Second chance

I made one more lap around the block before heading back toward my grandfather’s house. I didn’t want to face all of those people, but even more so I didn’t want to face the fact that he was really gone. My father had left when I was ten and since then my grandfather had done the best he could to help my mother raise me.

I had taken a flight from New York the day before to get here in time for the funeral. Now everyone was gathered at his house for the wake. All of those people who hardly knew him coming to pay their respects to the family (more like coming to spy on the family so they could gossip about us later).

As I came nearer the house I saw my aunts in the yard talking to each other. As I approached my aunt Emmilene looked at me and said, “ The vultures are gone. Your mama’s been looking for you. She’s in the kitchen.”

I nodded at her as I walked into the house. I walked down the long hallway and into the large kitchen at the back of the house. My mother was sitting at the table by the window looking through a stack of papers.

As I sat down across from her she looked up at me with a tired smile. “He hated crowds too.”

“How could he stand working in the hotel business with all of those people around?” I asked.

“He loved helping people,” she sighed. “ Even if they didn’t need it.”

I lifted my eyebrow in question, but she just continued. “He left this for you.” She handed me a cream coloured envelope with the company emblem embossed on it.

Montgomery Suites. As much as I loved my grandfather I had always made a point to distance myself from the family business. No one in New York had any idea that I was the grandson of the southern hotel mogul Clarence Montgomery, and I preferred to keep it that way. I enjoyed my privacy, and I knew if word got out that we were related that would be gone in a flash.

I turned the envelope over in my hands a couple of times before standing up, giving my mom a hug around the shoulders, and heading upstairs to my bedroom so I could read the letter in peace.

This was my bedroom. The bedroom that I had stayed in every summer since I was eleven when I came home from boarding school. Nothing in this room had changed. I sat down on the twin bed and looked down at the envelope again before breaking the seal and slowly unfolding the letter inside.

“Dear Gavin,

If you are reading this letter it means that I am no more for this world. I led a good life, for the most part. Watching you grow into a wonderful young man has been one of the greatest joys of my life. But there’s always been one thing I felt remorse for, and I want to make it right. It’s my fault that your daddy left...”

I threw the letter on the bed as I stood up and put my fists to my eyes. This was impossible. My mom told me that my dad left because there was another woman. I hadn’t spoken to my dad since the day he left sixteen years ago. Now I was supposed to believe that had all been a lie. If it was a lie what had really happened? I sat back down, grabbed the letter, and started reading again.

“... Your daddy was facing things that you and your momma knew nothing about. I offered to help him get rehabilitated. I didn’t think he would accept my offer without an incentive so I told him that when he came back he could have a pot on the board. I had no intention of keeping that promise. I couldn’t let him have a role that high in the business, but I wanted to make sure he got help. While he was away I wrote a letter to your mother from another woman saying that she and your father were involved in a relationship. Your mother didn’t know that I had sent your father away to get help. By the time he returned she didn’t want anything to do with him and she wouldn’t see him. I wanted to help all of you, but I see that I went about it the wrong way. I regret my actions and have spent my life trying to make up for them. I am especially sorry for the pain that I caused you and your mother through all of this. I know I can’t change the past, but I would like to make amends somehow. In the top left hand drawer of the desk in my study is a black notebook. Inside the notebook you’ll find a plane ticket. There is also twenty thousand dollars in cash...”

I was in shock. This was too much. I had been so angry at my father, but my grandfather was the one who had sent him away. I stood and put the letter in my pocket. I headed downstairs to my grandfather’s study and as I stepped inside I locked the door behind me.

I turned around and looked at the chair and desk where my grandfather had spent so much time. The whole room smelled like him, like warm oak, old books, tobacco, and gin. My eyes started to tear up as I stepped behind the desk and sat down in his leather chair. I had so many emotions fighting for prominence right now.

I closed my eyes, clenched my fists, leaned my head back, and sighed. “How could you do that to us?” I thought as the tears began to fall. I sat like that for a time, then I wiped my eyes and sat up straight. I opened the desk drawer and found the notebook and two stacks of 100 dollar bills just as my grandfather had said. I took them out and laid them on the desk.

I opened the notebook and found the plane ticket inside. It was for a flight to Grand Rapids, Michigan the following afternoon. On the first page of the notebook was a note written in my mother’s handwriting.

“ When you get to Grand Rapids there will be a car at the airport waiting to take you to your father’s house in Rockford. He already knows you’re coming. Don’t let whatever feelings you have about your grandfather right now keep you from making the most of this opportunity. Go make up for lost time and make some new memories .”

The rest of the notebook was empty. I took the letter from my grandfather out of my pocket hoping that finishing it would give me more clarity.

“...I hope you can forgive me, Gavin. I’ve already spoken to your mother and father. I needed their help to make these plans. I want to give you a chance to reconnect with your father. It was wrong of me not to tell you the truth sooner. I could have given you more time with him. I truly am sorry. I guess there’s nothing left to say except I love you. - Clarence Montgomery (Pop-pop)”

I started tearing up again. I didn’t know what emotion I was feeling. It felt like a mix of so many. This day had been like emotional whiplash. But my mom was right. I couldn’t let whatever feelings I had stop me from making the most of this opportunity. I had a second chance to rebuild my relationship with my father.

I stood up and wiped my eyes. I grabbed everything off of the desk and headed back upstairs. I had a flight to pack for. It was time to go make some new memories.