A Pleasant Detour

The oak rocking chair creaked with age as I settled into it, the padded surfaces cushioning my old body. One day I’m gonna need help getting out of this, I chuckled to myself as I could almost feel my own bones squeak and grind in rhythm with the rocking. Whenever the grandkids visit, I almost forget about my age, feeding off their seemingly infinite youthful energy as they bounce around the house, chased after by my dear son and his wife.

             “Come on now, Francis,” my son, Jayce, called to the chubby eight-year-old, “And Anastasia! Quit hanging Edith upside down! I know she loves it but it’s time for papa’s story time!” The eldest daughter, recently turned twelve, spun the giggling two-year-old upright again and brought the squirming baby to rest to me. Edith was smart for her age, already able to understand complex conversations and interact with them. At the mention of story time, she eagerly reached for me. I obliged and sat her on my lap, patting her rich-brown hair that cascaded in curls down her face.

“I wove stowy time!” She exclaimed, her bright eagerness bringing a fresh breath of energy to me. I couldn’t help but smile and pinch her cheeks.

“I know you do, pea.” I told her. My daughter-in-law was still in the kitchen, adamant to clean the dishes from lunch before anything else.

“Now then,” I cleared my throat, “Which way did you take to get here?” Anastasia gave me an odd look.

“The usual way, pappa,” She said, matter-of-factly, “Off the highway, right onto Seventh, left on Rim, left at the first left, take the first right, then straight here!” Her sense of direction was impeccable.

“Good, good,” I commended her, “But did you know, that instead of that last right, you could still reach the house going straight?”

“But won’t that take longer?” She huffed. Francis, not wanting to be left out, also copied his sister, “Yeah, poppa!” He said, “Why go the long way?”

“There’s a playground with a nature walk down there,” I told them. Immediately their eyes went wide in excitement.

“A park, a park!” exclaimed Edith, bouncing up and down on my lab.

“We’ve been here a lot, poppa, why didn’t you tell us about the park?” The children’s lips were pouting in unison, their warm brown eyes filled with childish hurt at the idea of being deprived of fun.

“Whoa, now,” I brought my hands up in supplication, “I figured one day you’d decide to explore around a bit. In fact, let me tell you a very important story to your poppa.”

I had their full attention now, pouty faces down. I cleared my throat again, and as if on cue, a mug of water appeared on the small coffee stand beside me; Gertrude had finished cleaning the dishes.

“Thank you,” I said, taking a good swig of cool water. Gertrude joined her kids on the living room carpet, sitting cross-legged between Anastasia and Francis, who each subconsciously held her arms.

“When I was but a young lad in the city,” I began, “I had a very set schedule. Wake up at six, change, breakfast, then leave my little apartment for work. It was a busy city, and the fastest route took twenty minutes at most to walk just a few blocks to the office. I would get there with time to spare, do my time, and return home, grabbing a coffee from the Dunkin’ that I would pass along the way. I did that for almost a year, with little change in my schedule.” I could tell that their attention was about to break, which was my cue to engage them once more.

“What do you think about that, kids?” Edith yawned in my lap.

“Booowiiing,” She said, “I don’t think I wud like papa if he was that bowing.” I chuckled again.

“Exactly,” I said sharply, “Your papa was quite boring doing the same things over and over again. That’s why, one day, I got tired of being boring.” I lowered my voice to almost a whisper, as if about to tell the kids a secret, “Do you know what your papa did?” I saw the young Francis’ gears put two and two together.

“You went a different way!” He exclaimed. I clapped my hands together.

“Preeecisely!” I croaked out. Man, I’m getting old! I laughed as I chugged down some more water. Edith beamed excitedly at me, eagerly waiting to hear more.

“So, I went another way,” I continued, “One day after work, I finally had enough. Instead of the normal, straight shot down the block walk back home, I turned right to make my way back from the other side of the block. ‘It’s just the other side,’ I told myself, ‘There’s no way I could get lost.’”

“Did you get lost, papa?” asked Edith. I shook my head.

“Not at all, pea,” I said, “But I was surprised to find all the different stores and buildings that I’ve missed on the other side for almost a whole year!” I lifted Edith up and slightly tossed her in the air. She giggled.

“What did you find, poppa?” she asked, wide eyed.

“So many things!” I said, “Clothing stores, small business brands, a cute little trinket shop, a small clearing on the sidewalk for some street performances, and more! It was the weekend, and I had all the time in the world to explore, so I did just that!” I pointed to a mantelpiece in the living room, littered with little figurines. “Many of those came from the trinket shop on that street.” I tapped the coffee table besides me, “And this came from a local woodworker on that street.”

The kids had a ball pointing at various objects in the living room, asking if they came from the other side of the block. At last, it was Jayce who piped up.

“Dad, what about your mug?” He said with a wink. Glad he knew what I was getting at, I thought with pride. The kids were brought to focus once more, and I continued my story.

“There was this local coffee shop, you see,” I pointed to the faded logo of a cup with a fissure down the middle, rich brown liquid spilling out, “The Cracked Cup, a small café I also discovered exploring the new route. I had passed it earlier that day, so I made my way back to see what they had. The smell of coffee beans was far stronger than ol’ Dunkin’. I remember gazing at the handwritten chalkboard menu with awe. In the end, I took one of the barista’s advice and sat down to drink my very first Turkish coffee. Let me tell you now, it was even better than I’d ever imagined! The cozy atmosphere, unique coffee, and wood-paneled room just brought me into a whole new world of enjoying coffee! They even had a few bookcases of used books their patrons could browse through while drinking their coffee; it was an amazing place, but then…” I trailed off, causing the kids to hold their breath in anticipation, “…I saw it.”

“What was it, papa?” Francis whispered, almost breathlessly. Their gazes bored into me.

“In the corner of the ceiling close to the entrance, was a small TV. It played on mute, showing local news, and that’s when a familiar set of buildings caught my eye. It was my apartment building…and it was on fire!” I sat up straight in my rocking chair, to mimic the surprise I would have felt back then.

“My eyes popped! My little apartment, on fire! I bolted out of the coffee house in a mad dash down the blocks leading to the scene; I must’ve looked like a madman. I arrived at the scene of a nightmare. The fire department was already there, doing their best to quench the roaring flames. All I could do was stand there in shock with the spectating crowd.”

“Was everyone okay?” Anastasia asked.

“Sadly, a number of people that were in the apartments died from the fire,” Her eyes teared up a bit in sympathy, “I would have been amongst them, since my room was pretty high up. If I had gone the same way I always had, papa would never have been here. But that wasn’t the only thing that happened that day.”

“Is it something sad too?” Edith’s little lips were shaking. I gently rubbed her head.

“Thankfully not! When I shook off the shock of the events, I decided to call my boss to inform them of my dilemma, but I realized I left in such a hurry, I forgot my phone and bag! I was about to make my way back but I was stopped…by the barista! She had seen me leave my things in a rush and decided to chase after me. I thanked her for her kindness, and she smiled. And there, kids, was when your papa really met your mama for the first time.” The children were beaming, including Jayce.

“So! What did we learn today, kids?” Edith bounced up and down on my lap.

“Expwore, expwore!”

“Don’t be boring!” said Francis.

“If it’s meant to happen, it will.” Anastasia said, dreamily caught up in her young fantasy.

“Good, good!” I said, “Now, there’s still plenty of sunlight today. Who wants to go to the park?” The little living room exploded in cheers and happy whoops as the kids jumped all around with renewed energy. I tried to do the same, but realized my old frame seemed glued to the cushions of the oak rocking chair.

“Anyone wanna help me out of this?”