Chapter 4
The changing of the seasons brought a cold front,
and the leaves turned brown and brittle.
I was grocery shopping on a Sunday morning,
and I was pushing the cart down the cereal aisle.
I was looking at the prices,
and I felt a tap on my shoulder.
I turned around quickly,
and I saw my father standing there.
He looked older than I remembered,
and he looked surprisingly fragile.
His hair was completely gray,
and his shoulders were slumped.
He wore his usual weekend jacket,
and he held a basket in his hand.
We stared at each other for a long moment,
and the grocery store music played softly.
I felt my chest tighten,
but I did not step back.
He cleared his throat nervously,
and he said my name.
I nodded once,
and I waited for him to speak.
He looked down at his shoes,
and he asked how Rosie was doing.
I felt a surge of protectiveness,
and I gripped the handle of my cart.
I told him she was doing very well,
and I told him she was happy.
He nodded slowly,
and he seemed to struggle with his words.
He said he missed us,
and he said the house was very quiet.
I looked at him directly,
and I did not offer any comfort.
Quiet is the price you pay,
when you choose to silence a child.
He looked back up at me,
and his eyes were red.
He said your mother is not doing well,
and he said she cries all the time.
He said she wants to fix things,
and he said she wants to see her granddaughter.
I felt the familiar anger rising,
and I kept my voice perfectly level.
I told him there was nothing to fix,
and I told him the decision was permanent.
He said family shouldn't be this way,
and he said people make mistakes.
I told him it was not a mistake,
and I told him it was a choice.
Bethany chose to hurt my daughter,
and they chose to cover it up.
He flinched at the blunt words,
and he looked around the aisle.
He was still worried about making a scene,
and he was still worried about appearances.
I saw it in his eyes,
and that told me everything I needed to know.
He had not changed,
and my mother had not changed.
They were just sad that they got caught,
and they were sad that they faced consequences.
I told him I had to go,
and I turned my cart around.
He called my name one more time,
and his voice sounded desperate.
He said please Michael,
and he said we are your parents.
I stopped walking,
and I looked over my shoulder.
I told him I was a parent too,
and my child comes first.
I walked away down the aisle,
and I did not look back again.
I finished my shopping quickly,
and I drove back to my house.
My hands were shaking slightly on the steering wheel,
but my mind was incredibly clear.
I had faced the ghost of my past,
and I had not surrendered an inch.
I walked into the house,
and Rosie was drawing at the table.
She looked up and smiled at me,
and she showed me a picture of a cat.
I kissed the top of her head,
and I started putting away the groceries.
The encounter was over,
and it would not ruin my day.
May you like
I had built a fortress around us,
and the walls were holding strong.
