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Lance sat at the table and waited.
Folding and unfolding the napkin, sipping beer and checking his phone for imaginary messages, It was time for him to deliver this speech, and once it was done, maybe his life would finally make sense.
Just as his nerves were on the verge of taking over, he heard the telltale shuffle and deep baritone of his teenage son. He didn’t even have to turn around to know that Blake was flirting with the hostess seating him and winning her over as evidenced by her giggle.
When they reached the table, the girl smiled and handed Blake a menu, Blake winked at her and plopped himself in the chair opposite his father.
“Hey dad.”
“Hey Blake, thanks for meeting me.”
“Free lunch? Anytime dad.”
Lance watched his son unfold his napkin and place it in his lap. His thick dark hair was shaggy and badly in need of a haircut, but he knew that Melinda, the girlfriend, liked it. He could still see the little boy, with skinned knees swinging a blue plastic bat, in the face of this hybrid man child. Lance had always been proud that Blake resembled him, loved the comparisons to temperament and good looks that people often offered. It had made it easier to live the lie, to stay, but now Blake was off to Penn State Main Campus at the end of the summer and he was taking all those reasons with him.
Lance took a deep breath, a sip of beer and looked his son in the eyes.
“Blake?”
His son slouched against the table, hands folded, “Yeah, Dad?”
“I have something I need to talk to you about.”
“Ahhh, Dad. This isn’t going to be about sex is it?”
Lance laughed, “No. Well not your sex life anyway.”
A blush crept up his son’s neck and moved into his cheeks, “Hey Blake. No! This isn’t your ‘before you go to college’ speech. It’s about me…” he paused and went on “…and your mom.”
Blake pushed himself into the back of the chair and folded his arms, “are you finally going to leave her?”
Now it was Lance’s turn to turn red and sputter, “What are you talking about?”
“Dad, I’m your son and I love you. I love mom too, but she doesn’t love you. Not like she should. ” He picked up the sweaty water glass in front of him and took a drink before he went on, “she takes advantage of you and she’s mean.”
“Buddy, I don’t think you should talk about your mom like that.”
“Well, she is.” Blake shrugged. “So? Are you leaving her?”
Lance sipped the beer and wondered how this had gotten so easy, “I am.”
“Good.” Blake said, opening his menu, “Are you going to try to find that girl, Kate? The one you were going to marry before mom?”
“How…?”
“I just know Dad. You still love her don’t you?”
Lance felt the weight on his heart lift at the thought of Kate, “I do.”
This week, your prompt is a simple concept that can be fraught with complication.
You have 400 words to write a fiction or creative non-fiction piece about freedom, in any way that makes sense to you.
Love it. I’ve found that both of my children are wiser than I ever think they are, and I like that you put that into this character.
that’s the thing isn’t it? That our children sometimes know more than we give them credit for…and they are sometimes right. I’m so glad that came through with this piece. THANK YOU…for just reading it, I love seeing you here.
It is amazing how observant our children are no matter how young or old they get.
I loved the imagery you created right down to the sweaty glass.
Wonderful Kir xo
Another case of where the adults THINK they are doing the best for their child by staying in the relationship when really, seperation is healthier and happier.
I love that Blake sees his mother for who she is. At least Lance will have a bit of an ally
I think it made it realistic, to have Blake know that their marriage was for him , a compromise, and even he is ok with his dad leaving. Blake loves his mom but he is not blind to who she is…I’m so glad you got this, that you liked it. (I wait to see what you think!!!)
Blake is like my children. They didn’t miss a thing either. And we thought we were hiding it. Another great piece!
Our kids are so much smarter than we give them credit for aren’t they??? I’m so glad that came through with this piece. THANK YOU for reading it.
I love when you visit.
i like the awkwardness mixed with honesty and kindness.
The way you showed lit Lance’s tender heart in a male conversation was really well done.
thank you real Lance, I count on you to ;et me know if the male POV is believable.
I loved the beginning detail, “folding and unfolding the napkin.” Very realistic. I also thought it was good the way the dad thought his son knew nothing about his marriage, yet he knew everything. Kids know more than we give them credit for.
They do, kids do know more than we give them credit for. I love when you visit Lindy…thank you for coming over, can’t wait to read yours.
good for Lance.
Sara (his wife) won’t make it an easy break, but let’s hope it’s all worth it
thanks for coming over to read it.
I think Lance thinks so too..thanks for coming by to read it
Teenagers are a whole lot more attentive than we give them credit for, aren’t they? Makes me less worried about the future, at least a little.
Go Lance!
HI YOU!!!
they really are (or so they tell me, since I have none yet, but working with them in college campuses, yes, they know “STUFF”)
I’m just glad you came over to say hi
HI you…hope you had a good weekend
I agree, most kids (even before they are teenagers) are very perceptive and attentive, it’s what makes good humans. I think your kids (if they are anything like you) are awesome humans.
Great job. Love the interaction between father and son.
thank you..for coming over to read and for leaving me a comment. I appreciate that
I really liked your take on freedom – that relief at finding out that you aren’t ruining someone elses happiness with your own freedom. Such a sweet moment, the son being so adult and wise about the situation
it’s a weight that lifts, when you realize that one person you might hurt (and you are worried about) knows what you need to be happy. I’m so glad that came across.
thank you for reading and leaving me a comment, I appreciate it
It’s true that kids are more perceptive than we give them credit for. At any age, really. I like this scene, from the description of how the father sees his son, to his surprise that his son already knew what he needed.
I watch my nieces (all teenagers) now and I see (and they tell me) how they know things that their parents are sure they don’t..that they are waiting to be told things they are already aware of. I often wonder why we try to shield them from the world (Ok, I KNOW why) but the truth is that if they are smart and observant, they know…they can tell. It’s part of being human.
I’m glad you came by to read it, thank you Rox.
I like the beginning, too, that anticipation of the awkward conversation. It makes me sad, in a way, that Lance stayed for so long, in part because of Blake, and Blake ended up knowing the truth anyway.
no, I think Lance stayed as long as he needed to…but now it’s time to move on. I am just glad that Blake understands why. This one was “good” to write, I felt the freedom and relief myself as I typed.
thanks for using me this week!!!
Talk about tension fraught freedom. It is amazing how perceptive teenagers can be, isn’t it? Great job with this.
Lance caught a lucky break there. His son is a very perceptive, mature teen.
many teens are, I think. They know things that we are trying to hide from them. A lucky break maybe, he was going to leave Sara either way, but it is nice to have Blake understand why.
I like the take on the prompt. too bad the word limit cut this so short, I think I’d like to see this fleshed out more. I’m curious if the teen thinks his mom is mean because she is or because she tells him to do stuff he doesn’t want to do. I do like that Lance told Blake not to speak ill of his mother, a nice touch that shows Lance’s strength of character.
Well done!
Hi there…I have a longer piece of this in my drafts where I do flesh it out, I can send over if you like. Lance doesn’t want Blake to hate Sara, it is his mom after all, but he’s leaving her and I think that it helps to know that his sons understands why. I”ll send the piece over tomorrow.
thank you for coming over to read it, love when you visit.
I’m left with a sense of excitement about what comes next for Lance, that his life is going to open up in the most wonderful ways so for me, you really nailed the idea of freedom in the tone of this piece.
Nice work, lady!
oh wow, what a great comment, It had me smiling for days. Thank you,I’m glad that feeling of relief that comes with freedom is what you got from this piece. Lance is ready to start his life again with Kate, the problem is..is she ready to give up all her “life” for him this time???
thank you, thank you…