“Yeah, he was gone for almost a year. He went to work in the oil fields. He was operating some heavy equipment and there was an accident. He died. He’s been gone fifteen years, Mama.”
“There wasn’t an accident.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your dad went to Alaska to work in the oil fields, that’s true. He was a derrick operator which is a dangerous job—that’s also why it paid so well. Your dad was determined to make something of himself. He didn’t want to just be a farmer like his dad and grandpa before him. He wanted to be able to buy nice cars and take luxurious trips. He wanted to travel the world…”
“Mom, I know all this.”
“After about eight months… he called and told me…” Norah sniffled.
“Mama…”
“He told me he wasn’t coming back.”
Norah choked back sobs but kept her eyes on the pavement. “You and your brother looked out that front window every morning and every night, waiting for him to come home. When a truck would rumble in, you’d run to the front door. After a couple months of him being gone, you both started asking, ‘Why doesn’t daddy want to come home? Why doesn’t he want to be with us?’ I’d tell ya’ll that his job was important and that he was working hard to make us money, so we could buy what we needed.”
Chase shook his head and blinked back tears, remembering vividly those bedtime conversations. He prayed every night asking God to bring his daddy home.
“But, after I got that call… I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t tell you and Cam all those things you feared were true. So, after I hung up the phone… I saw Grandma Lettie standing in the doorway. She’d heard everything. I took a deep breath and I called you boys downstairs.”
“I remember… you told us there had been an accident and daddy died. And Grandma Lettie, dad’s own mother, went along with it?”
“She did… we only talked about it once more after you boys went to bed. She gave me a hug and told me that she understood. And that someday, ya’ll would understand too.”
Chase felt numb. He was freezing cold and drenched in sweat. “So, dad’s alive?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I’m about to find out.”
“Mama…” Chase rubbed his temples.This can’t be true.“So, why didn’t he come back?”
Norah sighed. “He said he met someone.”
Chase’s jaw tightened and he clenched his fists. “That son of a…”
“Chase…” his mom said softly.
He had no idea what to feel. Memories and emotions flooded his body. “How could he do that? How could he just abandon us?”
At that moment, Valley View Lodge appeared down the road. After pulling into the gravel lot, Norah shifted into park. She turned toward Chase and grabbed his hand.
“I know this is a lot. But, please, let me do this. I need to see if it’s even him.”
“You’re not going in there alone.”
“Chase, what are you gonna do?”
“Give him a piece of my mind for one thing.” Chase lifted the truck door handle, but his mom reached out to stop him.
“Chase, for the last fifteen years, I’ve been thinking about what I would tell your dad if I ever saw him again. You just learned about all this. Give yourself some time to process. Please, stay here.”
“Mom, you can’t go in there alone. What if he’s not happy to see you?”
Norah opened the truck door and looked back at him. “I can handle myself.” And with that, she slammed the door and headed inside.
Chase scrambled out of the truck.
“Sweetheart, I got this.” Norah yelled back to him.
