The Man I Never Knew

           “Sheldon, can you pick me up a loaf of bread and some milk on your way home?” his mother asked as Sheldon was walking out the door.

           “Sure, mom. You know that I would do anything for you. I need to make a couple of stops after work, but I will swing past the grocery store too.”

           “Thank you, sweetheart. Have a great day at work.”

           Sheldon cherished his mother. She spent the last eighteen years of his life raising him on her own and he gained an enormous amount of respect for her. After graduating high school, he chose not to go to college even though he was offered a full scholarship. Instead, he went to work so he could help his mother pay for some of the expenses on the house. Up until now, she had been working between two and three jobs just to make ends meet, so now was her time to relax and Sheldon would take on some of the burdens.

           He started working at a local warehouse within a month of graduating. His duties consisted of stacking merchandise onto pallets and preparing them for shipping. He also swept and mopped the warehouse during the downtimes. The packaging kept him busy all day, however. A large shipment had to be prepared before he left that day so it could be delivered the following morning.

           It was nearing the last hour of his shift when the warehouse manager called his name over the P.A. system and told him to come to the office immediately. Sheldon looked concerned as he made his way up the staircase to the manager’s office. He tried to recall if there was something he did that could cause him to get into trouble, but as far as he knew, his reputation was good.

           He knocked on the door and his manager told him to enter and have a seat. Sheldon sat down on a rickety wooden chair that sat in front of the manager’s desk. His manager had purposely shortened the legs on the chair so everyone that sat there would need to look up to him.

           “Sheldon, I have something very important to discuss with you,” he began. “I received a call a few minutes ago from your mother’s brother, Ted. He said that your mom was taken to the hospital and is in serious condition.”

           Sheldon sat silently listening to his manager, not believing what he was hearing.

           “I want you to take the rest of the day off and I will pay you up until the end of the day. I want you to be assured that your job will not be in jeopardy if you need to take a few days off. You are a good worker, and even though you are still new at this job, I will talk to the boss and explain the situation. He will understand.”

           “Thank you so much, sir. I will call you and let you know what is going by tomorrow morning.”

           Sheldon rushed out of the warehouse, jumped into his mother’s 2012 Nissan Versa that was barely being held together by rust and body filler, and he drove as quickly as he could to the hospital.

           Inside, he found his uncle, Ted in the waiting room of the Emergency Department. His uncle gave Sheldon a big hug when he approached. Tears rolled down his cheeks and his eyes were bloodshot.

           “Where is my mom, Uncle Ted? Can I go see her?”

           “You can’t go see her just now, Sheldon. Sit down here a minute. I need to talk to you.”

           Sheldon sat down hesitantly, concerned about what his uncle had to say.

           “The doctor came to see me and your Aunt May a few minutes before you got here. I’m sorry, Sheldon, but your mom didn’t make it. The doctor said that her heart stopped in the ambulance on the way here, and they were able to bring her back for a short time, but she had another massive coronary in the ER. She is gone, Sheldon.”

           Sheldon could not believe what he was hearing. He never knew his mother to be sick, let alone have heart problems. He thought that the doctor must have made a mistake. He demanded to see his mother.

The triage nurse notified security when she heard the commotion in the waiting room and a burly gentleman dressed in a light blue collared shirt came around the corner soon after. He approached Sheldon and stated that if he did not calm down, then he would be asked to leave. Ted stepped between them and assured the officer that Sheldon was just upset at the loss of his mother and there was nothing for him to be concerned with. The security officer felt pity for Sheldon and just asked Ted to calm him down before he upset the other patients.

“Sheldon,” his uncle started to say. “Let me go talk to the nurse and see if I can’t get us in to see her, okay? Your aunt is in with her right now.”

Sheldon nodded his head in agreement and calmed down for the moment. Ted returned moments later and told Sheldon that the nurse would ask the doctor and let them know, but they normally only allow one person at a time in with patients, but she would see if the doctor will make an exception.

The nurse called out Ted’s name and waved them over. They followed her down a hallway and into a small examination room where Sheldon’s Aunt May sat at the bedside holding the hand of his mother and praying. She looked up as the door swung open.

Immediately, tears began to flow down Sheldon’s face, and he ran to his mother’s side. Her face was pale, but she looked at peace. He thought for a moment that she might be sleeping and that she would wake up at the sound of his voice.

“Mom,” he called out as he grabbed for her other hand. It was cold to the touch. “Get her another blanket,” Sheldon demanded. “She is so cold. She needs another blanket.”

May looked to her husband with sadness in her eyes. She felt pain for Sheldon and tried to console him by placing her hand on his.

“She’s gone, Sheldon. She is gone to be with God in Heaven now. Your mom will take her place among the angels.”

Now, grief-stricken and believing that his mother was truly dead, Sheldon began to sob uncontrollably. His aunt and uncle both joined him and wrapped their arms around his shoulders. After approximately ten minutes, the nurse entered the room and apologized, but she said that they would need to move the body to the morgue downstairs and that someone would have them fill out the necessary paperwork.

An orderly attempted to remove the bed from the room, but Sheldon did not want to let go. Eventually, his uncle coaxed his hand away. Sheldon watched as the orderly covered his mother’s face with the sheet and wheeled her away. They followed as far as the elevator, where they were told that someone would be with them shortly to fill out some forms.

The elevator door closed, and Sheldon felt his heart drop. The reality of his loss began to sink in more and several thoughts began to race through his mind. What was he going to do now? Would he have to sell the house that he grew up in? Should he call his boss now? He was so lost and confused. Other than Ted and May, his mother was the only family that Sheldon had ever known.

