From May To December
A serial fiction story for your enjoyment
written by James Rada, Jr.
T h e C a t o c t i n B a n n e r b r i n g s y o u . . .
12: Second Chances
Jack Lawrence asked Bobby Hennessey to drive him from Bobby’s farm on Catoctin Mountain into Frederick, where he could catch a train or a bus or find a gullible woman to take him in. Not that Jack would say the last part out loud, but in the short time Bobby had known Jack, he had come to realize the type of person he was.
Peter Lawrence asked to ride with them so he could say goodbye to his father. Stacy Lawrence hesitated because she worried her son might try to leave with his father. Peter had been so mad at Stacy when she told him she was going to ask Jack to leave. She didn’t think her son had forgiven her yet. Plus, he was at an age where he was ruled more by his emotions than facts.
Bobby must have sensed her hesitation. He said, “He just wants to spend a little more time with his dad.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Stacy admitted.
“Jack won’t take him, but I’ll keep an eye on him just the same.”
Stacy laid a hand on his arm. “Thank you.”
“Peter’s got a good head on his shoulders,” Bobby added. “He must get that from you. He knows how much you love him.”
Peter and Jack talked about nothing in particular on the ride to Frederick. They shared memories, talked of things they might do in the future, and Jack spoke about places he wanted to visit.
Bobby drove to the MARC train station. He stayed in the truck while Peter and Jack said their goodbyes. Let them have time to say their private goodbyes while Bobby watched through the windshield. Finally, Peter hugged his father and then walked back to the truck.
The youngster was quiet on the drive back to Thurmont until Bobby passed the Route 77 exit.
“Hey, you missed our exit,” Peter said.
“No, I didn’t,” Bobby told him. “I am going to Gateway Candyland for ice cream.”
“You don’t have to get me ice cream. I’m not a little kid who needs to be cheered up.”
Bobby shrugged. “Fine, then you don’t have to get any, but I want some.”
Bobby crossed the highway and pulled into the parking lot. He nodded to the clerk at the register as he walked into the store with Peter trailing him. He ordered himself a chocolate ice cream cone. Then he glanced at Peter, who quickly ordered himself a raspberry ice cream cone.
Bobby paid for their cones at the register and then walked outside. They sat down at a bench, contently licking their ice cream and enjoying the warm day.
Finally, Peter said, “Mom doesn’t think I know.”
“Know what?” Bobby asked.
“I heard my dad telling his girlfriend one time that he was going to give me back to my mom early, so they could go out to the bar. Give me back like he wasn’t my father.”
Bobby nodded. “That sounds about like your father.”
“It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me, though,” Peter said defensively.
“No, in fact, I’m sure he does love you in his way. The question is: Is his way enough for you?”
Peter paused and bit off a piece of ice cream on his cone. “I guess it has to be, doesn’t it?”
Bobby shook his head. “You’re old enough to speak your mind to him if you want something different. He may not be able to give it, though, and you’ll have to decide what you will do if that’s the case.”
“Is it wrong that I love him even though he doesn’t like me?”
“A boy should love his father. I loved my pap even though he wasn’t the warmest of men. He was a good man, though. He taught me stuff, but he worked a lot.”
“You would have been a good dad, Bobby.”
Bobby nodded. “I’d like to think so, and I think for the short time I had a daughter that I was.”
They finished their ice cream, wiped their mouths and fingers, and walked to the truck. Bobby reached for the door to get in, but instead, collapsed to the ground. Peter saw him drop and ran around the truck to check on him.
Bobby was conscious, but grimacing. He was trying to get his phone out of his pocket, but it kept slipping from his fingers. “Ambulance,” he muttered.
Peter grabbed the smartphone and dialed 9-1-1. He told the dispatcher where he was and that a man had collapsed and needed an ambulance. A short time later, he heard sirens and then saw the flashing lights as an ambulance pulled into the parking lot.
An EMT rushed over to Bobby, who had passed out, and started checking him over. Peter explained what had happened as another EMT came over with a gurney.
