Author's Note: Sorry for not updating sooner. Oh, and uh, just a side
note, Ryan and Conor are fraternal twins. Ok, last chapter, on with it!
September 14, four years later. I woke up early in the morning and I noticed that Joey was not next to me. It wasn't unusual that she was up at seven-thirty on a Saturday morning.
The sun shone onto my face and the last remaining birds that hadn't migrated were chirping outside. I knew what today was and remembered that I did go out last night to get the presents and...
The door flung open and scared the crap out of me. "Daaaaaddy!" "Dad, Dad!" Uh, my wake up call had arrived. They jumped on top of me like a trampoline. "Uh!" "Hey watch it you're gonna hurt me." Ryan rolled over to me with his tasseled brown hair and toothy grin and whispered with a smile on his face, "Daddy, do you know what today is?" "What?" "What is today let's see, well today I have to go to work, and then I need to pick up the dry cleaning." "Oh wait, I know, today is Mommy's haircut right?" "Yeah that's it." I joked. "No!" They yelled in unison.
Just then Joey poked her head in the doorway. I smiled at her and she smiled back. "Okay, I give up." "What is today?" "It's our birthday!" "Birthday!" They screamed louder. "That's right, how old are you today?" "Four." "Four years old." They each held up four fingers. "Well we're gonna have to start planning for college soon huh?"
Joey walked over and sat down next to me on the bed. "Did you go and get the presents?" She whispered into my ear. "Yeah I got them, I just got home late." I whispered back. "What are you saying?' Ryan blurted out. "No secrets!" Conor said. "We don't have to tell you!" I mocked back. "Tell us!" "Tell us!" They jumped on top of us and got twisted around the covers as they wrestled us. Despite our efforts, they still won.
***
The party started around three and our friends and family arrived shortly after. The day seemed real to me as Ryan and Conor were now four years old. It seemed like yesterday, that after a long, stressful month in the hospital, we were taking them home for the first time. That was a scary time; having to watch them every minute of every second of every day to make sure that nothing went wrong.
Then there were the heart melting and loving moments when I would have to carry one of them asleep on my shoulder, to the crib. Even the late night feedings and nightmares, and with every time I had to rock them to sleep, just gave me a high feeling that it was great to be alive.
Right now, having almost lost them, there isn't a second that goes by when I don't think about how grateful I am and how amazing it feels when they call me 'Dad.'
***
The party was nice; it felt good to see our friends and family get together, especially my father.
After he lent us the money for the medical bills, it was like our entire relationship was wiped away and he was a new person to me. Ryan and Conor love him. They get so excited when they hear about a weekend at Grandpa's. Maybe there's a cosmic connection, but every time I mention him, their faces light up.
Everything was planned well. There were no crying episodes or meltdowns, and both of them got close to equal amounts of presents. My parents stayed a little longer for coffee while Ryan and Conor finagled with their new toys.
The time flew by fast as I found myself laughing and enjoying my father's company. They left soon enough, and then the tired crying began and after 45 minutes of standoff, Ryan and Conor finally gave in and fell asleep. It was 9:00 by the time Joey and I could have some alone time.
"They got a lot of nice presents huh?" Joey said. "Yeah, those remote control cars Bessie gave them are pretty cool." I answered. "It was nice talking to your parents." "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" I said. "Do you have to work tomorrow?" Joey asked me. "No, I don't have to go back in until Tuesday." "Hm, maybe we can go somewhere tomorrow." She said. "Yeah, maybe, that'll be cool." I said.
I yawned and Joey rested her head on my shoulder and sighed.
We turned in around ten, our heavy eyes catching up to us. I was lying in bed awake, when a heard a noise outside of the hallway and Conor stuck his head in our room. I sat up, "Hey, buddy what's the matter?" I whispered. I got out of the bed quietly, as to not wake Joey and we walked out to the living room.
