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Dan walked his road without them... They waited. |
| Daniel Sullivan stood on the stage in his high school auditorium, surrounded by clapping, cheering students. He gripped his diploma scroll and looked across the room for his best friend Miriam Wayne. She waved her tasseled cap at him, elbowing past the others to run and give him a hug. “Isn't this exciting? Our whole lives are ahead of us!” “Yeah.” Dan tried to smile as he hugged her back. “I'm just worried about Mom and Dad.” “They'll understand.” She patted his shoulder. “The opportunity awaits to fulfill your dream.” “They don't want me to be a detective, Reema. It doesn't matter how many scholarships I get. They won't let me.” “If that's the case, then I won't either,” she said as they trudged down the hallway. “We promised we'd attend the same college, get married, start our detective business—together.” “No, don't let me hold you back. It's as much your dream as mine. I'll talk to them again. If I have to be a CPA…” His shoulders sagged. “You don't have to listen to them. You're an adult now.” “Yeah… but I don't want to make them unhappy.” “Are they concerned about your happiness?” Dan couldn't respond. It seemed like a good question. *** At home that evening, Dan did all the chores and helped his mom plan meals for the week ahead. They sat down in the living room to discuss his future. “Have you decided on a college?” His father asked. “I've been accepted to MTSU. There's a scholarship for students interested in criminal justice degrees.” “Are you still dreaming about being a detective?” He frowned. “Dan, we've told you already, private investigation is a dead end. It's not like what you see on TV. Most real life private eyes spend their days spying on unfaithful spouses to facilitate divorce cases. It's not worth it.” “That's not true, Dad. I'll be a real detective, the kind that solves cold cases and finds kidnapped kids. I'll break up gangs, fight corruption, make the world a better place. And Reema wants to do it with me.” “Heavens!” Mother gasped. “If there's anything worse than you being an investigator, it's her being one! Why, she'll be killed! You're putting your lives in danger with that career.” “It's my life's calling, Mom.” “You can be a lawyer,” Father suggested. “You can seek justice through the legal system. You don't have to deal with criminals.” “No. I want to be a detective. I don't have to listen to you. I'm an adult.” Dan folded his arms. “We're trying to protect you, honey.” Mother leaned forward. “We don't want to see you make the wrong decision about something so important. Your whole life depends on this.” “That's why I've prepared everything. All I have to do is start college—and marry Reema.” “That’s ridiculous!” Father interjected. “You don't know what you're doing. How can you start a business right out of college? You need a reputation to be an investigator.” “Everyone starts small. We'll build ourselves from the ground up.” “Nonsense! If you don't want to do what's best for you, you can move out. We're not responsible for your stupidity. Nobody's going to hire some college kid and his airhead wife to solve a crime.” Dan's jaw clenched. He glared at his father. “Reema's twice as smart as I am. She graduated with honors, same as me. You can't insult her. We're a team!” “I can say whatever I want about her. Go ahead and be a team. Don't involve us!” “Fine—I'm moving out tomorrow!” Dan jumped to his feet. “Wait, Danny!” Mother reached out. “Let him go.” Father rubbed his nose. “Let him find out how hard the real world is. He'll rethink his career path within a month and come crying home.” “To hell I will!” Dan snapped. “I'll be quite happy if I never see either of you again. You're just trying to hold me back.” He saw the hurt in his mother's eyes. His father did, too. He stood up. “Daniel Eric Sullivan. That settles it. You're leaving tomorrow.” *** It was a dewy June morning in the backyard. Dan Sullivan bent over a flower bed, helping his nine-year-old adopted daughter, Monica, plant some seedlings. Birds sang in the oak trees. Reema was inside preparing breakfast. “So, can you guess who the criminal was?” Dan wrapped up a filtered version of one of his latest cases, smiling at Monica as she patted the dirt around her plants. “I think it was the bank teller, Daddy!” “What makes you think that?” “She would've known how to access the safe. She was right there when it happened!” “You're right, that's the perpetrator. That's called an inside job.” They were silent a minute. Then, “Look, Daddy! Baby deer!” “Shh! Don't move, honey.” On the misty edges of the property, a mother deer and two fawns trotted cautiously into view. Monica clasped her hands in glee. Dan, always practical, pulled his phone out of his back pocket to attempt a picture. After the deer moved on, she peppered him with questions. “Is that a deer family? Was that their mommy? Where's the daddy? Does he have antlers? Can we tell if a fawn is a boy or girl? Do they grow tiny antlers?” “One question at a time, please.” Dan laughed. He tried his best to answer, using his phone to find out more. Monica tipped her head to one side, giving Dan an inquisitive stare. Some time passed before her next question. “Daddy, do grown-ups have mommies and daddies?” “Of course they do, honey. Everyone has a mom and a dad.” “Do you and Mommy have any?” His breath caught in his throat. This was unexpected. He focused on plucking tiny weeds from the base of a rosebush. How could he answer? “Mom's parents realized they were happier if