Eggs & Pancakes
April 8, 1995—early morning
It was a Parker father-son tradition that went on for as long as Drake could remember.
Their Saturday morning breakfast at the International House of Pancakes. Of course this
breakfast was different. Drake tried not to be a selfish kid and realized that this had to
be difficult for his father too. The father that wanted to act like "everything was all right",
that they could go out for Saturday breakfasts and baseball games as if all was well with
the world. Drake had been studying his father and he never would have known that
anything was wrong with him. Jeffrey Parker looked the same, talked like he always did,
wore the same combination of Nautica and Gap clothing. He didn't look like a man who
was sick. A man that had weeks, months, or years left? You'd never know it by looking
at him that his number in the death lottery was ready to be called up. His eyes sparkled
in that infamous Devil may care Parker way and his cheeks had a rosy glow. Drake
could have questioned all of this, he could have demanded answers, but his father's
quietness was not out of a bad place. Jeffrey was trying to protect his family by shielding
his children (and probably his wife if he could've gotten away with it) from the pain. The
worst news of all that he was leaving them and not because he wanted to, but because
sometimes life just happens and you have to deal with these things as they arise. Drake
admired his father for that. He couldn't be angry with him.
"I broke your egg!" Jeffrey smiled as he broke Drake's sunny side up egg yolk with a
corner torn off from his toasted white bread.
Drake could break down crying or he could enjoy the time spent with his father for what
it was.
For what it would become, a memory of their time together when they used to go to
IHOP every Saturday morning for eggs and pancakes.
"I broke yours too!" Drake smiled back as he returned the gesture.
"After breakfast how about we go to Foot Locker to get you the sneakers you've been
begging me for?"
They didn't seem so important now but Drake didn't want to hurt his father's feelings, it
was the same reason for their upcoming baseball game trip, Jeffrey didn't know how
much time he had left on Earth and wanted to cram every moment in. Drake who used
to like it when either of his parents bought him things hated the thought of his father
being gone and all that would be left would be things like sneakers that he would only
outgrow.
"I don't know. Maybe we can see a movie?"
"Okay, if that's what you want to do. That new movie theater across town just opened
yesterday."
"The Premiere."
"Yeah, that's it. Do you want to see Bad Boys?"
"Mom says it's too violent."
Jeffrey put his index finger to his lips. "Ssh. Your mother doesn't have to know son."
The truth was Drake didn't want the sneakers and he really didn't want to go to the
movies with his father. He'd have been content just hanging around the house with him
and watch baseball on TV.
But how many real opportunities could they have outside in public before Jeffrey was
too sick to be allowed to even be outside? Drake couldn't take that away from his dad.
"Cool."
Jeffrey smiled as he put his fork into Drake's pancakes.
"Look, it's a flying whooperwill."
That made Drake laugh a little.
"Nice try, Dad, but those are my pancakes."
"You're catching on quick. I shouldn't try to take food away from a growing boy."
"But yet you always try." It amazed Drake on how well he was able to act like nothing
was wrong. Maybe, his father was right. They lived in a modern age and Scientists were
always on the verge of finding the latest medical breakthrough.
"Yeah I do. Did you ever find out who your secret admirer is?" Jeffrey stirred his coffee
with the small chocolate brown colored stirring straw.
"No. I thought it was Shelby Lawrence until I saw her talking to Bobby Geller."
"There'll be many girls in your future."
"I know." Drake replied in such a way that he didn't mean that in a self-important way, he
just meant that rather of matter-of-factly. He hoped his father knew that.
"Someday, we'll have thee talk," Jeffrey did the quoting gestures, "about girls."
Drake swirled his last piece of pancake in the now cold maple syrup. "Dad, I already
know about sex." He whispered.
"Do you Drake?"
"Yeah. When I was at Bobby's birthday party his older brother Matt was there and when
all the adults went away he told us everything."
"I'd bet your last piece of bacon that he did not tell you everything."
"You weren't there, Dad. He had magazines."
Jeffrey laughed, "But did Matt tell you and every other boy there about love?"
Drake started to blush aware of his surroundings.
"Uh—"
Jeffrey put up his arm to flag their table server to the table.
Forget the movie there was something more important that Jeffrey Parker needed to
take care of and that was to give his nine year old son who thought he knew "everything"
about sex the proper talk about the birds and the bees. Someday was now.
"Check please." Jeffrey finished his coffee.
Jeffrey wished upon the morning sun that he could live long enough to see if the words
he would be telling his son in the car on the way home would later on be values that
Drake would actually put into practice.
"Thanks for the breakfast, Dad." Normally it went unsaid but today Drake felt that he
needed to let his father know that.
"You're welcome son. Instead of going to the movies I think we just better drive around
and talk for a while. I hope that's okay?"
"Yeah."
Drake tried to push the realities out of his mind. His Father didn't look or show any signs
of being sick. So until there was something to worry about he was going to do the
Parker thing and that was to keep on smiling.
At least on the outside.