Page 100 of Until Landon
“Things don’t always look like you imagined. I always thought you and Stacy would stay close to home. I pictured this place with grandchildren running around and being involved with the everyday lives of my children. It hasn’t panned out that way. And it’s alright. That wasmydream. You shape your lives. I’ve shaped mine. I had to pivot.”
I don’t know what to say at first.
“I never knew that, Dad.”
He presses his lips together and nods.
Reaching the garage, my stomach returns to its previous state.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Okay,” he says turning. “What’s this about?”
“Look inside.”
I feel the tears well and spill over. Some of it is about the car. He sees the struggle, and without knowing what is about to happen gets teary himself.
“What did you do, Landon?”
Meaty fingers grasp the handle. Slowly, he pulls the door back, and the grind of wheels against track sounds like music to me. I’m back in the nineties. He was thirty something then. God. Like me now. The realization of how young he was dawns. He made so many right moves in life.
The second he sees the back of the car, he transforms.
“What?” he says, dissolving into tears. He bends with the shock, trying to hold himself from collapse. The Galaxie presents herself, like the Queen she is.
“Oh my God. What! I can’t believe it!”
He covers his face. Now I’m for real crying too. No holding back nothing.
“She’s home now, Dad.”
Walking alongside the car, he runs a hand over her lines. He looks me deep in the eyes.
“This is her. This ismygirl, right?”
“Yeah, Dad. All the paperwork is in the glove compartment. She looks great, doesn’t she?”
He can’t even continue. He is a mess of love and appreciation, mixed with shock. He comes to me and takes me into his arms, holding on stronger than I have ever felt before.
“I don’t believe it!”
“Happy birthday, Dad. You deserve it.”
“I never thought I’d see it again. Oh, I wish your mother was here.”
The crying builds.
“She is,” I say, holding tight.
When we part, he wipes his face with his fingers. A hand goes to his forehead.
“This is the greatest gift anybody has ever given me. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Well get in! Get reacquainted.”
I move around and get in the passenger seat. With a kind of reverence, he opens the driver’s side and slides in. A huge smile appears. It contradicts the red nose and bloodshot eyes.
“Oh man! She feels the same. Hello, baby!”
