Free Love Emerged by Michelle Lynn Page B

ignore her exhausted eyes. “That’s five days from now. You’re going to stay in Detroit this week?”
    “Oh God, no. I’m leaving tomorrow, but I’ll meet you at the airport on Saturday morning. We’ll go there together.”
    “I think I’ll drive in by myself. You don’t need to chaperone me, Mom. I’ll be fine.” I stand with the bourbon bottle in my hand.
    “You’re leaving again? Why are you always in such a rush?”
    “I’m sorry, Mom. I need to finish some work if I’m leaving this weekend.”
    She nods and plucks her bourbon bottle out of my hand, her babysitter for the night.
    “I’ll call you when I’m in Chicago.”
    Unable to settle down until I find out exactly how my dad’s health is, I grab a taxi to make my way to the lakefront.
    I sit down on a bench, looking across the lake to Canada. The Ambassador Bridge that attaches Detroit to Windsor, Ontario lightly lights up with dusk slowly approaching. I pull my phone out of my purse, and my thumb hovers over my dad’s name.
    Hugh Vitron, a male figure who’s always seemed mysterious to me. He has foregone marriage after my mother, and instead, he’s found that serial dating is his choice. A forever bachelor. No meaningful relationships to speak of.
    I shake off the apprehension and click the green button to dial him.
    Voice mail, voice mail, I wish in my mind.
    “Bea,” he says, excitement filling his voice.
    “Hi . . . Dad.”
    “I’m guessing you talked to your mom.” He muffles the phone.
    I’m guessing he’s telling his sweet nothing to leave the room because his daughter, who’s probably older than her, is on the phone.
    “I just left her. How are you feeling?” I need to cut to the chase because I tend to be like a toddler with emotions—throwing and yelling when they’re too much for me to handle.
    “I have cirrhosis of the liver.”
    “What exactly does that mean?” My feet bounce on the ground, and I close my eyes.
    “I’m dying, baby. That’s what it means.”
    The prick behind my eyes is the first reaction to the news. Next, my nose burns, and I lose control of the wetness overtaking my vision.
    “What about a transplant? There’s nothing they can do for you?”
    Surely, people with money can buy things on the black market.
    He laughs, and it’s the first time I’ve heard him sound so calm in his amusement. Usually, it’s forced and drawn out to make others truly believe he’s enjoying their company.
    “Not in my case.” One would expect despair, begrudgingly upset that there was nothing to do to save their life. “I’ve known for a while, but it’s becoming unmanageable.”
    My head falls forward between my shoulders, and I push back the tears that want to escape. Not while on the phone with him. “I’m sorry.”
    “I know. Everyone is. Will you come and see me?”
    “Yes. Mom said this weekend. You’re in Chicago, right?”
    “This is where my doctor is, so I’ll be here for . . . a while. I’ll make reservations at that pizza place you like so much.”
    I was five when he took me there, but that doesn’t stop me from smiling because he remembers.
    “Okay. I’ll be in on Saturday morning.”
    “I can’t wait.” His voice sounds like he’s smiling from ear to ear.
    I hang up with my dad and pick up my head, wishing my heart wasn’t searing with dread. I can’t even explain why these emotions of loss are flowing through me because he hasn’t exactly been Johnny-on-the-spot as my father. If anything, he’s been more like a distant cousin, popping in and out.
    But, now, he’s dying.
    The thought is like being jabbed with fifty needles right to my heart.
    My head falls into my hands, and the tears I’ve been trying to push away leak out one at a time until they link into streams down my face. The man they say is your first love—which, in my case, would be my only love—won’t be on this earth soon. The relationship I always thought might bud into a father-daughter bond will