Gone Far Too Long

A month since he had last been home. Much longer than he’d ever like to be gone, longer than he ever had. Growing up his dad refused to be gone for long and if work or life dragged him away for too long, well the whole family was coming with him. It made for many strange adventures as a family but they always remained together. He always hoped to be like his father. 

The last few hours were spent sitting upright, with windows down, and music blaring, anything to help keep him awake as he made this late night drive home. Being on the road so long, the anticipation of being home was killing him, stopping somewhere for the night was not an option. At home he had that mattress that fit him just right, sheets that were always cool to the touch, and his best friend in the world to share it with. While away, the nights seemed so lonely, so much that going to bed just felt like a chore without her there. The company of his best friend made even the worst of sleeps enjoyable.  The thought of finally being back in his own bed with his best friend was filling him with joy. Even then, after this most needed respite of sleep was a day long awaited, the day he finally takes his only son to his first Dodgers game. 

A generational love, despite no connection to the city, it was the team he loved. It had been passed on from many fathers to many sons. He’s waited all these years partially for him to be old enough and partially for his son to want to go. Few things scared him more than the thought of his only son not sharing in this beloved tradition, but finally tomorrow was that big day. Now trading the windy roads for city streets with their hypnotic street lights he was almost there. Only 3 more stops, some 500 yards then home, then Sarah, then Avery. First stop, he looks left then right. Excitement grows, he drives onwards. Second stop. Waiting on others he texts his wife, “Be home soon! Can’t wait to see you”. Looking left then right, he drives forward. It had been so long.

Two months since he had last been home, maybe just one.  Much longer than she’d ever been without him. The longest since she first saw him. Nearly inseparable from the day they met in college even when their relationship strained the two were never far from one another. As of late his work had made him travel quite often, and these 45 days had been the longest they’d been apart by a large margin. Soon he’d be back and though it’s quite late there’s no way she’d go to sleep alone in that bed tonight.

 She always hated that bed. Hard and unforgiving it is without a doubt one of the worst mattresses she had ever slept on. She kept this to herself though, knowing that he loved it and that it would be impossible to get him to throw something away without it being broken. Only the memories of the life they lived together made that mattress bearable. The nights after their son had been born stuck out to her. They had been given a perfectly good crib but for those first months they spent every night as a family. Jason would often lie awake late into the night with a hand on the small boys’ chest. Feeling the breath flow through the child’s fragile body he would stare in wonder at the thing they had made together. Beaming with pride he would fight to keep his eyes on him as long as he could until his weariness would overtake him. This abhorrent excuse for a bed was only worth it in the presence of her best friend.

 Growing tired and anxious she found that her tea had grown cold. She took it to the microwave to warm it. While the mug spun in that box her phone vibrated. She grabbed it quickly from the kitchen table and saw a message from her husband, “Be home soon! Can’t wait to see you!”. Excited, she goes to check on their son, wanting to see if he is sound asleep in bed, selfishly hoping they could have these first few hours back together by themselves. Quietly she approached his bedroom, careful to not disturb his sleep, that is if he wasn’t also still awake. Peeking into the room she saw that he was lying still in bed. A deep sense of calm knowing Jason was almost back and Avery was peacefully asleep, he’d get plenty of time with his father tomorrow anyway. She gently closed the door trying her hardest to not make a peep. Hurriedly she went off down the hall to wait for him. The tea sat in the microwave growing cold again, she had forgotten about it and would likely not think of it again for many days. At the present it was the least important thing. It had been so long.

A month since he had been home, or maybe three…maybe even more. Much longer than ever before. It’s summer now and he must’ve left right after their spring break trip to the Grand Canyon, so it had to have been three. They drove there and made all kinds of stops along the way; this place called the Four Corners where you can stand in 4 states at once, this bright shining city called Las Vegas, they didn’t stop anywhere there though, and they spent some time in a big desert. He thought the Grand Canyon was pretty cool and his mom and dad really seemed to like it. His favorite part of it all was the stories he and his dad would make up on the trip. Stories about cowboys or spacemen living and fighting in these really big hidden spaces just like the Grand Canyon. This place seemed like another planet and was perfect for making up stories. They spent hours after hiking writing down all of their story ideas. Into the night they laughed and got excited for the books they were going to write together, a family writing team like the world had never seen. Him and his dad would always make the stories and then his mom would draw all the awesome pictures for it.

Before his dad left on his big trip he told him two things; First, he was going to write their first story, ‘Buster's Last Ride in Deaths’ Canyon’, so he could read it when he got back (his mom even made a really cool cover for it while he was gone). Second, he really wanted to go to a baseball game with him when he got home. On the day of his tenth birthday, May 23rd, a package arrived from his Dad. Inside it were a book, a hat, a jersey, and two tickets for a Dodgers game the weekend he got back. The seats were in the lower section right behind 3rd base. His friends that had already been to games before said those were really good seats. He immediately marked the calendar by his bed with the date once he got those tickets. Late into the evening, using a small book light, he read and re-read the story making last minute edits, he wanted to make sure it was perfect for his dad. With the Dodgers cap on he worked late into the night glancing at the calendar with great anticipation, even if he tried to sleep now the excitement would probably keep him awake all night long. In a break from his work he heard his mothers’ footsteps approaching the door. He knew he should be asleep by now so he turned off the book light and hid all of his work under the comforter. He laid facing away from the door trying to hide any sign he was still awake. The door began to open and he made himself as still as possible. Breathlessly he waited, almost forgetting that people still breathed when they were asleep. None the less he wanted to keep up the ruse. A few moments passed before the door slowly closed again. He stayed pretending to be asleep for a while longer, listening for any sign she was still there. Adrenaline filled his body but it was nothing compared to the excitement he had to see his dad again and to finally share with him the story he had worked so hard on. Tomorrow was going to be the most wonderful day. The pretending eventually turned to reality as the boy slipped to sleep. The last thought filled his mind as dreams overtook was one shared by the whole family. It had been so long.

Hopefully he’d never be gone this long again.