Page 84 of Rough

I leaned over, hugged him, and held him in my arms for some time. He was a very special person for many reasons, and I loved him dearly whether he knew it or not.

I reached for the game. “This a special day.”

“Sure is.” He motioned toward the refrigerator. “Get in the freezer. Deann’s been known to keep some ice cream in there. We can celebrate.”

I hadn’t had ice cream in forever. “Really?”

“God damned right.”

We sat and ate the ice cream, him chocolate, and me strawberry. I cherished it, nibbling away at miniscule bites, trying to make it last forever. Eventually the dish was empty, and the celebration was over.

“Hey, I got something I was meaning to ask you, but I forgot.” He handed me his dish. “I need something different this weekend.”

“Okay.”

“On Sunday. Can you come late in the day, and just for a few hours? Like, I don’t know. 5:30? And then stay ‘till about 9:00? Hell, it’d let you and the circus…I mean, it’d let you and Brad stay out late Saturday night and then sleep in.”

“Sure. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. Wife and I just have some stuff to do. Have someone coming over during the day. Business to take care of. The boring kind.”

“Sure. I’ll make it 5:30.”

“Thanks, kid.”

I cleaned the dishes, put up the game, and gave him a bath. After getting him dressed in a new pair of sweats and his beloved Padres sweater, I splashed him with his favorite aftershave, and then pushed him into the living room.

As I lowering him into the recliner, he fought to catch his breath.

“Are you okay?”

“Just getting old, kid. I’ll be fine.”

He straightened his sweater, brushed the wrinkles from his sweats, and picked up his Kindle.

“Just got one chapter left in this one, and I’ll be done.”

“I hope it has a happy ending,” I said.

“It ain’t about a Chinese fuckin’ massage parlor,” he grunted. “No happy ending here.”

“Okay, grumpy.”

He chuckled, and then looked at me. “Kid?”

“Yes, Bradley?”

“Haven’t told you this yet, but it’s high time I do. I love ya, kid. I really do. And, you made me proud today.”

Hearing him say those words meant more to me than he could ever imagine. I smiled, acting like it was no big deal, but it was. In fact, it was a huge deal.

I swallowed hard. “I love you, too.”

He nodded his head, smiled, and started reading.

The lingering scent of his aftershave faded, as did my recollection of winning the game. My memory of that day, however, would go on to last for a lifetime.

The day he said he loved me.