Page 16 of A Family Affair: The Ring
“You were right the first time.It’s Nate.I’ll talk to him and once he says yes, which he will, then we’ll head to the school lot so I can open it up a bit.”The look on her face said maybe this was not such a good idea.
“Pop, I’m still responsible for you.”
“And I’m still in possession of my faculties and not about to do anything that would jeopardize either of us.Rest assured on that one.”He pointed to the kitchen, ready to change the subject.“Do I smell banana bread?”
“They’re banana nut muffins.Would you like one with a cup of coffee or tea?”
“Indeed I would.And I’ll go with the tea since I’ve had my coffee limit for the day.Green tea if you have it.”
“Green tea it is.”
She disappeared into the kitchen and Pop settled against the couch cushions, contemplating the conversation he was about to have.What would Melanie say when she read her grandmother’s letter?Life was sure an interesting journey that sent you in one direction and another, confusing you one minute, spinning you around with too many questions and no answers...but if you followed your heartandyour gut, you usually ended up exactly where you were supposed to be.
When Melanie returned with four scrumptious-looking banana-nut muffins, Pop knew she’d spent a fair amount of time in the kitchen with her grandmother.The mother was a decent baker, but not like Esther.“These sure do look good.”Pop reached for a muffin, glad she’d added extras to the serving plate.
“Enjoy.”Melanie sank onto the couch, placed a muffin on her plate and broke off a piece.“It’s really good to be back here.”Pause and a soft “There’s nothing quite like home.”
Hmm.“I always thought of home as where your loved ones were…”
Those hazel eyes filled with tears.“I always thought that too.I just never believed I’d have to choose between the people I loved.”
What to do with that comment?She was talking about her parents and Will Callahan, and how she’d had to choose between them.“Family isn’t always about blood.Family is about the people who are there for us, the ones who help us through the hard times when we think we won’t make it.They’re the ones we share good and bad with, and they won’t leave us no matter what.”
A sniff, followed by a wobbly “I let my own issues keep me from seeing Grandma and she did not deserve that.I’ll never forgive myself for it.”
The girl kept picking at the muffin and if she continued, there’d be nothing left but crumbs.“Melanie, you can’t keep punishing yourself for what you wish you’d done.She loved you, and she had her own share of wishes and regrets.I learned something a long time ago—you can have a second chance, but you’ve got to take it.If you don’t, then you’ll keep living in the past with too many regrets, and you’ll wind up in the same place every single time.It could be a relationship issue, work, family… Friends… Or it could be what’s inside here.”He placed a hand over his heart, said in a gentle voice, “You can’t undo what happened with your grandma or anyone else.”Not even Will Callahan.“But what you can do is forgive yourself and learn.I had quite a few talks with your grandmother, and she told me how she worried about you, said you worked too much and never took a break.She thought you were running from the choices you’d made and regretted.And every time there was a young man, she hoped he would be the one but deep down she knew he wouldn’t be…none of them would be.”Might as well get it all out so Melanie knew exactly what he meant.“Do you know why that is?”
This time, tears accompanied the sniffs and she tried to swipe them away, but there were too many.“I know why but it doesn’t matter.”
Pop placed a hand on hers, squeezed.“Itdoesmatter.That boy’s never been the same and I’ve been watching him for a lot of years…eight long ones.Oh, he might smile, and he might be with someone he calls a girlfriend.And he might even tell himself life is good.But I see it… It’s in the eyes… It’s in the actions… You and Will need to get things straight and forgive each other so you can either be together or move past it.”
“I tried to tell him how sorry I was, but he wasn’t interested.”Another swipe of tears, two more sniffs.“He told me he’d moved on and there was no point in my apology because he didn’t need it or want it.I’ll never reach him, Pop, no matter how sorry I am, no matter how much I wish things were different.”
“I think you will.It’s going to take time, patience, some prayers, and the belief that this is what you have to do.”He reached into the pocket of his shirt, pulled out the envelope containing the letter from Esther.“I planned to give this to you once we had more time to chat and get reacquainted, but I can see you need to read this now, so you understand you aren’t the only one with regrets and the desire to make things right.Esther had plenty of her own.”
“This is from my grandmother?”She studied the envelope with her name scrawled on it.
“She had a lot to say to you.Go ahead and read it.”
Melanie slid the letter from the envelope, unfolded it and began to read:
Dear Melanie:
I’ve wanted to tell you so many times and yet I couldn’t.I wish we had spoken about this when it first happened, before your parents packed up and moved away.If only I had said what was in my heart, you might have been spared such pain.I watched you struggle year after year, confused, uncertain, heartbroken.So lost.
I can no longer remain silent.You see, I must bear some of the responsibility for your struggles.Had I been honest about what I knew, your life might be different—you might have peace...you might be happy.And you, my dear, deserve to be happy.
I hope I can deliver this letter to you in person but if you’re receiving it from Pop Benito then I’ve gone to meet your grandfather.Life is so short and as the days grow shorter, I have made a vow to work on the regrets I carry.You and Will were good together and that boy’s honesty got him punished, made him an outcast...and now he’s forced to spend his days trying to appease a bitter woman who will never be happy and never be appeased.I’m speaking of his mother.Marjorie is a miserable, vindictive woman who wants everyone to pay for her unhappiness.
Now I will talk about the reason you moved away.Your father has always loved your mother and he will until his last breath.But when that love is not shared equally, it makes the other person vulnerable and sets them up to get hurt.It wasn’t enough that your mother had a devoted husband who loved her, two beautiful daughters, a respectable job.She wanted excitement, and she wanted to feel young and beautiful.And she wanted a man to give it to her.That man would never be your father and that’s why she turned to Joe Callahan.I do believe the man loved her, just as I believe she used him for her own selfish reasons.
And while your father might not have known the particulars of what was happening between your mother and Mr.Callahan, he did know something was going on.Never doubt that or that your father eventually forgave her, even if she didn’t deserve his forgiveness.
Have you ever wondered what happened to Will’s father, and why he left town?It’s not because Marjorie booted him out of the house, because word had it, she begged him to stay.The sins of the parents are the sins of the parents and yet everyone, including me, pretended we didn’t understand what had happened.But we understood.That boy wanted you to stand by his side and trust him when he spoke the truth.But you couldn’t do it because it meant destroying your own family.
We are the ones who betrayed you and Will with our silence.We are the ones who caused you both such pain and heartache, and we must bear those crosses.I’m sorry I did not tell you sooner, but I hope to tell you face to face, if the good Lord is willing and if he’s not, then please forgive me.
I love you,