We sat down on the couch and I asked him again. "What's the matter, did you have a bad dream?" I asked. He nodded his head as he hugged his teddy bear. "Here, slide down a bit." He sat closer next to me on the couch and I put my arm around him. "So, you had a bad dream huh?" Again, Conor nodded his head. "What was it about?" He paused for a minute. "A monster at preschool." "He was chasing me down the halls and it was dark and I was scared." He said. "Well, you guys have to stop watching so much TV." I said. "Hey, you know what I did when I had a bad dream?" He looked at me, "What?" "Well, I had a teddy bear too, just like Charlie here," I took his bear, "and if I had a bad dream then I would put my head under my pillow and hug him as tight as I could." "Because you know what?" "What?" "Monsters can't get you if you're tucked in the covers with your teddy bear." I whispered to him. "They can't?" Conor whispered back. "Nope, Charlie here, is your best defense."
"You think you're gonna be alright now?" I asked him. "Can you come back and tuck me in?" I smiled at him, "Sure, let's go." We got up off the couch and walked down the hall into their room. "Be quiet, you don't want to wake up your brother."
Conor crawled into his bed and I pulled the covers up tight on him. "Okay, where's Charlie?" "Right here." He whispered as he held him. "Alright, goodnight buddy." I kissed his forehead. "No more bad dreams okay?" He nodded back at me.
I closed the door down and instead of going back to bed I walked back into the living room and sank onto the couch.
When I was little, my father rarely tucked me in or read me a bedtime story or anything like that. I don't know if I was too hard for him or if he didn't like doing it, I never understood.
Now, with things being so different between us, my father is telling me things he never did before like, what my mother sang to me at night, and what I was really like at Ryan and Conor's age. I forgave my father for the rough times he put me through and vowed that I would never do to that to my own children.
I also guess it's true what they say, that the enemies in your life are just friends who don't get along with you. I will never forget what my father did for us in our time of need and I will never forget how good it felt to thank him for such an extraordinary act.
Truly, the things in your life that are near and dear to you, will always be near and dear to you, no matter what your outlook of them may be.
Thus, I end my story and I tell you that the rough relationships that may seem beyond repair, are not at all impossible to bring back.
In your ongoing lives remember, that it is never too late to forgive the ones you love.
September 14, four years later. I woke up early in the morning and I noticed that Joey was not next to me. It wasn't unusual that she was up at seven-thirty on a Saturday morning.
The sun shone onto my face and the last remaining birds that hadn't migrated were chirping outside. I knew what today was and remembered that I did go out last night to get the presents and...
The door flung open and scared the crap out of me. "Daaaaaddy!" "Dad, Dad!" Uh, my wake up call had arrived. They jumped on top of me like a trampoline. "Uh!" "Hey watch it you're gonna hurt me." Ryan rolled over to me with his tasseled brown hair and toothy grin and whispered with a smile on his face, "Daddy, do you know what today is?" "What?" "What is today let's see, well today I have to go to work, and then I need to pick up the dry cleaning." "Oh wait, I know, today is Mommy's haircut right?" "Yeah that's it." I joked. "No!" They yelled in unison.
Just then Joey poked her head in the doorway. I smiled at her and she smiled back. "Okay, I give up." "What is today?" "It's our birthday!" "Birthday!" They screamed louder. "That's right, how old are you today?" "Four." "Four years old." They each held up four fingers. "Well we're gonna have to start planning for college soon huh?"
Joey walked over and sat down next to me on the bed. "Did you go and get the presents?" She whispered into my ear. "Yeah I got them, I just got home late." I whispered back. "What are you saying?' Ryan blurted out. "No secrets!" Conor said. "We don't have to tell you!" I mocked back. "Tell us!" "Tell us!" They jumped on top of us and got twisted around the covers as they wrestled us. Despite our efforts, they still won.
***
The party started around three and our friends and family arrived shortly after. The day seemed real to me as Ryan and Conor were now four years old. It seemed like yesterday, that after a long, stressful month in the hospital, we were taking them home for the first time. That was a scary time; having to watch them every minute of every second of every day to make sure that nothing went wrong.
