Long Road Home
Chapter 11
"Why?" Katie asked simply as she sat down on the bed.
"Why what?" Hannah asked as she took a bite of her dinner.
"Why were you so mean? Dad has made things infinitely better for all of us. Mom doesn't have to work as hard. I have medicine and can do online classes. You don't have to work. He's teaching you how to build furniture." Katie pointed out.
"You like how things are now?" Hannah asked.
"Yes, I do." Katie said.
"Look…maybe I went a bit far but there's no go back now." Hannah said.
"You went really far and Dad is pretty upset." Katie corrected.
"He's mad at me." Hannah remarked.
"No, he's sad. Big difference. You all but told him that you hated him." Katie said.
"Like I said, no go back." Hannah remarked.
"There is if you want there to be." Katie said.
"How? You heard what I said." Hannah asked.
"You walk back in there and tell him that you're sorry, that you're glad he's here and that you love him." Katie answered.
"I can't. He wouldn't believe me." Hannah remarked.
"That is only an excuse and you know it. You know that he would forgive you." Katie said.
"The thing is…I don't know. I don't remember him." Hannah remarked. Katie looked at her for a moment and then nodded.
"Be right back." Katie said. She got up and walked into her own room and got a family album. She carried it back into Hannah's room and put it down in front of her. "You were pretty young when he left that last time." Katie remarked.
"I was eight but from the time I was born until then…he was home seven months. Not consecutive, either. Just seven total months." Hannah complained.
"I know. He was gone from my childhood too, but there was a war raging and then a pandemic." Katie said.
"I didn't choose it." Hannah said.
"No, me either, and frankly; neither did he." Katie answered.
"He could have quit." Hannah replied.
"He could have and he probably would have found another job pretty easily, but he was meant to do what he was doing. We all sacrificed, Hannah. Even Dad. He missed Lucas' last few months. He missed years with us. Didn't watch us grow up. If he and that crew had not had that tenacity, we wouldn't be here now." Katie said.
"True." Hannah admitted as she flipped through the album.
"How about this…how about you sleep on it tonight? Think. Pray. Meditate. Just remember, he does love you." Katie said.
"I'm not sure if I remember him well enough to love him." Hannah remarked.
"Well, you loved him once. You and Dad were exceptionally close. Frankly, I was a bit jealous at times. Just think about it." Katie said. She grabbed Hannah's plate and utensils and left her alone to think.