It was late and Abe was ready for a good nights sleep. The movie he just watched was finally over, it wasn't the greatest in the world but it kept his interest long enough to keep him up. Now the time was right to go to bed, but first, a glass of warm milk to help him fall asleep. Slowly he got up off his easy chair and made his way to the kitchen just in time to see Homer, his back turned to him, and a gun pointed at his head.
"Homer!" Abe yelled.
Homer jumped in surprise just before he fired, causing the barrel to be moved to a different angle. Thankfully no longer at his head and more toward the ceiling above. Seconds later, pieces of ceiling fell down his head like snow while Homer only stood there for a moment, dumbfounded.
"What the hell are you doing?" Abe asked angrily.
Homer stared at the gun for a moment, it still looked might friendly right now and was almost willing to try one more time, this time in front of his father. But then again he would intercept him and probably miss once again. He could shoot his father too, but he only wanted to kill himself, everyone else had a reason for being there, he didn't.
"I was...um...I...um," Homer began before suddenly bursting into tears. "I just can't take it any more Dad!"
"Janitor work finally getting to you huh?" Abe asked.
"No Dad! My life sucks! No one loves me! I have no one to talk to about my problems! My job does suck but that's the least of my problems, at least I get something out of that. I'm just a failure! A freaking failure!" Homer said as the tears fell down his face.
"Now son..." Abe began.
"I know nothing good will ever come from me! I will never find someone to love! I thought I did once, but I didn't! So now I'm stuck living with you and I have nothing to show for my future. I-I just can't do this any more, everyone will be better off without me. Once the funeral is over, they will forget that I was ever a part of them," Homer said as he stared at the gun thinking about trying to shoot one more time.
Abe stood there, surprised by Homer and how he felt. He had been so wrapped up in his own problems that he never actually noticed how miserable his own son was. They rarely talked to each other and Abe just went about his normal routine. He never stopped to ask how his sons day was or if he was doing okay. Now he was standing there in front of him, watching him stroke his old Smith and Wesson. He could very well let his son go right ahead and off himself, but then again he had seen these things happen when he was younger and in the army and they were hard to get out of his mind. No, he had to stop this, he had to coax his son back to reality in the best way he could, even if it meant staying up all night with him.
"Homer, I can't forget about you, I took care of you on my own through all these years. That's something that's hard to forget," Abe said.
"Yeah well, now you have to take care of me again, I'm twenty-four Dad! I'm too old for you to be taking care of me. It's just not right," Homer said with a sigh.
"That's true, but that's only because you never actually wanted to go far. Have you ever thought about college?" asked Abe.
"Yeah, Jenna wanted me to go with her, I just never thought it would be worth going because I had such a great life in the keys," Homer replied before crying again. Just thinking about Jenna right now made him so upset. He just wanted his life to be over now.
"Well sometimes things can change for the better, it may not seem that way, but you'll see," Abe said.
Homer let out a sigh and looked at his father, he had never talked to him like this before. It did feel a little satisfying to know that his father was showing some compassion, but for some reason it still did not feel like it was going to be fixed. He just wanted out, he just wanted to cry, and for the first time in many years, he wanted his mother there to help him through this. His father just didn't feel like the kind of person for the job especially since he was never really there for him to begin with.
"I just don't see it happening," Homer said sadly.
"Well I do, you need to have faith and confidence. I've seen soldiers just like you who were in this predicament, and I am willing to help. You just need to put the gun down and listen to me," Abe replied calmly.
"Why do you care so much right now?" Homer asked.
"Because I'm your father and I do care. Also cleaning up after a suicide is not something I'm prepared to do this evening," Abe said.
Homer stood there and looked down at the gun. He could finish himself right now and never have to worry again. Or he would listen to his father and his worries would continue, but then again maybe his father had some good advice that he had been hiding away all these years. Things that could have helped him sooner rather than later and that everything would be okay. Perhaps it was best to let his father talk before giving up just yet.
"Okay Dad," Homer sighed as he put the gun on the counter.
