The Lockdown

33

When Abe walked into the bar, he was slightly disappointed to only see Sarah waiting for him and feared he would be sent home again without meeting his son. They talked for a while and Sarah gave him another long speech threatening to fulfill his mother's promises by herself if he did not behave, but she was cut short when Cam walked in holding Andy's hand tightly. Sarah stood up and gave the youngster a wordless hug. She sat down at the bar with Andy while Cam timidly approached his table.

All Abe wanted to be able to do is to embrace his son again. His support group warned him that a move like that could easily backfire, Abe had to atone for his mistakes and prove to his son that rebuilding their relationship deserved a chance. They tried to dampen his expectations by telling horror stories of their own failures. Abe was a scientist who had to give important speeches and lectures countless times and knew how to prepare for one, but the sight of his son slowly sliding into the booth overwhelmed him with emotions and he barely managed to form a coherent sentence.

He intended to open with a long apology explaining his failures as a father and begging for forgiveness, but as his tears started to flow freely, all he managed to mumble was a weighted question. "Are you happy?"

"Yes, I am." Cam answered simply. "Please, don't cry dad, you will make me cry too."

They started a halting, awkward conversation. Cam used to find it easy to talk to his father. Abe was a natural teacher and he invariably chose the right words to explain any topic the boy asked about. He always had time for his son and even though he was slightly disappointed that Cam never showed any interest in sciences, he still went to every debate club event and school play or cheered for his son when he finished eleventh in a cross country race. This time their relationship was badly damaged and his attempt to repair the cracked foundation was more difficult than he anticipated. His mind and thoughts were a tangled mess, jumping around various topics like his upbringing, his Catholic faith, then a few sentences about the things he learned from the support group, the new church he was attending, he almost broke down again attempting to express how much he missed his son.

Cam was listening quietly trying to make sense of his father's words. He interrupted him in the middle of a long meandering conjecture detailing the difference between the preachers at his former and current church.

"Dad, do you ever wish I was normal?" he asked softly.

That ceased the rambling of his father and made him very much aware that the next few words that came out of his mouth would most likely determine the path their relationship would take.

"Cammie, the one thing I realized in the last year, is that you have always been normal. You haven't changed a bit, you have always been the son I love more than anything in the world. I'm the idiot that took such a long time to tell you this, something I should've done the day I came home finding your mother screaming nonsense at you."

The young man finally broke down crying which alarmed Andy who was intently watching the pair. He started walking towards them but Cam looked at him smiling through his tears, waved him off and Andy retreated to his chair. Father and son continued to talk for another hour, their tears subsided and Andy was relieved to hear the occasional chuckle from the youngster. Abe finally stood up kissed the top of his son's head, walked over to Andy and shook his hand thanking him for loving his son. He hugged Sarah briefly and walked out of the bar.

Andy sat down next to Cam who was still in the booth looking emotionally spent and dazed. "I suppose it went well," he said pulling the boy into his arms.

"Yeah, I guess," sighed the youngster. "He asked if he could see me again soon, so I invited him to lunch at the apartment next Saturday. You don't have to be there."

"Of course, I'll be there. And if you want to punish him just let me do the cooking by myself."

Sarah slid into the booth opposite them. "He left this for you. He told me about the stunt you pulled last time, so he asked me to give it to you only after he left." She produced the keys to the red car parked in front of the bar. "I think you should take it. And don't worry about him, he arranged for a friend waiting outside to drive him back to the city."

Cam looked at her contemplating his options. He finally took the keys from Sarah and turned to Andy, "I guess we have a car now."