benefit of the doubt and respect their privacy. So Thomas sat and sipped his beer, smelling the salty air and quietly listening to Daniel’s side of the conversation, listening for hints of stress. Daniel was having a blast and was all smiles as he told his Grandma Grace about the post-card and how cool his friends at school thought it was. Regaling her with all the cool things he and his father had been doing since the last time they had spoken on the phone. For some reason Daniel had the habit of talking with his hands when he spoke on the phone, particularly when he was trying to emphasize something very important. It made Thomas laugh at how emphatic his son’s hand gestures were while he was on the phone.
About 20 minutes later, Thomas heard his son say, “Hold on, Grandma, I’ll ask him,” as the boy pulled the phone away from his head and looked at his dad.
“Dad, Grandma wants to know if you want to talk to her tonight?” he said.
Thomas thought for a moment and looked at his watch, then looked down and noticed his sons hand wasn’t over the bottom of the phone. Crap, she can hear me, he thought silently.
“Yeah, just for a quick second. It’s time for you to get to bed, okay.”
“Okay, Dad, are you gunna tell me a story?” his son asked hopefully.
“Well, of course, you can’t go to bed without a story; that’s the rules, right?” Thomas answered.
“Yes sir, it is,” the boy said, smiling, as he handed the phone over to his father. “I’ll wait here until you’re done. I should help you put the fire out, Dad, ya know, to make sure you do it right and stuff,” he said.
“Okay, sounds good to me. I’ll be quick, Boss, I promise,” Thomas replied as he put the phone up to his ear.
“Hey, Mom, how was your day?” he asked over the phone as he began what he hoped was a brief conversation
A few minutes later, he said his goodbyes to his mother and finished their short talk.
“Daniel, do you want say one more goodbye?” he asked his son who was now sitting next to him, leaning on his father’s left arm.
Thomas held the phone next to his son’s ear.
“Bye, Grandma, love you,” the boy said quietly as he was clearly tired. Thomas moved the phone back to his own ear.
“All right, Mom, I love you, I’ll give you a call tomorrow; have a good night, okay? Bye.”
As he pressed ‘end’ on the cell phone, Thomas looked down at his son who was petting the head of the sleeping mastiff Layla that had been lying by his feet the whole time by the fire, and gently nudged the boy’s head with his arm.
“Your grandma sure can talk, huh?” he asked the tired boy.
“Yeah, she can,” he said with a groan, “She kept asking me tons of questions. I think she forgets that its three hours earlier here than it is in Florida; Grandpa in Michigan does the same thing. Is it because they’re kind of old?” Daniel asked, looking up at his father with droopy eyes.
Thomas burst out laughing at what his son just said.
“Yeah, Kiddo, I think sometimes that’s why,” he answered still amused at what the boy just said.
“What’s so funny, Dad?” Daniel asked; confused as to why his dad was laughing so hard.
“You are little man, you are. So hey, let’s get this fire out and get ready for bed okay. It’s getting late already,” Thomas said as he looked at his watch and noticed it was 8:45 pm.
“Okay, Dad,” the boy answered as he got up and went to get the empty bucket to put water in. His dad would use to put out the fire, waking Layla from her sleep as he got up.
Twenty minutes later the fire was out and they walked into Daniel’s bedroom after the boy had put his pajamas on and brushed his teeth. The boy wormed his way into the bed that already was occupied by the old yellow lab Harley, who raised her head slightly as the small boy crawled in next to her.
“All right girl, let’s go to bed,” Daniel said as he rubbed the yellow dog’s stomach.
Thomas sat on the edge of
About 20 minutes later, Thomas heard his son say, “Hold on, Grandma, I’ll ask him,” as the boy pulled the phone away from his head and looked at his dad.
“Dad, Grandma wants to know if you want to talk to her tonight?” he said.
Thomas thought for a moment and looked at his watch, then looked down and noticed his sons hand wasn’t over the bottom of the phone. Crap, she can hear me, he thought silently.
“Yeah, just for a quick second. It’s time for you to get to bed, okay.”
“Okay, Dad, are you gunna tell me a story?” his son asked hopefully.
“Well, of course, you can’t go to bed without a story; that’s the rules, right?” Thomas answered.
“Yes sir, it is,” the boy said, smiling, as he handed the phone over to his father. “I’ll wait here until you’re done. I should help you put the fire out, Dad, ya know, to make sure you do it right and stuff,” he said.
“Okay, sounds good to me. I’ll be quick, Boss, I promise,” Thomas replied as he put the phone up to his ear.
“Hey, Mom, how was your day?” he asked over the phone as he began what he hoped was a brief conversation
A few minutes later, he said his goodbyes to his mother and finished their short talk.
“Daniel, do you want say one more goodbye?” he asked his son who was now sitting next to him, leaning on his father’s left arm.
Thomas held the phone next to his son’s ear.
“Bye, Grandma, love you,” the boy said quietly as he was clearly tired. Thomas moved the phone back to his own ear.
“All right, Mom, I love you, I’ll give you a call tomorrow; have a good night, okay? Bye.”
As he pressed ‘end’ on the cell phone, Thomas looked down at his son who was petting the head of the sleeping mastiff Layla that had been lying by his feet the whole time by the fire, and gently nudged the boy’s head with his arm.
“Your grandma sure can talk, huh?” he asked the tired boy.
“Yeah, she can,” he said with a groan, “She kept asking me tons of questions. I think she forgets that its three hours earlier here than it is in Florida; Grandpa in Michigan does the same thing. Is it because they’re kind of old?” Daniel asked, looking up at his father with droopy eyes.
Thomas burst out laughing at what his son just said.
“Yeah, Kiddo, I think sometimes that’s why,” he answered still amused at what the boy just said.
“What’s so funny, Dad?” Daniel asked; confused as to why his dad was laughing so hard.
“You are little man, you are. So hey, let’s get this fire out and get ready for bed okay. It’s getting late already,” Thomas said as he looked at his watch and noticed it was 8:45 pm.
“Okay, Dad,” the boy answered as he got up and went to get the empty bucket to put water in. His dad would use to put out the fire, waking Layla from her sleep as he got up.
Twenty minutes later the fire was out and they walked into Daniel’s bedroom after the boy had put his pajamas on and brushed his teeth. The boy wormed his way into the bed that already was occupied by the old yellow lab Harley, who raised her head slightly as the small boy crawled in next to her.
“All right girl, let’s go to bed,” Daniel said as he rubbed the yellow dog’s stomach.
Thomas sat on the edge of
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