Abe moved forward and took the gun away. He walked out of the room for a moment, leaving Homer alone and wondering what his father was up to. It wasn't long when Abe finally returned without the gun and instead had a leather bound photo book in his hands. It was one Homer had not seen before and he wondered what his father was going to tell him. Abe made his way over to the coffee table and sat down before motioning Homer to join him. Homer of course made his way over and sat down close to him, ready to listen and see what he had to say as his father began opening a book.
"Now tell me son, first of all, how did you get that black eye?" Abe asked.
Homer had nearly forgotten about being punched in the face by Artie earlier, his sadness had made the pain disappear. But now that he was thinking about it again, his eye hurt and he touched it before flinching.
"I helped Marge Bouvier to the hospital because she went into labor at the college. It was a very long labor and in the end, it was a girl. Artie, her husband wasn't very happy so I told him that he should be happy about it. He got angry and punched me in the face before kicking me out," Homer said sadly.
"And you say people are better off without you?" asked Abe.
"Yeah?" Homer said.
"But you just helped a young girl, to the hospital. If you didn't she probably would have gone into labor all alone and given birth right there without your help. That is a big thing right there," Abe said.
"I know, but then I got no thanks for it. I was just kicked out for helping. I called Jenna, my old girlfriend, after all this and discovered that she is in love with someone else now. She let me go just like that, we were so close I just don't understand how someone like her can forget someone like me so quickly," Homer said as he wiped a tear from his eye.
"Some people are like that unfortunately," Abe said.
"And that's why I don't think I'll ever find anyone. Because no one really cares, I'm just alone out here fighting my own battles and only dreaming of what others can do," Homer said.
"You'll find someone, I know you will," Abe said.
"How do you know?" Homer asked as he blew his nose.
"Because I went through almost the same thing as you," Abe said as he turned the pages of his memory book. "You see that girl right there next to your grandparents?"
"Yeah? What about her?" Homer asked.
"That's Wendy, a girl who stole my heart and then broke it without a second thought," Abe said.
"What happened?" Homer asked as Abe showed him more pictures of him and Wendy, a beautiful young lady with golden curls and a fun loving smile. They seemed so happy together, it was hard to imagine Abe without her while looking at these pictures. But something seemed to change that and Homer was very curious to find out what that was.
"War!" Abe began as he turned the page and revealed himself in uniform. "Here, let me tell you the story."
"It was shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, a year ago I graduated high school and I was working as night watchman to the local cranberry silo. It wasn't the best job, but it helped pay for things at home. But after what happened in Hawaii, I decided that protecting my country was important, but that would mean I would be leaving Wendy, my high school sweetheart. But she was all for me fighting the war, just as long as I promised to send her a letter every week until I got back. I was expected to be there for two years, or until the war was over. Once the two years were up, I could come home for a few months and then given the option to go back if the war was not over. I already planned on saying no, since we were engaged and I did not want to leave her."
Homer continued to look at pictures of Wendy and Abe together. They looked so happy and he began to wonder what happened. Wendy wasn't his mother, in fact he was not even born for another fourteen years. He heard his father say he fought in the war until it was over, so what happened made Homer listen more intently.
"My journey to England was an interesting one. We crossed the Atlantic and it took us almost two weeks to do so. We were all so nervous during that time. I remember we would often talk about family and how we would make them proud. But none of us knew if we were able to fight since we were not experienced and had never been in a war. But we all remained brave and when we finally landed, we were so surprised by how bad of shape England was in."
Abe showed Homer pictures of him in England with his fellow soldiers. Many pictures contained old black and white images of him and the boys walking through ruins of churches, houses, and even a school where Abe is helping a fellow soldier take a child to a safe place. Some pictures made his heart break as he saw Abe comforting an older couple who lost their home in the bombings and even helping a young wife and three kids out of the rubble. Where the father was, he did not ask, he did not want to know.