they lived in two separate states.” He spoke slowly. “Your grandma is in Oregon, and your granddad lives in New York. It's been that way for years.” “What about your parents?” She bent down to pull a clover flower. “Mine… uh… I lost contact with them.” “Really? Why?” “They… well, they…” Dan thought it over. “There was a misunderstanding between us.” “Were they mean to you, like my first mommy was?” “No, not like that. They didn't like what I wanted to do with my life. I left home when I grew up so I could learn to be a detective.” “And you never saw them again?” Monica's eyes were wide. “No. That was…” he stopped to count. “Nearly fifteen years ago. Haven't spoken to them since.” “Wow. That's a long time.” “Indeed.” Monica ran inside when Reema called her to breakfast. Dan waved, saying he'd be coming later. He got to his feet, brushed away the dirt and paced the garden, ruminating. His daughter had pointed out an important truth: his parents were not abusive. “Mean,” in Monica's vocabulary, meant far worse than trivial insults or insistent career advice. Yet somehow, things had escalated that night. The tears in his mother's eyes when he told them he never wanted to see them again… what made him say that? They took it to heart. They missed his marriage to Reema, his graduation from college. Their absence at those milestones was hurtful. He refused to be the one to reach out. He wanted to prove that he and Reema could be successful investigators. Six years of teamwork gave the two a formidable reputation. Then, while working child abuse cases, they'd made the decision to foster and ultimately adopt Monica. Dan reflected on fatherhood. He was now tasked not only with working alone—Reema having stepped back from being a detective to become a mother—but also guiding and protecting a child. He tried to imagine how it would feel if someday Monica cut them off the way he had cut off his parents. How would he have turned out without them? What if he'd had parents like Monica's, bouncing through the foster care system, depending on strangers? Why, the whole life he built was owing to the stable childhood they provided. He needed to find them, thank them, make sure they were alright, set an example for Monica. Life was coming full circle, but the circle was incomplete. “Dan? Are you ok?” Reema's voice broke through his reverie. She stood beside him in the garden. He lifted his head to look at her. “I've been thinking… I need to reconnect with my parents. I'm an ungrateful prodigal. All these years I left them alone. What if they needed me?” She reached for his hand. “You are not a prodigal. You're a family man. Now is the perfect time to reach out and bring them back into your life. I'm sure they'll be overjoyed to meet Monica.” “That's if they'll speak to me. I don't know where they are or if they're even still alive. What if—” he choked on the possibility. Reema drew him in for a reassuring hug. “It's never too late to reconcile. Today is when you begin.” *** Dan couldn't sleep that night. He sat up, writing out letters apologizing to his parents. None of them expressed everything he felt. Only a personal visit would do. He found his cousin Ryan's phone number and called him up. Ryan owned their grandparents’ ranch, where Dan had spent a couple summers as a teenager. “Your parents retired to Florida. I asked them a few times if I could get you back in touch, and they always said no, we don't want to interfere with his life.” “Do they hate me?” “Dan, I think they're proud of you.” “But why? I abandoned them.” “Look, it wasn't a big horrible thing that happened between you. You pursued your dreams and built a good life. Now's the time to let them know you still care about them.” He gave his cousin their number. Dan entered it in his phone. It took several minutes to gather up the courage to call. “Sullivan household,” his father answered. “Who is this?” Dan gulped down the lump in his throat. “Hey, Dad? It's me… Daniel. I wanted to—apologize.” A pause. His father shouted into the house, “Bonnie! Daniel's on the phone!” “Danny! Is it really you?” His mother's voice was smaller, older, but still the same. “Yes, Mom. I need to say two things. Thank you, and I'm sorry. I don't know where the years went.” They talked for hours, catching up on everything. His mother wanted to meet her granddaughter. His father wanted to hear stories of his detective work. “You and your wife and Monica come down here right now and see us. You deserve a Florida vacation.” “We'll be there as soon as we can.” *** Seeing his parents again, running to meet them, watching Monica's delight in being introduced to her grandparents… it all seemed too easy. Surely there was some price to pay for his dereliction of duties. He hugged his mom and shook his dad's hand. “Can you really forgive me for cutting you off all these years?” “Son, the door is always open for you.” His dad put a hand on his shoulder with a warm smile. “We were content knowing you had a full and rewarding life. You've helped a lot of people. I only regret we held back.” “We should have been there for you,” his mother added. “But I should have been there for you. I'm the one…” “We're here today, and that's what matters,” Reema observed. “Yeah, why are we standing around? Let's go have some fun!” Monica chirped. Dan chuckled. He gathered everyone for a group selfie before heading out. His family was complete like never before. A hole in his heart, that he had chosen to ignore, was now filled. Notes ▼ lyrics to I Bet My Life (demo) ▼ video ▼ |
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