Father’s Day
By K. Corris-Seale
Harry leaned
back in his office chair at the Institute.
He was going over the conversation he had just had with Lee. Lee had two tickets to a ballgame on Sunday, at
the Caesar Uyesaka Stadium to see the UC Santa
Barbara Gauchos play, and he wanted Harry to go with him. It wasn’t their usual kind of off duty
socialization, but for some reason it seemed important to Lee. Well, why not? It might even be fun.
The weather
was beautiful, Lee had the roof down when he picked Harry up. He loved riding in Lee’s red Corvette, and
enjoyed the light hearted conversation on the way. It was a good walk from the parking area to
the stadium, but when they finally got there, they had great seats, mid-level
seats between third base and home. The stadium was packed. A few minutes after they sat down, Lee excused
himself and came back with two cold beers and a bucket of popcorn.
Surprisingly,
Harry found himself getting quite immersed in the game. The teams were pretty evenly matched. And
with everyone around him cheering, he couldn’t help but feel enthused. At half time Lee got them
hot dogs and more beer. Harry soon found
himself singing along with the old-time songs, and even throwing his arms up
when the wave came around. He was really
having a great time!
The second
half of the game was a real nail biter.
The score was tied for three innings.
They were rooting for the Gauchos and Harry really got into it. Soon the game went into extra innings.
It was while
Lee had gone to the head that the message came up on the score screen. ‘Happy Father’s Day!’ Harry sat there in in surprise. He’d laid flowers on his own father’s grave
when he had been in Boston with Edith on Mother’s Day, took care of both
holidays at once since he had the opportunity to be there, so he never paid
attention to the official calendar date for Father’s Day.
So, that’s what
this was all about. Lee couldn’t bring
himself to come right out and talk about it, but this proved the feelings, the
sentiment was there. He had often sensed Lee had paternal feelings for him, but
cautiously wondered if he might simply be misjudging Lee’s reverential respect
for him as his CO, mentor, and close friend.
He certainly knew the feelings that he had for Lee, the son he thought
he would never have. He could never come
right out and say it any more than Lee could, but he knew in his heart he loved
Lee every bit as much as he would if he were his biological son. He
assumed it was simply naval protocol that restrained them both from being open and
honest with each other. He made a
promise to himself that someday he would say those words to Lee, ‘I love you,
son’, and hopefully it would be long before he was on his deathbed.
The game
ended with the Gauchos winning, amidst the zealous cheers from their fans. The stadium emptied quickly, and they were
soon back at the car. They talked about different aspects of the game on the
way home, and Harry wondered to himself why he had never gotten more into
baseball. Now he understood why they
called it the national pastime. He’d
actually spent a whole day not thinking about anything marine related, and
enjoyed it!
They were
getting near home when Harry suggested stopping at their neighborhood
Applebee’s. He was feeling a bit hungry, and another beer or two wouldn’t
hurt. They could only get a table at the
bar area, but were then able to watch the big screen TVs replaying different
plays of the game. They listened to the
other bar patron’s comments on the game and players and stayed till closing. What a great day!
As Lee was
pulling up to his house, he thought about what to say to thank him. Anything he
said that made it obvious he realized Lee was doing this for him because it was
Father’s Day and that he suspected Lee thought of him like a father, would be
awkward for both of them. What he really wanted to do was give him a big
bear hug and thank him for the best and only Father’s Day he had ever had. A few more beers and he might have been able
to do that. But . . .
“Lee, thank
you so much for today. I can’t tell you
what a great time I had! I truly hope we
do this again, it meant a lot to me.
Take care driving son, get home safely.
Good night.” He had grabbed Lee’s arm and squeezed it as
he said this. He got out of the car and
walked to his house, aware that Lee was sitting there making sure he got in
safely. Once inside, he looked out the
window and watched Lee pull away, hoping his brief goodbye had still managed to
get his true feelings and appreciation across.
The End
I’m sure we
all know of relationships where the biological father was never the ‘real’
father, the one who was loved and respected, the one who made the sacrifices
and showed the boy how to be a man. As the old saying goes, ‘Any man can be a
father, but it takes someone special to be a Daddy.’ How true.
Happy
Father’s Day to all the wonderful fathers out there!
Please let me know what
you think!