The Gift of the Ghost

What Dad Was Trying to Say

Dad started up the car. A few minutes passed and the only thing I had on my mind was still what dad was going to say. My mom couldn't have had anything happen to her. Was my godfather a bad person? What did he do? He has a son? Why wasn't he taking care of him instead of helping dad take care of me? How old is the son? He must've been born after mom came back. Dad drove for about thirty minutes and then we stopped at a store. He got out of the car, and told us he was going to be back in a few minutes. I asked him if I could go with him. "Yea, that's fine," he said to me. When we got inside the store, he took out his phone and called somebody. "Hello," he said. "Well, I am extremely sorry for ya know," he said after a few seconds. I wondered who he was on the phone with. He doesn't have my godfather's phone number, does he? A minute passed and he hung up. "Well, all I need is an energy drink. If you need anything you can tell me," he said to me. We went to the cold drinks section and he grabbed the energy drink that he always gets. "Dad, I have a question," I began. "What we're you saying in the car," I asked. "Son," he paused. He bent down on his knee and looked at me. He is extremely tall, so now we had eye contact. I think he is 6 ft and 5 inches. "Son, if I tell you, promise me you won't tell anyone," he says back to me. "I promise," I say in return. Is it that serious? "Also, please tell me you won't tell Emma or your mom about what I tell you," he says. "Yea, I won't," I say. "Alright, so...," he pauses, "back when your mom first came home from tour, he still lived with us." "All three of us knew each other in high school. We were all like best friends," he tells me. Now, I was actually questioning whether my mom had a kid with my godfather or not. "Well, we all had our own rooms, at the time," he says. "Your godfather's name is Aubrey. So, Aubrey also liked your mom a little. One night, they were talking to each other and I left the room to go to bed. Later, I went in to check on you and then I checked on them. So, I went in there. And, next thing I knew, she had a son with him. But, Aubrey gave him up for adoption because he had a strong obsession for you. But, because he did that with your mom, I kept him away from you and Emma all this time. I still talk to him often but we are not as close as we were. I mean, he is not my best friend anymore," he says. "I am shocked," I yell. "I know, I was too," he tells me with a  long pause. "Alright, let's go to the candy section so I can get you and Emma a treat," he says as he gets up. We started walking towards the candy section. I pick out a big box of starburst for me and Emma to share. We then went to the checkout and bought our items. Then, we headed outside and got in the car.