and tight cut. I was holding up a large fish and grinning like I had won the lottery. Kade had his own fish as well. My dad looked so proud. I knew my mom was the one behind the camera.
I closed my eyes and let myself drift back to that day. My dad had just come back from a deployment. We went fishing and had a picnic. I could practically feel the cool breeze coming off the lake. I remembered the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches my mother had made and the chocolate chip cookies.
I remembered my father’s laugh. He never laughed, but that day, he had laughed a lot. My mom had laughed a lot as well. It was strange that I had not remembered that day until just now. Just thinking about it made me feel very nostalgic and very lonely. I missed that life and those days. Growing up sucked. Hormones and being stubborn sucked.
I put the picture down, cursing Kade for his little trip down memory lane. I preferred to keep memories that made me feel sad or melancholy for the good times way back in a corner. I preferred to keep things on a nice even keel with no highs and no lows. I picked up the letter, wondering what words of wisdom he was going to impart on me.
Hey big brother,
Sorry to cut and run, but I got a call late last night from a buddy of mine. His wife left him, and he isn’t handling it well. I caught an earlier flight. I should have woken you, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to see you cry. I know you’ll miss me. I’ll miss you too.
I had to laugh at his humor.
I left the picture because I think you need to remember more of the good times and less of the bad. I do. I like to think on the good stuff. You think about the bad stuff enough for both of us. I know things are rocky between you and dad. I get it. He’s not an easy man to get along with.
He loves you. I know he does. He doesn’t know how to relate to you. He wants to be a part of your life. I want you to be a part of his life and mine. Mom would have wanted us to make an effort to fix this. She would be pissed to find you and dad drifted so far apart.
It’s just the three of us and we did have some good times. I’d like to have more of those good times. I want to go fishing with you and dad. I want us to go to Mo’s and drink a beer around a campfire on the beach.
Say we can go back to those days. I know it is a huge ask but damn if I don’t miss those days. I’m going to try and get back for a visit before I deploy again or PDS overseas. Don’t make excuses. Just do it. I want to be like we were. This weekend was amazing. It reminded me of the good times.
Life is too short not to fill it with good times. Let’s make a pact to outweigh the bad with the good. Do it for you. Do it for me. I’ll call you before I head back east. Take care of yourself and take care of that beautiful lady. She’s a good one. I like her.
Love, Kade, the good-looking one.
I smiled and put the note back on the dresser. My eyes drifted to the picture. He was right but I wasn’t sure I could swallow my pride. There were a lot of hurt feelings. Every month, every year that passed, the gap between my father and me widened. I wasn’t even sure I could fix what was broken.
“Well, shit,” I muttered. I had a full breakfast downstairs and a clear schedule.
I went back downstairs and grabbed my phone. I doubted Evie was available, but I was going to call her anyway.
“Hello,” she answered.
“Hey,” I said, smiling as I took a bite of bacon. “What are you doing?”
“At this moment, I am going to a coffee shop.”
“Do you have a packed schedule today?”
“Nope. I only have a few things. Why?”
“Want to play hooky?”
She softly giggled. “What do you have in mind?”
“I took the day off to hang out with Kade, but he ditched me. I was thinking me and you could do something. I think I’m due for a new lesson