The Truth

Daniel Myers got out of bed at seven a.m. as usual. He prepared himself for work and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

“Good morning, Danny,” His mom said as he walked past her as she was sitting at the table.

“Morning, Mom.”

“You’re heading out already, son?”

“I have to. They are having some problems down at the office.”

“That company would be in the ground by now if it weren’t for you and your dedication.”

“This is what happens when hard work and a couple of degrees come together.”

“I’m proud of you. Have you spoken to your siblings lately? Fiona just had a birthday.”

“No, I have not spoken to them. I told you that I care nothing for them and I don’t know why you do.”

“They are a part of your life.”

“A part that I don’t care about.”

“Well, I’m going to call her and tell her you asked about her.”

“Don’t call her, mom.”

“Why not? Your brothers and sisters probably miss you.”

“They don’t because they care about me, just like I don’t care about them. I have no relation to them.”

“Don’t be so harsh. They’re your father’s kids.”

“They are his wife’s kids.”

“They’re still your siblings.”

Daniel grabbed his coat from the coat hanger and an apple from a bowl on the counter. “See you later. Love you, Mom.”

“See you later, honey.” Daniel grabbed his briefcase and rushed out of the door.

Later That Day

Daniel slammed the door open as he walked into the house. His tie was already loose from the car ride home. He took it off and threw it to the side. “Mom, are you here?,” He yelled.

“I’m in the living room.” Daniel walked into the living room and took a seat across the room from his mom. “How was work, Danny?”

“Work was work. I’m surprised to see you here. I thought you might have been out with friends.”

“I had to watch my stories today.”

“Did anything come in the mail?”

“No, but guess who called me today.”

“Who?”

“Janice.”

“Dad’s wife? What does she want?”

“She needs your help.”

“With what?”

“She wants to pull your father out of the slums. She wants him back on his feet.”

“Oh, now she’s tired of raising four kids by herself?,” Daniel asked sarcastically. “What does this have to do with me?”

“She’s asking for financial support.”

“Money? I don’t even know why she waisted her time marrying that drunken asshole. She must have thought he had money because I’m his son. She just wants a check.”

“It doesn’t matter. Just send her the money.”

“If he wants money out of me, he has to work for it.”

“Are you serious? He’s your father.”

“He drunk all of his money and his life away. He was never around. I am embarrassed to tell people where I came from. He couldn’t even keep a roof over us like a man should for his family.”

“I understand that he was a horrible father—

“He is a horrible father.”

Daniel left his mother speechless for a moment and then she said, “At least you were able to move past that. You were able to go to school and earn those degrees … and then you made so much money that you moved me into your house, not the other way around. I just want you to know that it would make me the happiest mother in the world if you would just cooperate.”

“Fine.”

“Thank you.”

“But only because you asked me to. I’m hosting a company wide party really soon. I’ll give dad all of the money that I earn from it. That’s gonna be over fifty thousand dollars.”

“That’s my boy.”

“You can tell Janice. That’s what she wants anyway.”

“I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m going out for a smoke. Janice has my head all messed up.”

Daniel could not sleep that night. He tossed and turned as the flashbacks flowed through his head like a running river. Just about every memory involved abuse among Daniel and his mother. The alcohol had control of his father’s mind and he’d do anything to get it.

Daniel joined his mother at the dining room table with a cup of coffee the next morning. “Morning, Ma,” He said to his mother.

“Good Morning, Danny. My God! Did you get hit by a train in your sleep? You look awful.”

“I barely got any sleep. I kept trying to find reasons to accept what is to come.”

“Honey … I know you don’t have a good relationship with your father, but this is the right thing to do. Remember your graduation?”

“Which one?”

“High school.”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“Remember what your father did for you that day?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Every time you have that memory it brightens your day.”

“It does not.”

“It does.”

“I have to get to work. I’ll see you later, Mom,” Daniel said as he kissed his mother on the cheek on the way out of the door.

“So, coffee with the CEO of our sister company is at nine tomorrow morning,” Daniel’s assistant said as she walked alongside him in the hallway. “You also have a meeting with Manning Claw at 4:00 this afternoon and a presentation to sit through on Friday.”

“Please tell me that’s it for the rest of the week.”