A few days following her death, Sheldon joined his aunt and uncle at the funeral home to say their last goodbyes. Hundreds of people attended the funeral. Sheldon was not aware that his mother had so many friends. Some of them he recognized, but others were strangers to him. There was one man who sat at the back wearing a long, black trench coat. His hair was dark and combed to the side. Sheldon had no idea who he was, but he believed that his uncle may know him, for every time Ted looked toward the man, a scowl formed upon his face.

Later, by the gravesite, Sheldon once again saw the stranger. He stood back from the rest of the mourners without moving or saying a word. He just stared at Sheldon. When the service ended, Sheldon decided to ask the man who he was and why he was staring at him.

The man began to walk away as Sheldon approached, but Sheldon picked up his pace and shouted for the man to wait. He stopped and turned back around.

“Who are you, mister?”

“I knew your mom a long time ago,” he said.

“How did you know her? Did you work with her, or something?”

“No, your mother and I were a bit of an item at one time,” the man stated with some uncertainty in his voice.

“You mean that you and my mom dated? How long ago was this?” Sheldon asked.

“It was just over eighteen years ago,” he replied.

“Eighteen years, did you say? That means you were together just before I was born, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Does that mean…” Sheldon paused as he considered the possibility. “Are you my father?”

“Yes, Sheldon. I am. My name is Samuel Johnson, but your mom used to call me Sammy. Did she ever mention me?”

Sheldon had always believed that his father was dead. His mother would never tell him any information about him. She just kept saying that she would tell him when he was older. Every year, it was the same reply.

“No, she never mentioned you,” was all that Sheldon said.

“I’m not surprised. Your mom and I were in love, but I started taking drugs and drinking heavily and got into a lot of trouble, so your mom left me. She did not tell me that she was pregnant at the time. I only found out about a year later through a mutual friend. I had stopped the drugs and alcohol by then, and I tried to win her back, but she told me that she would rather raise you by herself than for you to have a father that was an addict. I accepted her decision and left her alone. When I read about her passing in the obituaries, I chose to come and pay my respects.”

Sheldon listened intently to what the man had to say. He was not quite ready to accept him as his father, but he seemed sincere about how he felt about Sheldon’s mom. Sheldon wanted to hear more about his mom’s relationship with Samuel, but this was not the place or time, so he invited him back to the house for a reception with a few close friends and family. Samuel hesitated but agreed to attend.

When the doorbell rang, Ted answered the door. When he saw Samuel standing there, he began to close the door again until Sheldon outstretched his arm and prevented the door from closing any further. He invited Samuel in and offered him some refreshments before leading him into the den.

“I want to hear more about my mom back when you two were together,” Sheldon stated. “Start from the beginning when you met.”

Samuel thought for a moment before speaking. A half-smile formed on his face as he reminisced.

“Your mother and I met when I was twenty and she was eighteen. We went to the same college. I was on the football team and your mom was one of the cheerleaders. During the games, I could not keep my eyes off her. She was so beautiful. Her long, auburn hair glistened in the sunlight. On several occasions, I fumbled passes because I was focused on her instead of the ball. She would laugh and wave each time it happened. One day, I finally got up the nerve to ask her out. We went on a couple of dates and it went great, so I asked if she wanted to go steady. She agreed, but she told me that she would only be my girl if I promised to watch the football instead of her while I was on the field from then on. That was how it all started.”

Sheldon pictured a younger version of his mother in his mind and began to smile. “Please, continue,” he asked.

“Well, we started getting serious and even talked about getting married one day. We were going to get a house with a white picket fence and have a dog and two kids.”

“So, what went wrong? I mean, it sounds like you were doing great.”

“Well, my buddies decided to throw me a party once they found out that your mom and I were planning on getting married. They kept handing me drinks and apparently, one of them got me started on cocaine that night too. From that point on, I was hooked. I craved it and spent all my money trying to buy more. Eventually, it got in the way of my relationship with your mom and she ended it. I was too out of my mind to care at the time, but a week later, I crashed my car and ended up in jail for driving under the influence of a narcotic. I served five years in prison. Your mom came to see me once, but that was the last time I heard from her. I went through rehab and I have been clean and sober for the last sixteen years.”

Sheldon absorbed all the information that Samuel was feeding him. He decided to forgive Samuel for not contacting them sooner, but he told him that he was not quite ready to call him “Dad”. Samuel thanked him and said that he understood but asked if they could begin to spend more time together. Sheldon agreed.

Weeks went by and the bond between the estranged father and son began to strengthen. Sheldon had new issues that he now faced, however. The bank threatened to foreclose on his home if payments were not made within the next seven days. He shared the news with Samuel and told him that they may need to meet at a different location the following week.

On the seventh day, Sheldon drove to the bank and asked to speak to somebody about his mortgage. A middle-aged woman asked him to have a seat in her office. She asked him for the information about the house and she punched it up on her computer.

“I am happy to say that you are paid in full. The house is officially yours.” She said as she reached out to shake Sheldon’s hand.

Sheldon stood stunned momentarily at her statement. “I own the house?” he asked.

“Yes, you are paid in full. The final payments were made yesterday.”

Sheldon thanked her but left the bank confused. He called Samuel and told him what happened. Samuel laughed and simply stated, “I told you that things would work out.”

Samuel later confessed that he paid off the rest of Sheldon’s mortgage. He said it was the least he could do considering the struggles that Sheldon’s mother went through to get them this far. Sheldon hugged Samuel for the first time and simply said, “Thanks, Dad.”