Chapter 8
A Mother's Love
We had so much fun in San Diego. When the convention was over the next day, Grandmom picked us up and drove us home to her house. At six, Auri arrived and I ran to the door to answer it. I hugged her as Dad came up behind me. He opened the door wide and pulled her through, hugging her too. Grandmom came out from the kitchen and saw both of us hugging her and I could feel that she was both curious and a little jealous. So I ran over and put my arms around her waist. I felt her relax.
It was my birthday so Grandmom had made my favorite meal, spaghetti and meatballs. She had also baked a chocolate cake for me because it's my favorite. We spent the rest of the evening playing cards together. Dad cheats when he starts to lose. But since both Auri and I knew when he was cheating, we were able to circumvent what he was doing. We pissed him off. I won one game, Grandmom the next one.
Auri picked us up the next night and we went out to the movies, then for some ice cream. Auri dropped me off and afterwards she and Dad went out. I don't think he came home, but Auri wouldn't let me read him. She kept running interference, something I didn't even know could be done. I knew I wouldn't be able to read her, but when I tried to read Dad, I heard her voice warning me to back away. The only thing I got from Dad was a view of a woman's butt and then it went blank as Auri sent me views of math equations and a stern warning to leave my Dad's mind alone. I backed out and went to sleep.
We had to leave the next day at four. Auri had to work, but she promised she'd get down to the airport to see us off. It was almost time to get on board so we couldn't wait any longer; we had to go through security. I kept looking around for her, so did Dad. But we didn't see her. Dad limped through the metal detector and I followed. I was so sad and disappointed that she didn't make it.
I was putting on my shoes when I heard her voice, "FBI." I looked up as I saw her flash her i.d. at the security guards. I looked at her and she smiled, "Excuse me, Dr. House, Mr. Furey, could you please follow me?"
She put an arm around me and we went to the escalator.
"I didn't think you'd show!" I was so excited that she had come.
She kissed the top of my head, "Do you think I'd let you fly home without saying goodbye?"
We walked to the gate and I could feel my Dad pulling away emotionally. He seemed so distant, so sad. I began to feel sad too, for me, for him. I didn't understand why he was doing this. He had wanted to see Auri before we left, but now that he had; he was angry, moody again. He wanted to get on the plane and leave. He was hurting.
Auri kept talking to pass the time. Less than five minutes later, they called for us to board. My Dad wouldn't look at Auri even though she tried to catch his eye. I hugged her. She hugged me really tight. If you ever need me, just open the gate and I'll hear you. You're a great kid. I really care about you. Okay? You just open the gate and call for me.
Thanks. Auri, come see us, please.
If I get back to the east coast, I'll stop in. When you come out to see your Grandmom, just give me a shout and I'll drop by.
I stepped back and then turned to my Dad; he put an hand on my shoulder to lead me down the aisle towards the plane. As we turned I heard Auri say sadly, "Goodbye Greg, I had a great time."
I could feel the pain shoot out from Dad and the anger. He wanted to leave, not think about what we were leaving. But he turned and looked at her, nodded and then we left.
"Dad, I know you wanted to say goodbye. Why didn't you say goodbye?"
"I did, I said goodbye last night."
I could tell from the way Auri felt that she had wanted him to say something there, at the airport, and he didn't. I could feel her sadness, because my Dad didn't say goodbye. She wanted him to say that maybe they might see each other again. But Dad didn't want to see her again. It didn't make sense to me. He had been so happy until this morning.
On the plane, he refused to even think about her, instead going over the case his team had called him about early that morning. I was confused. I really thought that my Dad had liked Auri, that they were getting along. I had hoped he'd find a way to bring her home with us. Or at least we'd make plans to meet again. But he didn't. He didn't feel happy anymore. He felt like the same old Dad that I was used to. I felt sad for my Dad. Sometimes I think he doesn't feel like he deserves to be happy.
We went home and nothing seemed to have changed for him. But for me, lots had changed. Whenever I needed Auri, I opened the gate and she was there to talk to. It was a good thing, because less than six months later I would have been dead without her.
Short one today! But, I hope you aer enjoying it...Please leave a review, I look forward to hearing from you!