Then there were the heart melting and loving moments when I would have to carry one of them asleep on my shoulder, to the crib. Even the late night feedings and nightmares, and with every time I had to rock them to sleep, just gave me a high feeling that it was great to be alive.
Right now, having almost lost them, there isn't a second that goes by when I don't think about how grateful I am and how amazing it feels when they call me 'Dad.'
***
The party was nice; it felt good to see our friends and family get together, especially my father.
After he lent us the money for the medical bills, it was like our entire relationship was wiped away and he was a new person to me. Ryan and Conor love him. They get so excited when they hear about a weekend at Grandpa's. Maybe there's a cosmic connection, but every time I mention him, their faces light up.
Everything was planned well. There were no crying episodes or meltdowns, and both of them got close to equal amounts of presents. My parents stayed a little longer for coffee while Ryan and Conor finagled with their new toys.
The time flew by fast as I found myself laughing and enjoying my father's company. They left soon enough, and then the tired crying began and after 45 minutes of standoff, Ryan and Conor finally gave in and fell asleep. It was 9:00 by the time Joey and I could have some alone time.
"They got a lot of nice presents huh?" Joey said. "Yeah, those remote control cars Bessie gave them are pretty cool." I answered. "It was nice talking to your parents." "Yeah, it was, wasn't it?" I said. "Do you have to work tomorrow?" Joey asked me. "No, I don't have to go back in until Tuesday." "Hm, maybe we can go somewhere tomorrow." She said. "Yeah, maybe, that'll be cool." I said.
I yawned and Joey rested her head on my shoulder and sighed.
We turned in around ten, our heavy eyes catching up to us. I was lying in bed awake, when a heard a noise outside of the hallway and Conor stuck his head in our room. I sat up, "Hey, buddy what's the matter?" I whispered. I got out of the bed quietly, as to not wake Joey and we walked out to the living room.
We sat down on the couch and I asked him again. "What's the matter, did you have a bad dream?" I asked. He nodded his head as he hugged his teddy bear. "Here, slide down a bit." He sat closer next to me on the couch and I put my arm around him. "So, you had a bad dream huh?" Again, Conor nodded his head. "What was it about?" He paused for a minute. "A monster at preschool." "He was chasing me down the halls and it was dark and I was scared." He said. "Well, you guys have to stop watching so much TV." I said. "Hey, you know what I did when I had a bad dream?" He looked at me, "What?" "Well, I had a teddy bear too, just like Charlie here," I took his bear, "and if I had a bad dream then I would put my head under my pillow and hug him as tight as I could." "Because you know what?" "What?" "Monsters can't get you if you're tucked in the covers with your teddy bear." I whispered to him. "They can't?" Conor whispered back. "Nope, Charlie here, is your best defense."
"You think you're gonna be alright now?" I asked him. "Can you come back and tuck me in?" I smiled at him, "Sure, let's go." We got up off the couch and walked down the hall into their room. "Be quiet, you don't want to wake up your brother."
Conor crawled into his bed and I pulled the covers up tight on him. "Okay, where's Charlie?" "Right here." He whispered as he held him. "Alright, goodnight buddy." I kissed his forehead. "No more bad dreams okay?" He nodded back at me.
I closed the door down and instead of going back to bed I walked back into the living room and sank onto the couch.
When I was little, my father rarely tucked me in or read me a bedtime story or anything like that. I don't know if I was too hard for him or if he didn't like doing it, I never understood.
Now, with things being so different between us, my father is telling me things he never did before like, what my mother sang to me at night, and what I was really like at Ryan and Conor's age. I forgave my father for the rough times he put me through and vowed that I would never do to that to my own children.
I also guess it's true what they say, that the enemies in your life are just friends who don't get along with you. I will never forget what my father did for us in our time of need and I will never forget how good it felt to thank him for such an extraordinary act.
Truly, the things in your life that are near and dear to you, will always be near and dear to you, no matter what your outlook of them may be.
Thus, I end my story and I tell you that the rough relationships that may seem beyond repair, are not at all impossible to bring back.
In your ongoing lives remember, that it is never too late to forgive the ones you love.
