Reunited..by Michael

My shortcut to work was walking through a park instead of the long streets. An old man was sleeping there on a bench with an empty bottle of wine clutched in his hands. The following morning I took a chance that he might be awake and brought an extra cup of coffee. The old man was sitting upright and wide awake that morning. He accepted my extra coffee and thanked me with a smile that probably hadn't happened in quite some time. I had ten minutes to spare before getting to work as me and the old man would chat often during the week as we sat together. An unlikely friendship that would develop through the next couple of months. It was almost like a father and son relationship since I never knew my dad while growing up. Mom told me that he left when she was pregnant. An ambulance took him away one Friday morning while walking through the park. I noticed a wallet under the bench which nobody else did. The only thing in it was an old black and white wedding photo. He looked a lot younger then as so did my mom. I still take that shortcut to work and sit down on a bench where my dad used to sleep and wake up on. Nobody else can see him sip on my extra cup of coffee, or hear us chat like we used to do. We caught up on old times that were missed throughout the years that I needed him. Maybe a fork in the road is traveled for the second time. Case in point in the fate of a father and son, where shortcuts and park benches have us reunited...
 
 
 
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