A Lesson Learned is a Lesson Earned

Marvin had everything. Marvin was young. Marvin was rich. Marvin was famous, yet Marvin was unhappy…

“You mean bastard! How could you choose a business meeting over your own daughter!” Katherine yells at Marvin.

Marvin just stands there, unfazed. “I have to put priorities first.”

Katherine grits her teeth “This happens all the time. I always give you the benefit of the doubt, but time after time you always show me… You will never change.”

“I don’t have time for this. Camila isn’t a little girl anymore. She knows how things work around here.” Marvin says.

Katherine protests “She’s only 10! Did you know she cried herself to sleep last night, because of what you did? You promised you would spend some time with her for her birthday.”

“Promises were meant to be broken,” Marvin mutters underneath his breath.

“I can’t believe you. How can you be so heartless?” Katherine cries.

“I’m not heartless. It’s the world that’s heartless. I’m just doing what it takes to get by. She can’t always be babied. She has to be prepared for disappointments. That’s life”

“That’s the thing, Marvin! It isn’t just a little disappointment here and there. That’s all she’s ever known from you. Katherine yells.

“I’m not doing this with you now. If you don’t like it, you do something. You take her out somewhere. Unlike you, I work. I have places to be. You always complain, yet never put things into action.”

“Your right. I don’t” Katherine says while taking off her ring, and placing it gently on the table.

Marvin gives Katherine a mortified look. “You’re leaving me?!” He yells abruptly, shocking even himself over his outburst.

Katherine shakes her head “No.”

Marvin takes a sigh of relief.

“I never left. It was you who left me.” Katherine says with tears welled up in her eyes.

Katherine turns away, getting ready to leave. Still in shock, Marvin finally shouts “You’re going to leave, just like that? What about Camilia! You would really do this to her!? You would let her grow up without a father!?”

Katherine pauses for a moment. She takes a deep breath and turns around “ Camilia will be fine. Sure, she’ll be a little upset, but she’ll get over it. She’s had to grow up her whole life without you. It won’t feel much different, except living somewhere else. She won’t even know you’re gone.”

Marvin feels his face get hot, and anger boils up inside him. “If you walk out that door, you’re dead to me. You hear me!?” Marvin spats.

Katherine looks down at the floor, she hesitates for a moment. “I wish you the uttermost happiness, Marvin. I see that look in your eyes and I know what you’re feeling. You hate me now. I can sense it, but the worst part of all is I don’t even care anymore. Your not the same man I married. Your heart is cold. You’ve begun to care more about work than your own family. You miss family occasions, birthdays, you’re neglectful, and I wouldn’t even care that much if it weren’t for poor Camilia. I know you’ve been sleeping with another woman.

Marvin’s jaw drops, and for a split second, he feels guilt and shame.

“You take your anger from work out on us. You don’t even say goodbye. But despite all that I still wish you the best, because deep down I know it isn’t your fault. You’ve stacked your walls so high, that you don’t even realize what’s important anymore. You’re stubborn, and though I don’t see it anytime soon, I just know one day you’ll look back on today and it will hit you. So to spare you the grief, I just want you to know I love you. Camila loves you, but this is the last time you’ll be seeing either of us, and it’s not for spite. As a mother, I must always put my child first, and that’s what I’m doing. I hope you’ll understand one day.”

“If you take one more step towards that door, I swear to God Katherine you both will be nothing to me!”

Katherine sighs. “Goodbye Marvin.” She says before letting the door slam shut behind her.

Marvin is furious. “Whatever, I’m better off without them.” He says to himself. Right away he begins looking for his blueprints to start brainstorming. Soon months passed by, and not a word from his wife or daughter. Marvin’s been keeping himself busy with work, so he doesn’t even realize how much time has passed. Finally, he’s starting to make a lot of progress in his job. Soon months turn into years. He does the same routine every day and plans to keep it up. Finally, 4 months later his boss promotes him. He even won $20,000. Things are looking up for him. Marvin has all the women he could get, he has money, a huge house, and a successful job, yet he still couldn’t seem to fill this void. The next day, Marvin woke up early and got ready for work. It was the same as every day, except this day would be different little did he know. It was morning, and Marvin was on his way to his job. He shoved past the crowds of people trying to reach his destination. It was always the same routine. He passed the elderly lady needing assistance across the street and kept on walking. He passed the kid who was crying for her mom without even glancing her way. He was so used to doing this, that it became second nature to him. He was almost to his work when Marvin noticed something strange. He saw an elderly man in a stained shirt and ripped pants giving money to a homeless person. Marvin scoffs. “What a fool.” He murmurs to himself. He never understood the kindness and altruism people had for one another. How can people give away their hard-earned money to strangers, especially someone who was obviously struggling with money themself? Marvin rolled his eyes and kept on walking. He didn’t know why, but seeing that kind man do such a gesture for a stranger, stuck with him longer than he wanted to admit. Marvin had just arrived at work and was ready to start the day when he gets a call from his boss to meet with him. Curious, Marvin walks to his office. His boss, John is sitting on his chair with his fingers intertwined. It was clear he was in distress.

“Is everything ok, John?” Asks Marvin.

John sighs. “I wish I could say it was.”

Concerned Marvin clears his throat “Why did you call me here?”

John shakes his head “I’m sorry Marvin. You’ve been such a terrific worker, but I’m going to have to let you go.”

Marvins heart drops. “What!?” He exclaims.

John shrugs his shoulders. “I’m sorry, the business sales are declining, and I have to let some people go.”

“I don’t understand. I’ve been an excellent employee. Why not fire someone else!?”

John sighs “I’m sorry Marvin, but you’re not so young anymore. I need people I know can fulfill the duties I assign.”