As they loaded Bobby onto the gurney, Peter asked, “Where are you taking him?”
“Frederick Memorial,” an EMT answered, then added, “Are you going to be all right?”
“I’ll call my mom.”
The EMT nodded as they rolled the gurney toward the ambulance. In moments, it was gone, sirens blaring, heading for Frederick.
Peter used Bobby’s phone to call his mother and explain to her what had happened. Stacy picked him up, and they rushed to the hospital to see what had happened to Bobby.
At the hospital, a doctor told them Bobby had suffered a mild heart attack, and that he was expected to recover. After three days at Frederick Memorial, Stacy and Peter brought Bobby home. Without being asked, Stacy took over his care.
“I don’t need a babysitter,” Bobby told her sharply when she tried helping him into the house.
“You just had a heart attack,” she answered.
“A mild one. They released me from the hospital, didn’t they?”
Stacy ignored him and continued her plan to nurse him back to health. She also continued her duties on the farm. However, she spent a lot more time with Bobby on the back porch just talking.
Peter also did his share of farm chores and helping with Bobby, which Bobby didn’t seem as upset by. She often passed the porch and saw them whittling in silence or playing chess.
Stacy couldn’t get past the fact that Bobby was different. He wasn’t as… vibrant. He was quieter, which seemed odd to think since they talked more than ever when she sat with him.
What would she have done if he had died? He had given her a chance to start over. He had been a friend to both her and Peter. He had been a support to her when Jack had been at the farm.
Then, one time she said it out loud. “I was so worried you were going to die.”
Bobby shrugged. “No need. I have it in my will that you and Peter are life tenants.”
“That’s not why I was worried.” It wasn’t, but what was the reason? She couldn’t imagine not having Bobby in her life. They got along so well. He meant the world to her.
Stacy stood up and walked over to stand in front of him. She bent over, took his face in her hands, and kissed him. “I love you,” she said when she stepped back.
Bobby closed his eyes and sighed softly. “Well, you picked a fine time to realize it. I’m old.”
“You’re not that old.”
“Old enough to be your father.”
“Only if you acted like Jack when you were a teenager.”
“I had my wild years, but I wasn’t stupid about it.”
Stacy nodded. “See?”
“And I can be stupid about things now. The heart attack was God telling me my time on this earth is coming to an end. You’ve got a lot more years left than me. It wouldn’t be right for us to be together. I’d only drag you down.”
He pushed himself to his feet and walked into the house, locking the back door behind him.
When Stacy came back later, he ignored her knocks until she said, “Bobby Hennessey, if you don’t open this door, I’ll call the police to do a wellness check on you.”
He reluctantly came to the door and unlocked it. “How long do think you can hold that threat over my head?”
“Until you admit you’re healthy enough that a wellness check wouldn’t make sense, but then you’d have to admit that you aren’t standing with one foot in the grave.”
He rolled his eyes and stepped back to let her in. “Fine. I’m getting healthy again.”
“Then what’s the problem? Is it me?”
“I told you the problem. I’m too old for you.”
“Isn’t that my decision to make? When I was young, I thought I knew what I wanted. I wound up with Jack, and you see where that went. I’ve grown up since then, Bobby. I’ve come to realize what is really important, and it’s not powder blue eyes, broad shoulders, and a butt that looks good in jeans.”
Bobby grinned.
“Why are you smiling?” Stacy asked.
“I always thought my butt looked good in jeans.”
“It’s flat,” she said without hesitation.
He stopped grinning.
“I want someone I can talk to and laugh with,” Stacy said. “I want someone who I can depend on and who values me. I want you, Bobby. When you had the heart attack, and I realized that I might lose you, I felt lost. Maybe we won’t have 50 years together, but we might have 30, and that’s a lot of years to be happy. That’s almost my entire lifetime until now.”
He stared at her without saying anything. She wondered what he was thinking, knowing he could be stubborn if he wanted to. Then he leaned in and kissed her.
