Finally, he pulled up behind Austin’s pickup and shut the engine off.
He came up the walk slowly. In his feed mill jacket and the seed cap I’d given him two Christmases ago.
He didn’t use the side door. The way he had every single day of his whole life.
He came to the front door.
And he knocked.
I don’t know if he even knew he was doing it. My son knocked on the front door of the house he grew up in.
Ardis got up before I could. And she opened it.
He stood there on the stoop I built in 1994. He looked at his mother.
He was thirty-six years old. He had a little gray in his beard already.
And he looked eight.
“Hi, Mom,” he said.
“Hi, honey,” she said. “Come in. It’s cold.”
He came in. He saw Jade in the chair by the side door. He saw Austin standing in the kitchen doorway. He saw me, at the table.
He took off his cap and held it in both hands in front of him. The way I taught him to hold it in church.
“Dad,” he said. “I can explain.”
“I know you can,” I said. “That’s what worries me.”
That landed. I saw it land on his face.
I didn’t say it to hurt him. But I won’t pretend it didn’t.
Then I stood up and took my coat off the back of the chair.
“Put your cap back on,” I said. “We’re going for a drive.”
“Gordon,” Ardis said.
“Just a drive, Ardie,” I said. “Have supper on at seven. Make enough for five.”
Jade looked up at that.
So did Austin.
Ethan Blake is a skilled Creative Content Specialist with a talent for crafting engaging and thought-provoking narratives. With a strong background in storytelling and digital content creation, Ethan brings a unique perspective to his role at TheArchivists, where he curates and produces captivating content for a global audience.
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