“That is all, unless you add another activity to your schedule.”

“When is the party?”

“Next Saturday, Sir. We’re all looking forward to that one. You just reminded me, I need to set up a direct deposit check with the children’s foundation—.”

“NO!,” Daniel exclaimed.

“I’m sorry?”

“I’ve decided to use the money towards something else.”

“Okay. I can set up the direct deposit for that as well.”

“No, I’ll do it myself.”

“Okay.”

Daniel walked into his office and put his face in his hands as he took a seat at his desk. He jumped as his phone rang. He picked it up and slammed it back down. The phone started ringing again and he let it ring. His assistant poked her head in the door and said, “That’s your mother on the phone.”

Daniel picked the phone up; before he could say hello, his mother said, “I have terrible news!” Daniel was not the same for the rest of the day.

A Week Later

Daniel’s mother held onto him as they walked down the aisle. She was in such bad shape and could barely stand. Daniel held his tears back and he tried to keep it together. They took a seat on the front row and Janice and her children were on the next row over. 

Daniel walked up to the casket when it was time to give his speech. He stared down at his father in the casket and the only emotion that he could feel at the time was rage. Seeing him lie there after not seeing him for so long had a bad impact on Daniel. He turned around and faced the congregation. “Hello, everyone. There are a lot of things that I can not say today. One thing that I can say is, this was unexpected for everyone.” Daniel turned back to the casket as he started to cry and continued his speech. “I’m not going to lie and say that my father was a good man. He was a horrible father and I always wished that he was dead. He was always drunk, always … and now the alcohol has won the battle. My dad was never around, but then one day he was. The happiest day of my life was my high school graduation. My dad wasn’t in the crowd but he was there. I was disappointed that day because I thought he didn’t show up. I looked over in the crowd and I only saw my mother. As soon as I walked across that stage, fireworks went off. I thought it was coincidental until I saw a few blimps with my name on them flying across the sky. I never smiled so big. I asked my mother who would be so kind to do that for me … and she she told me that it was my father. He did it because he could not make it and he knew that I needed him on my special day. It may not sound like much, but it’s the only reason I feel any remorse right now. I uh … hosted a gathering for my job the other day. We have one every year, but I decided not to donate the money to charity because I was going to give it to my dad to start a new life, a better one. Since this unexpected tragedy happened, I’ve decided to leave it for his new family instead.”

“I’m so proud of you. I’m happy that you still went on with the plan,” Daniel’s mother said to him. Everyone stood outside after the funeral was over. Daniel’s mother walked away and his aunt walked over. “That was beautiful what you did today.”

“You think so?”

“Truly. I didn’t even know you had those hidden emotions for your father.”

“Neither did I.”

“I must tell you something.”

“What is it?”

“I’m not sure if I can tell you. You won’t be able to look at it the same again.”

“Just tell me, Ant Bonnie.”

“You know, your graduation story?”

“Yeah.”

“That wasn’t your dad.”

“What do you mean that wasn’t my dad? What wasn’t my dad?”

“The celebration and the fireworks. Your father was at a bar getting drunk that day and I know this because I was trying to get him to go to your graduation. I felt so horrible because of him, so I did the fireworks. I told your mother that it was me that did them, but I didn’t even know until today that she told you it was your father.”

“She lied to me for all of these years.”

“She did what she felt she had to do. My brother messed up … bad. But I find it nice that you still want to give the money to his family. Your mom’s coming, I’m gonna go now.”

Daniel’s mother hugged his aunt as she walked away.

“Are you okay, honey?,” Daniel’s mother asked.

“You lied to me.”

“What?”

“The whole graduation story, you lied about everything.”

“What did I lie about?”

“Ant Bonnie told me everything. You don’t have to act like you’re a saint. Why did you lie to me? My happiest memory is a lie.”

“I had to.”

“You had to? That’s it, I’m keeping my money.”

“You don’t have to take your anger out on them.”

“The money was never for dad anyway. Janice is a gold digger and I told you that. I don’t even like them.” Everyone heard Daniel and his mother arguing and turned their direction. Daniel walked through the crowd of people angrily. Daniel’s mother turned over and looked at Bonnie with an evil look in her eye. “Have you lost your mind?”

“The boy needed to know. I told him the truth.”