"There was never a day in which I didn't think about Wendy. Every morning I woke up, wondering how she was doing and every night I wondered if she missed me as much as I missed her. I could send her letters, but since I traveled so much and I didn't have a set address, she couldn't write me back. I could only hope she got my messages and I hoped she read and smiled over everyone of them. In fact I still have one right here, I found it about a week after coming back from fighting."
Abe handed Homer a one page letter addressed to Wendy. It was yellowed with age but the writing was still legible and he began to read it.
Dearest Wendy
I'm currently in the south of England near a small town called Canterbury, you may have heard it from The Canterbury Tales, you remember we had to read part of them in English class. Well I remember you said once how magical the place sounded. Well unfortunately, it's not, war is everywhere here and I can only hope all the old ruins will remain after all this. I also hope I can make it out of this as well, I got into a fight with a German yesterday, he tried to ambush me, but Hank was able to finish him off before he could to me. Good old Hank, he's going through such a rough time, he misses his wife. I miss you too, but he's so afraid he won't get out of this. I try to help him stay optimistic though, I know we can get through with this if we have faith. I will admit I'm a little scared though. I do miss you with all my heart, I think about you day and night and I cannot wait to see you again. I hope you feel that way about me, I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. I know it will be amazing. Stay strong my love and I will do the same. Only another year before I return, I know it feels long but I know it will go by fast.
I love you so much
Abe.
"I kept telling myself that a year won't be so long, I can make it, nothing bad will happen. But of course I was wrong with the latter. We had reached a small town in the south of England one cold rainy night in August. The towns people told us of some Germans hiding in a nearby church. They said there were only a few and that we could probably get at them easily. Unfortunately, they were mistaken. What we thought to be only ten Germans and twenty of us, turned out to be fifty Germans and only twenty of us. We were outnumbered and held hostage inside the church for nearly three weeks. Five of our men were killed including Hank who tried to fight his way out, only to get several bullets in him before falling over. It was horrible, none of us knew what to do and we thought we were all done for until I came up with a solution."
Homer looked one page that did not have a picture on it, but instead a playing card. It was a king of hearts and a single word written on the bottom of the card. "Frieden." German for "peace."
"Me and another man by the name of Clark played a poker game between two Germans that lasted for four solid days. None of us took our eyes off the cards and by the end, each of us were hallucinating, I swear I saw Wendy standing there, turned out to be one of the younger German soldiers that I kept thinking was a girl. Luckily I didn't try to run after him and kiss him, that would have been embarrassing. But still, we each claimed that we were the best poker players out there and the bet was, if we won, then we could go without incident and they had to leave. If they won, they could keep hold of the town and kill us all. I was very nervous of course, but in the end I was able to beat them and win our freedom and the townsfolk's safety. And because of what happened, we were sent home early."
Homer looked at the next pictures of Abe coming home with a huge smile on his face and greeted by his mother and father. But Wendy was not there.
"I came home in the afternoon, walking as quickly as I could, hoping that Wendy would be waiting for me on the front steps to embrace me. But she wasn't there, only my parents and my brother were waiting for me. Turns out, Wendy gave up waiting and decided to fall in love with the local farmers son. I ran to find her and had a long talk with her about what happened. Turned out, a month before I was taken hostage, my letters stopped coming. She thought I had been killed and she of course grieved until another young man came into her life named Paul. I asked if she would take me back, but she wouldn't have it. Paul was her knight in shining armor now and she didn't want to leave him. I couldn't believe that I'd been cast away like that, that she didn't love me any more and that she got over me just like that. So while I was on leave I kept wishing that I'd lost the poker game and that I were dead, I believed I would never find someone like Wendy ever again."
"So when the time came to go back in the field, I took that opportunity, because I knew no one but my parents were waiting for me to get back. I could get killed and no one would really care. I was willing to die for my country and it would be alright because the one I loved no longer loved me."
Homer stared at the photo's Abe had from his second tour of Europe, this time he was in France fighting alongside the other allies and avoiding the bombs the best way they knew how. He definitely had a different look about him in the pictures. He no longer carried himself the way he did in the others and he looked more determined to get things done and less nervous about the situation. All because the person he loved was not waiting for him back home. That is until he started seeing pictures of him with a French girl in a bar and she was hugging him tightly, Homer stared at her curiously before looking up at Abe with wonder in his eyes.