Marvin feels rage consume him “I’m ten times harder than any worker here!” He protests.

“I know, but I have to think logically. I need someone who can do the heavy lifting. You can be the most hard-working man in the world, but if you can’t lift and do the tasks that are required then I’m afraid I can’t keep you. Tim told me all about your back pains, and paying other people to lift the heavier items for you.”

Marvin grits his teeth, furious. “I didn’t work this hard just to be fired!”

“I’m sorry Marvin. I’m not changing my mind. All your stuff is already outside your office in boxes ready to go.”

Infuriated, Marvin storms out of the office. He couldn’t believe what had just happened. He spent and dedicated his whole life to this job. What was he going to do now?

Marvin throws everything in the dumpster, including his Moleskine black little notebook that had all his business ideas in it. He was too upset to even care. Marvin walked down the streets when it began to rain. Normally Marvin would run for cover, afraid of ruining his Armani suit, but he was too upset. As he’s walking through the cold and damp streets, he sees a small cafe across the way. He looks through the cafe’s window and sees a family, laughing and eating together. At that moment, Marvin feels a pit in the bottom of his stomach. He’s been so consumed with his work, that he forgot it’s been years since he even talked to his wife and daughter. Marvin continues to stare through the glass window. He sees a man, which he assumed to be the dad smiling and hugging his children. It was so strange. Even as a child, Marvin never experienced that with his parents. Seeing all this affection and love made him wonder. Is this how dads are supposed to be? He steps away from the window and continues to walk home in the rain. He was in so much distress, that he forgot to drive his car back to his house. He had the money for a cab but just continued to walk. When he finally arrived back home, he noticed 30 missed calls on his phone. Marvin sighs and plays them. He starts to get undressed and put clean clothes on. Every phone call was about business, only a few from his ex-wife and daughter. Then he listens to the last voice message when he hears Katherine crying through the answering machine. Concerned, Marvin stands still and listens. “Hey, Marvin. Not that you care, but it’s about Camilia. I didn’t want to involve you in this, but I don’t know what else to do. Camila has stage 4 Leukemia. it’s not looking good. She doesn’t have much time left. I know you’re probably busy with work, but if you want to see your daughter one last time come to this address...” Marvins heart plummets. Was he hearing it right? Camila has leukemia. This can’t be right! Marvin sprints to the phone to check the date. The date says 3 months ago. Panicking, Marvin dials Katherine’s number, barely being able to dial the numbers. He waits for her to pick up. It rings and rings. No answer. Then finally he hears her voice. “Hi, this is Katherine..” “Katherine!” Marvin exclaims. “Please leave a message after the beep.” It was just a voice mail. Marvin swears to himself. He tries calling again, but nothing. Marvin was panicking. He didn’t know what to do when suddenly the phone rings. Marvin immediately answers the phone. It’s Katherine calling. “Katherine! How is she!?” “How’s who?” Katherine hisses. “How’s Camilia?” Marvin asks, choking on his words. After a long pause, she hangs up. Frantic, Marvin calls back. Katherine answers again “What!?” She yells. Marvin asks again “How’s Camilia? Is she okay?” Katherine says irritated “Since when do you care?” Frustrated Marvin yells “Katherine! I’m serious. Please… Just tell me… Everything’s okay right?” Then she finally interrupts the silence. Nothing in the world could prepare Marvin for what he was about to hear. “Marvin, Camellia’s been dead for 2 months.” Marvin’s heart drops. He can’t breathe. He’s suffocating. He collapses to the floor and breaks down crying. He couldn’t bear the guilt. He had failed as a father, and he couldn’t even tell her how sorry he is, or how much he loves her. His whole world was falling apart and there was nothing he could do. 1 month later, Marvin sells his house. Ever since he found out about Camellia’s death, he felt like he was in a nightmare he couldn’t wake up from. Marvin is walking down the street, not sure where he’s going when suddenly he collapses. The next thing he knows he wakes up in a hospital. Apparently, he collapsed from food deprivation. The doctor took some tests and found a tumor in his brain. Marvin was dying, and oddly he wasn’t upset. He was almost content. The doctor prescribed him pills but Marvin refused to take them. On his way out of the hospital door, he hears crying. He follows the sobs, to a mother in distress. “Are you alright Ma’m?” He asks. The woman seems puzzled. “Oh I’m so sorry if I disrupted you, I… I … I just heard some bad news, and I can’t..” The woman burst into tears. Marvin walks to the woman and hugs her. It felt good to do that. Marvin never hugged anyone. It made him uncomfortable but as he hugged her and as she calmed down, Marvin realized it was an amazing feeling. To know he was the reason she stopped crying.

“What’s the matter?”

The woman finally regains composure. “My daughter. Her lungs are failing. If I don’t get her a transplant within the next two days, she will die.”

Marvin frowns. “I’m so sorry.”

The woman smiled through tears “It’s okay..”

Then the realization hit Marvin. He was dying anyway. He didn’t want to die as a bad person, so he went to the doctor and asked for an anonymous lung transplant to give to the lady’s daughter.

The doctor warned him “That’s very noble of you, but your tumor is curable… With treatments we can…”

Marvin interrupted “I don’t care. I’m doing this lung transplant.”

The doctor nodded. After Marvin’s surgery, the lady’s daughter was given a new lung and survived. Then later that week when Marvin was sleeping he started to have a heart attack. He didn’t call the cops. He thought he deserved the pain. When he passed out and knew he was dying, oddly he wasn’t afraid. He was actually ready. He started to feel himself slowly fade away. Then he could see his sweet Camilia. She smiled at him and he smiled back. What was this strange feeling? Could it be? Marvin had nothing. Marvin was old. Marvin was poor. Marvin was forgotten, yet Marvin was finally happy.