneasily in his father’s kitchen waiting for him to speak. “So, that busybody Rocco told you?”
“Yes, he did. I thought I should come.”
“No need, I’ve made my peace. I’m ready to go.”
“I thought you’d want to at least meet your granddaughter before you go.”
“Rocco told me you had a daughter. How old is she?”
“She’s five and she’s the spitting image of mom.” He brought Jenny, his wife, and Angela, his daughter in from the car.
For the first time in his life Benny saw tears well up in his father’s cold blue eyes. He felt the tears come down his own cheeks as well. They visited as often as they could after that first meeting. Benny and his father still didn’t like each other, but, had finally come to respect one another. His father passed away three months later. He was a much happier man surrounded by his family.