Family Tree

All he ever wanted was some damn peace and quiet – to sit alone with a box of Fuentes and a glass of Johnnie Walker. He had put in his time, working nearly 50 years to provide for his wife, son and daughter. With his children finally grown, occupied by families of their own and his wife ten years gone, he felt his selfishness was relatively justified. He was never a bad father, just terribly busy – often starting work before his children woke and returning far past their bedtimes. This left very little time to do fatherly tasks such as teaching them to ride a bike or building the tree house in the backyard he once promised.

At first, he embraced the change that came with retirement. He enjoyed reconnecting with his children, experiencing the first years of his grandchildren’s lives, Sunday morning pancakes and Friday evening dinners. However, as time pressed on and routine began to set in, the man found himself restless with his new way of life.

One Friday evening, when the children were particularly rowdy and the adults at their wits end, he finally had enough. He silently watched the toddlers kicking and screaming while their parents scolded and counted to three. The man said nothing, stood up, grabbed his jacket and escaped into the cold winter air. As he walked past numerous coffee shops and boutiques he could feel pins and needles on the tips of his nose and fingers but the heat radiating from the back of his neck made it easy to ignore. Driven out of his own damn house by his very flesh and blood – he would be lying if he said he wasn’t perturbed.

After thirty minutes of striding through city streets, he reached his destination. Sam’s Smokes had been his go to shop since Sam started the business over 30 years ago. Several different families who opted to keep the name had since bought it out but the look and the smells were nostalgic for him. He wiped his feet off, strolled inside and savored the warm, earthy aroma. The man stepped up to the counter, purchased a cigar and a scratch and win.

Unexcited to return home, he decided to continue down Main Street until he reached a park. As he sat on a bench and observed the cold night sky, the man could not help but somewhat resent his family for pushing him to such a point. He sighed and grumbled at the frustration as he pulled the lottery ticket from his pocket. Cashword – scratch the call letters and match them to the corresponding crossword, three or more complete words win! Simple enough.

The man scratched the call letters and began matching them up to the crossword. At first, prospects seemed positive as he began scratching vowels A, I and O but his previous experiences taught him better than to get his hopes up. He worked his way through the ticket until he had one call letter left and no complete words to show for it. Not holding his breath, he scratched the last letter to reveal an X – brilliant. If he had somewhere else to be he may have thrown the bloody thing away right then but he was not ecstatic about returning back to the house of toddling tyrants. Humoring the silly game, he searched for X’s to scratch. To his astonishment, as the man gawked at the ticket, he had three complete words staring back at him: xylocarp, xylophone, Xeroxed. He had just won $20,000.

Had he been still in his youth, he may have quit his job and invested time into his family, finally building his children the tree house they nagged endlessly about and traveling with his wife. Alas, the man’s fortune came late in his life and at a time when all he craved was solidarity. Thus, he spent the money on a secluded cabin off-trail in the Canadian wilderness, the coordinates left mysterious to all friends and family. Had he been still in his youth, he may have quit his job and invested time into his family, finally building his children the tree house they nagged endlessly about and traveling with his wife. Alas, the man’s fortune came late in his life and at a time when all he craved was solidarity. Thus he spent the money along with his life savings on a secluded cabin off-trail in the Canadian wilderness, the coordinates left mysterious to all friends and family.

To say that the man outdid himself would be an understatement. Along with all of the amenities such as warm water, a fireplace, heated floors and satellite television, the man had stored more than five years worth of non-perishable food. He had no reason to leave and found fewer and fewer excuses to venture out past his front door. Years past with very little thought from the man. He spent his days as he pleased – drinking and smoking in silence.

One fateful morning the man woke up feeling ill. His body trammeled and shook but his skin was scalding to the touch. His head felt fuzzy as his vision fogged, revealing sights of his son and daughter. The man called out to his children, asked them to kindly bring him some aspirin and a glass of water only to watch them turn their backs and fade into the distance. With tears in his eyes, he slowly crept to the kitchen where he found a bottle of water and popped a few Tylenol before heading back to bed.

Fortunately, after several days of rest the man made a full recovery. It was at this time he had finally decided to visit with his long lost family. The man loaded up his car and began his long drive back to the place he once called home. It was approximately twenty minutes into the journey when the man realized he did not recognize the twists and turns of the road he was on. Assuming he made a left instead of a right, he attempted to retrace his steps and correct the error.

After hours of frustration, the man could still find no way out of the dense trees. As he slammed his hand on the dash, the glove compartment clicked open to reveal a small leather-bound black book. He flipped open the cover where he read an inscription his beloved wife had written.

“My love;

Together we have created and achieved the most valuable of gifts – our precious family. I am so proud of the father you are to our children but please remember to savour every blessed minute. Use this book; count the memories so that one day when I am gone you will have these moments to smile upon.

I love you to the moon and back.”

As tears trickled down his weathered cheeks, he flipped through the book to reveal empty page upon empty page. He wiped his face before noticing the first two pages were stuck together. He gently peeled them a part and read the only note he had ever written in the book, a list.

· Foundation

· Platform

· Floor Joists

· Deck Boards

· Frame

Defeated, tired and frustrated the man returned to his so-called sanctuary with the five points of that list rhyming off in his head over and over. It was over the next few sleepless nights that the man decided that he knew what he had to do.

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A woman swaddled an infant as she watched the season’s first snowfall. She couldn’t help but remember it was a night like this when her father stormed out and soon abandoned the family with his newfound fortune. It was then that she received an unusual phone call from her brother. He was shaken and clearly attempting to restrain himself. She held her breath as he gently explained that their father had passed of natural causes and was discovered in his cabin by a group of hunters. The news hit the woman hard but her brother continuously reminded her that he left at his own accord with no trace for five years.

The two met the next day and made the tremulous trip to their late father’s abode. When they arrived, they were surprised to find the place in ill repair. Though their father was older, the siblings found it strange that he would not take more pride in his most beloved possession. It appeared that wood had been forcibly stripped from the cabin by hand as there were very little signs of weather damage. The brother and sister slowly made their way through and around the property their dad had left in shambles until they found their way to the backyard.

The woman let out a small gasp, followed by a whimper – she could not believe her eyes. Standing in front of them in a beautiful oak tree was the most extensively built tree house. As the brother and sister tearfully investigated, they found a small, leather-bound black book in which their father had written a note.

“My dear children,

I tried to make it back to you but time is not memory’s friend. Learn from my mistakes. Bring my grandchildren here, play with them, and write down every detail.

Love Dad.”