Chapter 13: An Emotional Detour

Jasper meets his biological father for the first time and the two do some much-needed catching up.

My biological father's apartment was located on the outskirts of town, on the third floor of a red-bricked building. I stepped inside as soon as he unlocked the door for me. Saying the place was quaint would be too much of a compliment, but calling it a dump would be too harsh. I'd say it was somewhere in between. Simon's entire apartment was bigger than the dorm that Second and I had shared back in college, but it didn't appear to be by much. The kitchenette flowed into the entrance, and subsequently the living room. At a glance, the apartment looked pretty clean and livable, but even Stevie Wonder could tell that the place was a little cluttered.

Empty alcohol bottles of all shapes, colors and sizes stood up, lining the countertops almost decoratively. Resting on almost every flat surface in the vicinity was a glass bowl of condoms, and an ashtray that was overflowing with cigar stubs. As I strolled over to the couch, I caught a glimpse into the single bedroom. Inside it were clotheslines full of random bras and underwear of all types. It wasn't hard to see why Mom was so quick to file for a divorce all those years ago.

I sat down in the living room and looked around. The furniture was old, but not worn. There were no signs of damage on any of it, but I could tell it'd been there for quite a while. In fact, I could say that about the apartment as a whole: clean, but aged. It wasn't long before Simon joined me on the couch, holding two ice-cold bottles of Bud Light Lime. I wasn't much of a beer kind of guy, but I accepted it for the sake of politeness.

"So! How've the past thirty-two years been?" he asked, not hesitating to lower his bottle's contents down to the base of the neck.

"They've been great. My childhood was pretty good as far as childhoods go, and I graduated from St. Theodore University over in Phoenix as part of the Class of 2025," I explained. "And that was right around the time when these new laws were put in place, so of course we all had to sit through a crash-course on them before we could graduate."

"Well hey, they just wanted to keep everyone informed," Simon replied. "Not that I approve of these laws, but still."

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied. "And then, as you surely know at this point, my mom led a protest against the new bills and it failed."

"Your mother was something else, let me tell you." Simon took another gulp of his beer. "I remember back in college, she was the walking definition of a dork. And yet within that overly preppy exterior, I saw someone I'd totally be willing to spend the rest of my life with."

As he spoke, I looked around the room, taking notice of the pictures that littered the walls and coffee-table. Most of them consisted of both Simon and Mom, either in college, or on their wedding day. And I wasn't present in a single photograph.

"And so not long after graduation, I proposed to her. Hell, I still have the ring here," he continued, standing up and walking across the room to the CRT television.

He opened the top drawer and pulled out a small black case, which he handed to me upon sitting back down. I gently popped the lid open, revealing a ring as golden as my mother's hair, and crowned with a lentil-sized emerald. It was probably the shiniest, most impressive-looking thing in the entire apartment.

"You can hold onto that if you want. It's not like I have any use for it," Simon added, his tone somewhat dismissive. "But back to the story, she said yes, and even though I was glad about it, something inside me kept telling me not to go through with it. See at the time, I had a somewhat irrational fear of commitment. Is there by any chance a scientific term for that?"

"I dunno," I replied honestly as I tucked the ring case into my pocket.

"Anyway, things went downhill after I got her pregnant with you in 2002. While she was on a business trip, I... I brought another woman home from the bar and she spent the night over," Simon sighed, his tone marred with regret. "It was something I often did while your mom was away, because of that fear of commitment I just told you about. To this day, I still can't f*****g believe I was stupid enough to do such a thing!"

From that point on, Simons's speech was starting to slur, indicating how much of a lightweight he really was. He finished the rest of his beer and immediately helped himself to my bottle without even asking. I didn't complain, for I was far too engrossed in his backstory - the backstory of a man I never knew. As the discussion progressed, his tone became more somber and the sips of alcohol that interrupted his speech grew more frequent.

"I remember she came home early and caught me in the act. She was already mad at me for how I smoked and drank a lot, so the fact that she knew I was cheating only pissed her off even more," he explained, his breaths growing less steady and his voice wavering. "And as soon as our divorce was finalized, you know what she said? 'I don't ever wanna speak to you again'."

As soon as those words spilled from his mouth, I looked up at him and saw his body shake with whispery sobs. A few tears slipped out of his eyes and hurried down his face, before getting caught in his five o'clock shadow. I did nothing more than stare at him, my eyes widened in both shock and concern.

"So I basically spent the last thirty-two years depressed beyond belief. The next thing I knew, I was seeing her on television, fighting for the people's rights. I was rooting for her the whole time, but I chose not to attend the rallies, simply because I was afraid she'd notice me. And during that entire span of time, she never sent photos or even called once! I never got to see how you, my own son, turned out! And I never got the chance to apologize or even try to atone for my sins!" Simon continued. "And then came that fateful day just ten goddamn years ago... Jasper, no words can describe how torn apart I was when I heard that your mother died. Trust me, son. If she was still with us today, I would propose to her again, and I would swear to never hurt her again!"

I looked back at him, simultaneously noticing a small object in his hands that he was fiddling with. It appeared to be made of silver, albeit smattered with... dark blood stains? My eyes widened at the sight of it, before Simon's eyes followed by gaze.

"Oh, you wanna know what this is?" he asked. "Let's just say it was a souvenir from the hospital all those years ago. I don't even know why I still have it. I guess I just needed to hold onto something."

As soon as he handed me the bullet, he broke down into sobs and all those pent up tears were finally released. As he buried his face in his calloused hands, I did nothing more than start patting him on the back, a few tears escaping my own eyes as well.

"I've missed her a whole lot since then, but I've missed you just as much, if not more!" Simon said after a few minutes, wrapping his arms around me. "You have no idea how it feels for me to finally receive a memento from your mother's life since she left me all those years ago! And I'm so glad you're working to finish what she started!"

"Well I had to! You think I was just gonna sit there and give up on everything after our own president did this to us?" I asked in response, reciprocating the hug. "And I'm glad we were able to meet up too. Mom said some pretty nasty things about you when she told me the truth, but from what I've seen, you're a pretty nice guy."

"Heh, well I don't blame her, but thanks, Jasper. It really means a lot." Simon mustered up a small grin. "Say, uh, I know you're kinda' busy with the movement and all, and I know I just admitted to doing some unforgivable things in the past, but if it's okay with you, I'd... like to become a part of your life again."

"Don't be ridiculous! Of course you can!" I replied. "Hell, if you want, I could even introduce you to my stepdad!"

"Stepdad?" Simon asked.

"Yeah, his name is Conrad. Mom remarried while I was a toddler, and he helped her raise me," I replied. "Still not sure what to do about the name situation, however, seeing how I've been calling him 'dad' my entire life, and I only just met you."

"Doesn't matter," Simon insisted, slapping a hand on my shoulder. "Just glad to see you for the first time. Gotta say, you turned out pretty good."

"Thanks," I replied, stretching as I stood up. "I... guess I should probably get going, huh."

"Do what you gotta do, Jasper," Simon said, opening his arms for one last hug. "Good talk."

After reciprocating the hug, I simply smiled and exited the apartment, before heading back to my car.