The Parting: Christmas

Charlotte thought back to the conversation she had with Jack the previous day and remembered how she slowly hung up the phone when they finished. She remembered a time when she would have been excited to hear from Jack. This call left her feeling cold. Jack had called and related the events at MIA’s house. Charlotte said several times how sorry she was but Jack never reacted to her condolences one way or another. Did he hear her?  Ordinarily, he would have at least said, “thank you” or gave some type of acknowledgement. When it seemed his retelling of the events was winding down, she was going to ask if she could come over but he said he would like to meet with her. There was something in his voice that said she would not receive good news when they spoke.

Driving home from MIA’s house, Jack felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had only been discharged from the military for a short time. He was having trouble adjusting to civilian life, he still hadn’t found a job and, though his mother hadn’t said anything, he knew the extra mouth to feed was hurting the family budget. He had been looking for jobs but with the economy still poor in that part of the country, they were hard to find. He was learning that his lack of skills was part of the problem. He joined the military shortly after high school and had only been trained to fight. A few years ago he watched the HBO movie, “The Pacific.”  He felt like one of the main characters, Eugene Sledge, after he returned home from the war. He tried to attend college but when they asked if he had any skills they could use, Eugene said he was trained to kill the Japanese and he was pretty good at it.  Then he walked out. Jack was beginning to feel he needed to walk out and be less of a burden on his mother.

Samantha drove down the road with a smile on her face. She was going to Bob’s house and was going to meet his father, who was visiting from out of town. Shortly after Bob graduated from college, Bob’s father, Matthew, lost his job but found employment in a town that was about a 4 hour drive away. Matthew’s wife died shortly thereafter of breast cancer. He was still single and enjoyed his son and daughter who lived on the other side of the country. He split the holidays between them each year. He would spend Thanksgiving with one and Christmas with the other. Then he would switch the next year. Samantha felt it was a good sign for the relationship to meet Bob’s dad.

Matthew was curious to meet the young lady his son mentioned. He’d never known Bob to date women and occasionally had fleeting concerns his son was gay. This confirmed in his mind that it was not the case. Matthew made a couple of his favorite foods for Christmas dinner: garlic and rosemary roast duck with asparagus. He also tried his wife’s pumpkin pie recipe for the first time. He let it overcook a little and the top started turning black. Oh well, he thought, I’m still trying to get the hang of this baking stuff. He could cook on the grill or stove but using the oven was still new to him. He looked forward to a relaxing day.

Bob was always happy to spend time with his father. This Christmas was no exception. The more he got to know Samantha, the more he appreciated the person she was. He still didn’t think he was in love with her. At best, he liked the idea that she liked him. His heart still pined for Charlotte but there was no way that could happen after the confrontation with Jack. Bob was afraid to be near Charlotte or Jack. He had discussed the incident with Samantha and she merely said not to worry about it. She would keep him busy and out of Jack’s way. This didn’t give much comfort to Bob since the look in Jack’s eyes clearly showed he would hurt Bob if he ever saw him again. Bob wanted to keep his distance.

Bob tried to tell his father how he felt about Samantha but he didn’t want to bring up the fact that he still loved Charlotte. Consequently, Bob never mentioned the subject. Therefore, Matthew spent his visit believing Samantha was someone very special to Bob. Despite all of this, the three of them had a wonderful time together. Matthew felt an instant liking for Samantha. As a man who learned a lot in the school of hard knocks, he recognized a fellow alumnus in Samantha. He could tell she had a rough time in her life and, though she was secure in herself, there was more growing up to do. When his kids went off on their own, he was proud when he could determine that they would “make it” in life. Though he just met her, as long as she was willing to work hard, he believed Samantha would “make it.” Besides all of that, she was a beautiful woman and had an excellent figure. She obviously took care of herself and acted like she would take care of his son.