Micheletto

Micheletto

By: Daryl Barber

08/26/2024

My dearest Adam,

I am writing you a letter to tell you that I still miss you. When we met several years ago, you stirred something in my soul, and I have never forgotten you. I appreciate all your letters and cards. Guess you took my invitation to keep in touch seriously.

I know that you told me your wife Jane died awhile back, and I wanted to know if it would be O.K. for me to come over sometime. I never wanted to cause trouble between the two of you, which is why I never came by to see you in person.

I regret telling you that I thought that love was overrated. Deep down, I think that I know that we have always loved each other. All my years have been filled with random hookups that have led nowhere. I thought it might be worthwhile to see you and spend some time together. Maybe we can see where that takes us. Please call and let me know.

All my love,

Micheletto

(905) 890-9610

              Adam’s son Christopher read through the letter one more time. He couldn’t believe that his dad had a secret lover. A secret that he had kept hidden from all of them! Not possible. Chris was in a state of shock. To make matters worse, Adam had passed away a year ago, shortly after his mother, Jane. Terminal cancer. The chemo and radiation didn’t help. He would have to tell his sister about the letter and get her advice on how to respond.

              An hour later, Susan and Chris sat at the kitchen table. “I can’t believe that dad would do something like this!”, Susan exclaimed. “Look, he’s dead now,” Chris responded. “Maybe we should call this guy Micheletto and let him know about dad’s passing.” “I think that he has a right to know,” Chris added.

              “Ugh!” “I’m not sure how I feel about this!”, Susan exclaimed. “Well, if we don’t call him, he may show up looking for dad,” Chris advised. “That would be pretty awkward,” he added. “I guess you’re right,” Susan said. “Alright, I’ll give him a call.” “I’m pretty good at handling difficult situations.”

              Susan picked up her cell phone and dialed the number listed on bottom of the letter. She held her breath while she waited for someone to pick up on the other line. On the third ring, she heard the phone line click over. A man’s voice said, “Hello?” Susan let out a big sigh and said, “Hi, is this Micheletto?” “Yes, it is,” said the other voice. The man on the other end of the line had a very thick accent. His English sounded good, but he was not American. “Micheletto, my name is Susan.” “My brother and I got your letter that you sent to Adam.” “Adam was our father.” “I don’t know how to tell you this, but he died from cancer a year ago.”

There was an awkward silence. Finally, Micheletto, said, “Oh, I see.” “I’m so sorry to hear of your loss.” “Thank you”, Susan replied. “What about you, Micheletto?” “From the sound of the letter that you wrote, it sounds like you two were pretty close.”

“Yeah, we definitely meant a lot to each other.” “We were keeping in touch by e-mails and letters, but I haven’t received anything from him in a while and I was wondering how he was doing.”

              “Well to be honest, my brother and I are in a state of shock.” “We had no idea that he had a relationship with anyone other than our mom,” Susan informed him.

“Yeah, I don’t think he would have told you about us,” Micheletto responded. He sounded a little embarrassed, but his voice kept breaking as if he were trying to keep his emotions under control.

“Look, maybe I should just leave you guys alone.” “I hardly think you would want to talk to me, given what a shock this must be.” “I do have one request though.” “Could you tell me where his resting place is?” “I think that would be the best way to tell him good-bye.” Micheletto said.

Susan agreed to give him the cemetery’s address. Micheletto waited patiently for her to get the information, but as he waited, he felt tears start to stream down his cheek. Adam dead? There was no way.

“Micheletto?”, said Susan’s voice through the phone. “Yeah, I’m here,” he responded. “The cemetery is on High Tower Road.” “It’s located near the park next to High Rock Lake.” “Are you familiar with that area?” “Yes, I’ve been by that way a few times,” Micheletto told her. “He’s buried in the back corner next to the fence.” There is a statue of an angel near his tombstone.” “It would be hard to miss it,” Susan told him.

