Jonathan's Hope
Page 20
Jeanette was next. “Dad, Papa, I keep thinking of my first day in school. Dad had driven me to school, Papa was on some assignment, and I remember that we had to introduce ourselves to our new school mates. Apparently I had said something that was quite scandalous about having two dads and no mother. When the teacher said that everybody has a mother, I insisted on not having one. Of course, that led to Dad and Papa being called into the principal’s office on my first day in school! Must’ve been a record...”
She hesitated, the fun of the memory blending with her own sorrow. “I miss you, Papa. I miss how you would always set the record straight, how you would always have our back, love us no matter what we had done. I’ll always miss you, Papa!”
Then Jonathan Jr. stepped up to the grave, making Jonathan smile. My grandson, so strong!
“Grandpa Dan, this is so hard. I wish you were still here to see this,” Jonathan Jr. said, gently putting his hand on Emilie’s tummy. “In six months you would’ve been a great grandfather.” At that, his strength faltered and he started to cry. “I miss you, Grandpa...”
Rick and Rachel were obviously taken by surprise, but they caught themselves quickly, and for a little while, they all forgot the seriousness of their business there. Everybody was happy about the new life budding, that the story of Jonathan and Dan would continue into yet another generation.
That’s when Parker interrupted their musings, stepping up to the grave.
“Grandpa, I’m not sure if I’m ready for this, or if this is a good time, but I want you to know, since you’ve always been my idol. I’m gay.”
It was such a matter of fact statement that it took everyone by surprise. Not that Jonathan hadn’t had his inklings about his grandson, but he knew better than to pressure him. Things had changed since he was young, and he knew that Parker’s life would evolve differently, that he would find love, eventually, and live as happily as he and Dan had. Yet it was important to reassure the boy, strengthen him in his state of mind. Jonathan opened his arms and brought the youngster into an embrace, one that the entire family rallied around. They stood like that for a while, sharing their tears, their grief, and their joy.
Eventually, more stories were told. Stories that reminded Jonathan of the rich and happy life that he and Dan had lived. How Parker and Dennis had supported them in adopting Rick, and the odd coincidence of the boy’s name, how they had later used a surrogate to conceive Jeanette, how they led a near normal family life, par the odd visits to the principal’s office whenever their unusual rainbow family had stirred discussions or debates in school. And there were the sad times, when Dennis died or Parker’s dementia, and how their best friend had withered away, slowly.
Jonathan had no regrets about his life, except one perhaps. Being so much younger than Dan. It pained him that he might have to go on living for many more years before rejoining him there, in the forest with Sean. It was only now that he regretted the thirteen years that he was younger.
I miss you, my love. I miss you so much!
Eventually, the storytelling stopped, the youngest kids started to get restless. Jonathan Jr. filled the hole of Dan’s final resting place and leveled the ground, best he could. Paul laid down the small round stone with the simple inscription.
Dan Jackson
Loved, Missed
Reunited in eternal love
The small party turned around and started the journey back to the cabin, and eventually back to the city. Jonathan lingered for a moment, tears once more flowing freely down his cheeks.
Good bye, my darling! Thank you for everything, your love, your patience, for saving me. I’ll always love you!
“Grandpa, are you coming?” Parker asked, having returned to make sure his grandfather was okay. Sensing his grandfather’s feelings, he added, “Don’t worry, Grandpa, you’ll never, ever be alone. Sean and Dan are watching over us, and you have us. You have family...”
Jonathan took his grandson’s arm and looked one more time upon the peaceful spot in the forest where he would also be laid to rest at some point, but not today.
Still plenty to live for, a great grandchild on the way, and I can’t wait to meet Parker’s first boyfriend, and then I’ve got five more amazing grandchildren. Plenty to live for, definitely...
He turned around and allowed Parker to lead him back to the cabin.
Plenty to live for!
The End
About the Author
Hans M. Hirschi has been writing stories since childhood. As an adult, the demands of corporate life put an end to his fiction for more than twenty years. A global executive in training, he has traveled the world and published several non-fiction titles.
The birth of his son provided him with the opportunity to rekindle his love of creative writing, where he expresses his deep passion for a better world through love and tolerance.
Hans lives with his husband and son on a small island off the coast of Sweden. English isn’t his first or even second language. It’s his seventh.
Visit Hans online at:
www.HIRSCHI.se
Acknowledgments
Needless to say I owe a debt of gratitude to my brain, from where this story came. To write a book is one thing, to get it out there into the public another.
First of all I would like to thank you, dear reader, for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed it. You know the old adage: if you like it, tell your friends, or write a review, if you didn’t, tell me.
Second, a huge thank you to Kris Kendall, my wonderful editor for this novel, for great conversations about editing, writing in this day & age, and an editing job very well done. It must’ve been a nightmare to work with me. Thanks also to the amazing Christopher Allan Poe for his creative genius in designing the cover and all the other behind the scenes magic.
Thanks also to my family and friends for supporting me, indulging me, and cheering me on. Thanks to all the other authors and writers out there for inspiration, words of advice, caution and your friendship. No one mentioned, no one forgotten.
Finally, thanks to my husband, for putting up with me.