Page 61 of My Twin Sister's Ex

15

Bennett

Icame home from work to find my dad snoring in a chair in front of the tv. An empty bottle of beer sat next to him, and a couple more cluttered around his feet. I grabbed the remote and switched the tv off.

My dad muttered something, and his eyes flew open. “Hey, I was watching that.”

“It looked to me like you were asleep.”

“I’m up now.”

Something snapped inside of me. I’d had enough. “When are you ever going to try to stop drinking? Do you know how hard it’s been for me to be the adult around here?”

“I know it hasn’t been easy on you.”

“No, it hasn’t. It’s been awful. I’ve basically had to raise myself since Mom died.”

My dad’s face went slack. “I know it, son.”

“Mom hasn’t been here for me because she couldn’t be, but you’re still here. This is your chance to be present and sober for me. You haven’t been sober in years.” Tears sprang up in my eyes, and my words grew thick in my throat. I didn’t know what had gotten into me. Maybe it was Jessilyn. She’d shown me so much love that I was beginning to heal enough that I was starting to expect more from my dad too.

“I want a good relationship with you, Dad. But it’s hard to do when you’re drunk all the time.”

“I can do better.”

“How am I supposed to believe that? You can say that all day long, but until you actually do something, those are just words.”

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I am, Dad,” I said, my eyes pleading with him. “You need help. There’s no shame in admitting that.”

His eyes grew sad. “You’re right. Something needs to change.”

“Maybe you could try going to an AA meeting,” I suggested.

He scoffed. “It’s going to take a lot more than one meeting to fix what’s broken with me.”

“Then go to lots of them.”

“It won’t be easy,” my dad said. “But you deserve better than what you’ve been getting at home. I know I haven’t exactly been the best dad over the years. Can you forgive me?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It’s going to be hard for me. Are you really thinking about going to AA?”

“I don’t have a choice if I’m going to be the dad you deserve.”

“Just take it one day at a time. I don’t expect you to be a new man overnight. I know it will be hard for you.”

“I have no idea how I got such a great son. It certainly wasn’t anything I did.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

My dad stood up. “Can you give a crotchety old man a hug?”

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d hugged my dad. “Sure.”

He wrapped his arms around me. I could smell the alcohol on him, but I didn’t mind. It felt great to get a hug from my dad. I just hoped he would remember this conversation in the morning.

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