Chapter 49
Lexie
The drive home took forever. Well, it seemed like it took forever because I spent six hours thinking about my life. My life before Chicago and my life after. My life before was filled with love and laughter thanks to my mom and dad. Before her accident, my dad was jovial and kind. He doted on mom and me. We knew we were the most important thing in his life.
But, the night mom died, that all changed. My dad left. Not physically. No, he’s still on the farm. He doesn’t work it anymore. He leases out his land and his equipment to other farmers now. His heart broke that night so it makes sense that he could no longer do the work that he and mom shared together.
But, what replaced the job was alcohol. Dad wasn’t much of a drinker before it happened, but afterward, the only way he could get himself out of bed was to grab a beer. Beer changed to whiskey after about a month.
That’s when I decided it’d be best if I moved. I had planned to move to Chicago as soon as I finished college, but I stuck around mainly because I loved farm life. Plus, many of my high school friends were still around. We used to hang out at the small-town bar, Von Tuck’s. We’d have BBQ’s at mom and dad’s in the summer. In the winter we’d snowmobile, and the rest of the time we’d farm.
I loved it. Until she died. Then I think I was a little like my dad. My zest for the farm life went with her. When I told him I was moving, he hugged me and wished me well. Honestly, I think he was relieved. He spent most of the day in bed and at night, in front of the television with a remote in one hand and a bottle in the other.
Since I’ve been gone, I’ve spoken to dad about once a month. He sounds a little bit better. He’s no longer drunk when he calls me, so that’s good. I hope it means he’s getting his life back together a little bit. This week is going to be hard on him. Hell. On both of us.
As for my life after? What’s to say? It’s a hot, damn mess. I’ll have to sort all of it out when I get back. Until then, my focus is on home and family.
