Making Amends

The next morning I woke up and headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. When I got to the living room he was sitting on the couch watching the news. He is usually at work by this time. “Good morning” I said looking at him. His eyes were red and he looked like he didn’t get any sleep last night. “ You don’t look so good. Is everything alright?” I asked. He looked at me with a smile and said “ I didn’t sleep well last night. I was up thinking about all the poor choices I have made over the years.” I sat down beside him and held one of his hands. “ don’t be too hard on yourself, you were young and were listening to your father’s advice.” He squeezed my hand softly, as if he was thanking me. “ I have a lot of making up to do with you and I want to start doing that today.”

I looked him in the eye “ What are you talking about?” He took out his phone and dialed a number and put the phone on speaker. A man greeted him politely “ Good morning Mr. Hayes, what can I do for you?” the man asked. “ Did you get my message last night? Did you get a chance to get the documents I requested?” we could hear the man moving stuff around in the background “ Yes, Mr Hayes. I have emailed you both the documents to review and sign. If you return the divorce documents today I can have them served to Mrs. Hayes today.” Wow.. I guess old man Cole hit Ethan bottomline or something must have snapped inside him. Unfortunately it is a little too late for him and my mother. “ You will have them back shortly, thanks.” Ethan responded. He opened his laptop and went into his email. I got up and headed to the kitchen. My stomach was rumbling, so I made scrambled eggs, bacon and banana pancakes.

While I was making breakfast I was wondering if he has been in any other relationships over the years. I hope he has, because my mother has been dead for over ten years and he hates his wife. I hope he has someone special in his life, so he won’t be lonely, especially since he is getting older. I decided to ask him during breakfast and if he doesn’t have someone I would encourage him to start dating again. Maybe knowing that I want him to have someone he could love and that loves him, would make it easier for him to start the dating process again. I don’t want him to be lonely, because I saw what loniness did to my mother. No one should have to suffer all their lives for making a mistake, so he deserved to live a happy life.

I offered Ethan some breakfast which happily accepted and we sat and ate together while making small talk. This is new for us, I usually ignored him if we were eating at the same table. I stopped eating and asked “ Aren’t you going to work today?” He wiped his mouth with his napkin “ No, I took a week off. I want to spend time with you before you head back to school. I also need to make some changes in my life and I can’t do it with my father breathing down my neck.” I nod my head in an approving manner and we finish eating our food. I don’t know what he was thinking, but I decided I would just follow his lead. He went back to his laptop and worked for about 20 minutes, while I was watching tv. “ Want to go for a walk with your old man?” he asked “Okay” I had nothing planned for the rest of the time I was going to be in the city, so a walk sounds good.

I brought up the subject about dating while we were eating. I could tell he was not expecting me to ask him about dating, but he did not stop me. “ Do you’ve someone special in your life? I was wondering, because you’ve never mentioned anyone in the past.” he finished eating the food he had in his mouth and said “ No, sweetheart I don’t. Why are you asking me this out of the blue?” I smiled at him “ Mom has been dead for over ten years now and I know she would want you to have someone that loves you as much as she did. Plus I saw what loneliness did to her and I don’t want that to happen to you too. I think you should start dating, especially since you’re getting a divorce. This is your chance to start fresh and find someone to love and grow old with. There are a lot of beautiful single women at the country club that would love to date you.” He laughed and shook his head.