              Micheletto thanked her and then added as a final statement, “You know, Susan, your dad was a wonderful man.” “We only had a few encounters.” “Then, he cut off any physical relationship because he didn’t want his family ripped apart.” Silence on the other end of the line. At first, Micheletto thought that she had hung up the phone. Finally, she said, “Thank you for that, Micheletto.”

Micheletto didn’t waste any time. He put on his jacket and got in his car. As he was driving to the cemetery, he thought about the time when he and Adam first met. It was on a dating website. Adam told Micheletto that he was married, but that he and Jane were going through a rough time. He had always been bi-curious. It would be a bit risky for his marriage, but Adam said that he wanted to meet in person.

At first, Micheletto had been reluctant. An affair with a married man? If Adam’s wife found out, he did not want to be in the middle of any fighting. In the end, he compromised and said that he wanted to meet. His only stipulation had been that they keep things purely physical. No official dating and they had to be very discreet.

As the old cliché goes, it seemed like a good idea at the time. The chemistry between the two of them had been phenomenal. Adam would text him randomly just to give him updates about his day. He would also inquire about Micheletto and wanted to know if they could spend more time together.

After their third encounter, Adam seemed a bit distressed. Micheletto thought that his wife had found out about them, but Adam denied it. “Let’s keep in touch, OK?” Micheletto had offered as Adam was getting ready to leave. “Yeah, let’s do,” said Adam.

Micheletto did not hear from Adam for about three weeks. Then, he got an e-mail explaining how busy Adam had been with his family. Shortly after that, a letter with a small gift enclosed. It was an Italian coin that could be worn on a necklace.

The gift wasn’t expensive, but it was impressive. Adam knew that Micheletto was from Italy. Micheletto had mentioned going back to Italy for a vacation but delayed the trip due to being too busy at work. I thought this might remind you of home, the letter had stated. For the next couple of years, letters and cards continued to be exchanged between the two of them. Then, just a couple of months ago, Micheletto had lost the coin that Adam had sent to him. It sucked that he no longer had that trinket to remind him that somewhere in the world, someone was thinking about him.

Micheletto pulled up to the cemetery and parked his car. It had snowed a couple of days ago, but today it was warm and sunny. You could hear the snow dripping from the trees. Springtime was on its way. He went through the open gate and looked towards the back corners of the lot. Sure enough, there was a stone angel in the corner to the right. That must be where Adam was buried.

Micheletto walked slowly through the cemetery. He found the tombstone closest to the angel. Yes, here it was. Adam had been buried next to his wife, of course. The tombstone listed his as Loving Husband and Father--- March 15^th, 1978- December 12^th, 2023.

“Hi there,” Micheletto whispered. “I sent you a letter in the mail but looks like I guess it came a little too late.” “Hope that you are at peace, wherever you are.”

He looked up at the angel next to Adam’s tomb. Sunlight filtered through the trees, casting the angel’s shadow over the place where his lover was resting. “Watch over him,” he said to the angel, as if the statue could hear.

Suddenly, there was a gentle breeze that moved the branches of the trees. It was almost as if Micheletto could hear a voice in the wind, but it must have been his imagination. He looked down and saw that his boots were wet from trudging through the melted snow.

As he gave one last glance at Adam’s resting place, he caught a glimpse of blue over the place where Adam was buried. It was a blue hyacinth. The flower was pushing its way through the ground. Enough snow had melted to expose the flower to the warm sunlight.

Wait! What was that lying on the top of Adam’s tombstone? Micheletto walked closer. No way. He couldn’t believe it. It was an Italian coin. Just like the one Adam had sent him several years ago. It even had a place with a little hole that could be attached to a necklace.

Micheletto could hardly believe that this was the same one that he had lost! It must be a coincidence that he had found an identical coin here. As he stood lost in his thoughts, the wind picked up again, and ruffled the tendrils of his dark, wavy hair. He thought for a moment. Then he realized what he should do.

He picked up the coin and unclasped the chain he was wearing around his neck. He slipped the coin onto the chain and clasped it back. Now, he would have something to remind him of this sweet man who had changed his life in the most amazing way.

Then, he walked to his car and drove away.