"That's Sophie, I actually fell in love with her, we met at a French tavern and we really hit it off. I loved the girl and she actually loved me. She didn't speak the best English but she was getting there. We soon became so close that I even promised her that when the war was over, I would take her to America with me and in time, maybe even get married. But it unfortunately did not last."
This time the reason for Abe's lost love was much sadder as Homer saw a picture of Abe standing next to a grave with a single flower in his hand.
"It was those damn Germans again! They ambushed us and took Sophie hostage. Homer if you ever fall in love again, and I know you will, please be careful when danger is about. Make sure that what you are doing is the right move or you will regret it for the rest of your life. I'm not sure what exactly happened, frankly I don't want to know. All I know is, I found myself holding her in my arms after Asa Phelps took down two of the Germans before the rest ran off. She had been shot and I tried to save her, but there was nothing I could do. I could only stay by her until she passed on, and even then I couldn't move, she looked so beautiful even in death and while she just lay there, I wished myself dead too and I almost did. I almost jumped off a cliff the next day until one of the commanding officers in my group named Samuel Flanders brought me back and told me that things will get better, it may not seem like it. But one day I will find someone to love just as much as I loved those two other girls."
Homer looked at the pictures and for the longest time, it was just Abe by himself finishing the war and celebrating with friends when it was over. For a while he only saw pictures of his father with his parents and friends, no girls were in the picture, until finally after four pages, there she was, the familiar face he knew and loved and missed terribly.
"Mona came to me one summer day when the boys and I were out at the local carnival. I had actually given up on love really, Samuel told me it would happen one day, but now I was in no rush and I was really just enjoying life. We actually met up while trying to get a ring through some sort of prize, it's been so long I can't remember. But we laughed about it because neither of us won the stupid game and we got to talking. It wasn't until the next day that I realized how much fun I had with her. Unfortunately I didn't get her number and I thought I would never see her again. For about a month I didn't, but then I ran into her at the local store as she was buying some tomatoes. I asked her if she remembered me and she said yes and that she had been looking for me ever since. So we exchanged phone numbers and got together. But I was not ready for a big commitment, not after Wendy or Sophie."
Homer started to see more and more pictures of his mother with his father, the happiness they shared and the closeness they seemed to have with each other. Yet Abe had no interest in going beyond that, nothing that showed him and his mother getting married. Even when his mother started sporting a baby bump in many of the pictures she was in with him.
"Well that of course changed when you came into the picture. I will admit, you were a very big surprise and I was not ready. In fact, I was still not up for marriage. That didn't happen until you were two. We just let the fact that we were boyfriend and girlfriend with a baby and that we would get married eventually. Your mother was a bit put off by it, but she got over it once it finally happened. I will say, you were a very nerve wracking birth. You took forever to come out, your poor mother was lucky to be alive. I will admit too, those first two years were interesting, and your mother finally won out with the idea of getting married in the end."
Homer saw the pictures of his mother and father getting married, to his surprise, he was also there as the ring bearer. For some reason, he had no memory of this at all, but he did find the idea very cute and could not help but smile at his young self. So full of cute innocence and no problems at all. Soon he saw more picture of him with his mother and father, sometimes Abe looked to be having the time of his life with his sweet son. But sometimes he wasn't in the picture and it was just Homer and Mona side by side. Homer wondered if it was only because Abe wanted to take the picture or if he just didn't want to be seen. Either way, Homer realized how his father seemed to be happier in pictures with Mona.
"Were you upset?" Homer asked.
"What do you mean?" Abe asked as he was turning another page and never taking his eyes off it.
"When Mom died, it must had been hard since you lost two before that," Homer said.
"Not as upset as you would seem," Abe said with a sigh.
