is entitled to a dying wish, and his wish was to see how his sons grew into wonderful young men.”
“How do we even know he’s telling the truth?” Elijah said. “He could be lying because he wants something.”
“I understand your lack of belief, son.”
“Do not call me that!” Elijah shouted.
“You can ask Dr. Davis anything you want. She has all my medical records. And before you go off and get all pissy with her, Mason, I threatened her if she told you about who I was and what was wrong. She couldn’t tell you anything because of doctor patient confidentiality. Ask your mother and your brother. There’s something else. I have another condition and it’s been a real struggle and something I’ve had to fight against the past thirty years. I have bi-polar disorder. That is the reason I walked out on you. I left you boys and your mother, because I loved you. Leaving you was the best thing I could do, and I don’t regret it at all.”
“You’re a sick bastard if you think what you did was right,” Elijah spoke through gritted teeth. “Leaving your family and causing all kinds of pain.”
“The pain you felt was nothing compared to what you would have felt if I had stayed.”
“Did you know about this, Mother?” I asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “He never told me he was sick.”
“You must have had a clue at some point.” Nathan yelled.
“Knowing what I do now, the things that happened and his behavior make more sense.”
“The day I left, I went to Alaska, found a doctor there and got the help I needed. But it was hard to control, and it took many years before I could feel normal again. Your lives would have been ruined if I stayed, and that wasn’t a chance I was willing to take. I knew your mother would take great care of you and make sure you were raised the right way. That was something I couldn’t have promised.”
“I’m not sitting here and listening to anymore of this,” Elijah said as he stood up.
“Elijah,” my mother spoke.
“No, Mother.” He pointed his finger at her. “I’ve had enough. I remember that day you found his note. I remember it as if it were yesterday.” He grabbed his suit coat and left.
“The last thing I wanted to do was cause you more pain,” Jack spoke as he stared at me and Nathan.
“It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?” Nathan spoke as he got up from the couch and walked over to our mother. “I love you, Mom, but I’m leaving,” he spoke as he kissed her on the cheek.
“I guess I better get going too,” Jack said as he rose from his chair. “I’ve done enough damage to this family. Thank you, Caitlin, for giving me this chance to talk to them. Mason, you are one hell of a fine young man and I’m proud of you. I’m real happy I got the chance to know you.” He gave me a slight nod and walked out the door.
I stared at my mother as she sighed, took a seat next to me and grabbed my hand.
“He needed to set himself free. Maybe we need to do the same.”
I kissed her cheek and headed home. Stepping into the apartment, I headed straight to Sara’s room. She was the one person I needed the most right now. Lightly knocking on her door, I slowly opened it to find she wasn’t there. She should have been home by now. I went over to the hospital and asked Kylie, a nurse I’ve known for years, if Sara was still there.
“She’s sleeping in the on-call room.”
“Isn’t her shift over?” I asked.
“Yeah. She said she’s staying tonight because she has to be back here at six a.m.”
“Thanks, Kylie.”
Placing my hands in my pockets, I walked out of the ER. Since we’d been living together, she had never spent the night at the hospital. I guess she was doing anything she could to stay as far away from me as possible.
I could barely get out of bed. Between Jack and Sara, I felt as if my life was spinning out of control and I didn’t know how to stop it. I didn’t have to be back to work until tomorrow, so I got dressed and headed over to the hotel to talk to Jack. Taking the elevator up to his room, I knocked on the door. There was no answer, so I went down