Free Less Than Perfect Circumstance by Kristofer Clarke Page B

can’t explain it, dad.”
    “You don’t owe me any explanation. I understand. It’s going to take you a while to get over it. In fact, you may never get over it.”
    “Is that how you feel about mom?”
    I hoped my inquisition hadn’t stirred unwelcome d feelings in my father’s heart. I just wanted to know.
    “Your mom was the love of my life,” Robert admitted.
    “Most people don’t understand. They think I am stupid because Kelvin seemed to have moved on, yet I can’t bring myself to do the same.”
    “Are you worried about what people think? I’m not going to say that you have to get over it,” Robert added. “If you are ok with the way you’re dealing with the situation, you don’t have anything to worry about. The question is , how long is this going to last, especially since you say that Kelvin seemed to have moved on?”
    “I can’t put a timetable on it. Maybe getting over him simply means just putting whatever feelings I have aside and trying to move on as well.”
    That’s the only response I could come up with.
    “Especially since you know what’s really going on with him. You will in time.”
    “I think if we had ended the relationship before he relocated, it would have been easier. But like I said, we had plans.”
    “Yeah, but you don’t want to let go, do you? That’s what bothers you the most. Help me. Tell me if I am wrong,” my father pleaded.
    I appreciated my father for what he was attempting to do.
    “It’s not that I don’t want to let go. I don’t think I am ready to. I do know that , eventually, I’ll have to. If I hadn’t given my heart to him the wa y I have, it would’ve been easy  or at least easier.”
    “But son, love and life is never easy. Anyone who tells you otherwise, has never loved nor lived.”
    “This is so hard. I’ve ended relationships in the past , and have gotten over them with no problem.”
    “Honestly speaking, son, I don’t think you actually loved in those past relationships. It could be that you don’t have control over your emotions like you did before, and it is scary. Isn’t it?”
    “Yes.”
    “Such is life.”
    “True.”
    “But you will be ok.”
    My father gave me the reassurance I had been looking for. Its one thing to try and convince myself everything will work out, and even though I know in my heart that it will , it was good to actually hear someone els e say it. I realized how much I loved talking to my father.
    “I’m sure I will, dad.”
    “You will. Just try not to isolate yourself in the process. It’s all about time. I should say, time and timing.”
    “Ok.”
    “Love you, big man.”
    “Thanks for talking, dad. Love you, too.”
     
     

     
     
    CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    BE MYSELF AGAIN
    Dexter
     
     
    I left Kelsey Prescott a message, hoping I would hear from him sooner rather than later.  When my phone rang, K. E. Prescott displayed across the screen. I waited for the voice mail to pick up just so I could listen for the slightest hint of forgiveness in Kelsey’s tone. I knew Kelsey very well, and the fact that he was calling me should have been proof enough.
    “Stop staring at the phone and pick up,” Kelsey directed as if he was standing behind me, watching my hesitation. “I’m going to call you back, and it better be your voice on the other end , and not some computerized female voice.”
    “Hello, sir,” I answered, doing as I was instructed in Kelsey’s message.
    “So, we’re addressing each other as ‘sir’ now?”
    “I didn’t expect you to call,” I declared.
    “Come on, Dex. We’ve been friends for years, and I know you better than to leave a message if you really thought I wasn’t going to call back.” 
    As Kelseyspoke, he sounded so much like the friend I had come to trust and depend on since we first met in the District Attorney’s office. 
    When I wasn’t having lunch and dinners with Belinda, Kelsey was my sparring partner. I tried to figure out why we had stopped