"But it looked like you loved her just as much as Wendy and Sophie, I know I would be, especially now that you had me to take care of. But I don't remember actually going to the funeral, I just remember how you told me she was gone," Homer said sadly.
"I did didn't I?" Abe replied before thinking for a moment about what he told Homer long ago. "Well I guess now is a good time to tell you the truth. The reason why you don't remember a funeral is because...well, there was no funeral."
It took a moment for what his father said to sink in and when they did, Homer stared back at his father wide eyed. "You mean...?"
"She's still alive Homer, but her reasons for leaving us was something I didn't fully approve of. What she did was not my style and when she got in trouble for it, I just couldn't bail her out. I had fought in the war for too long to join any hippie movement. She wanted to take you with her, but I told her you would not last one day on the lam. So she did the honorable thing and left you in my care."
"Do you think she'll ever come back?" Homer asked curiously.
"That's for her to decide, I miss her terribly, my sex life is a little dull, and sometimes I've wondered if I should find someone else. That's why I always come home every night because someday I think she will walk through that door and make me the happiest man on earth."
Homer let out a disgusted face. But what Abe was saying really made sense, he had not found love in years thanks to him waiting for the one he loved to come back to him. He had no idea if Jenna would actually do that, but perhaps someone else would, he just had to find her first. She was out there somewhere, waiting for him to sweep her up in his arms and and be the best couple anyone could ever have. When that would happen still remained a mystery though.
"Do you understand what I'm trying to say son?" Abe asked.
"I think so. I just need to find the right person, it just takes time and patience," Homer replied.
"That's right, so don't let one girl get you down. She probably wasn't for you any way. Sometimes the heart plays tricks on you and you gotta move on with your life, even if it does hurt," Abe said as he held his chest to signify how the heart longs for love.
Homer let out a sigh before a single tear fell down his cheek. It was hard to let Jenna and Marge go, but he had to, there was no way around it. Someone else was out there looking, perhaps as miserable as he was at the moment and she probably needed him as much as he needed her.
"You gonna be okay son?" Abe asked.
"Yeah Dad, I think so. Thanks for saving my life, I never knew you actually cared," Homer said as he wiped tears from his eyes.
"Oh I do, I just was never the loving type, that was your mothers job, of course she left too soon for that. That was one thing I was never good at and I should have known right from the start that you would have a few problems, and I should have supported you more. I'm sorry I didn't, you probably would have ended up better. But like I said, you were a big surprise to us," Abe said.
"Yeah I'll bet," Homer said with a sigh.
"And when was the last time you got some sleep, you look exhausted," Abe said.
"It's been a few days truthfully, I haven't slept well since I helped Marge," Homer said.
"Then off to bed with you, things will look better when you wake up and get a full nights rest, I promise you that," Abe said.
Homer nodded and slowly got out of his chair before making his way out of the kitchen and up the stairs to his room. It was time to start fresh, it was time to move on and become a better person. He was glad he had that talk with his father, and even happier his father actually took the time to tell him everything he needed to know. Soon things would turn out better, he just had to be patient and forget about the horrible past he had. It was time to move on to a brighter future, and as he drifted off into his dream world he saw his mother again and even more importantly, he saw a young girl beside him telling him how much she loved him, and that she wanted to be with him forever.
A/N: Sappy chapter is sappy! So yeah there you go, a nice little dig into the past with Abe. I will admit, while thinking up this idea, I thought how awesome it would be to do a fanfiction about Abe when he was younger. But unfortunately I would make it extremely long and I am of course retiring once this story is over with. I know I would never get it done either. So if anyone is interested in writing something like this let me know. I could help you with the plot and stuff.
Any way I hope you all liked it. Sorry for the long wait, its been an exhausting couple of weeks. I would like to thank Berryfairy again for the honest review and feedback. I like those kinds of reviews because then I know I can make mistakes here and there. Also if you are interested, please facebook me, I am Narfy Toon. And don't worry, I will not stalk you, I will just give you updates on what's going on with me. And please let me know who you are too, just so I know.
Other than that, I hope you all have a nice week and please review.