The Substitute Father

To be honest, I guess Cade was really my second father and probably the first too. He's the one who taught me how to hunt and fish and tie a tie. He's the first one that I told about Savannah. He's the one I went to when I got my butt kicked in a fight. But it was Duane Pride who taught me how to be a man. He was the one who stood by my side when hate had dug so hard into my heart that I was losing my ability to interact with humanity. He saw me through Katrina and the murder of Savannah. Challenged me, taught me, guided me and actually loved me. He has saved my life more times than I can count.

It was King who has helped me these past few months to wrap my head around what my father did by leaving me in charge of the family business when he passed. While the whole team surrounded me with love, good wishes support and guidance in their own way, King never pushed me away or rushed through a hard patch of my life with the business.

It took me awhile to understand one of King's comments about women. He told me if I didn't date them before the money, wait a year. Being at home in Alabama was the worse. Women I barely knew were suddenly begging me to remember them from some time in my past. Unexpected e-mail flooded my business account and everyone seemed to have a hard luck story.

Two of the only things that kept me sane was Boys Night Out and the persistence of my co-workers Sonja Percy and Tammy Gregorio. The ladies gave me an open invitation for dinner, football and cards at their condo. In the car they attentively listened to my endless complaints about my father, my brother and the business.

Tammy provided thoughtful comments. Percy's kindest self-returned. This is the Percy I knew during my grieving of Savannah. She rarely asked questions, but listened and reaffirmed to me what I was thinking of doing. From her I often saw a soft touch on the hand or my shoulder and her stupid comments made in an attempt to get me to laugh. She also forced me away from my desk even when I was buried in work from the office or the business. Sometimes she would gather Triple P up and the three of us would tackle an issue about the business together then bask in our successful team effort. Other days she would call and say let's go for a run, a walk or a trip to the gym. She got so good with the business lingo that we also started mirror speech in the business model of LaSalle Industries as well.

While life was busy, I found it difficult to go home each night to an empty house. For some time I had longed for a woman who I could share my life with. When Cade brought Savannah back into my life, I was surprised that I was hesitant to go back with her. I first loved that girl when I was 15 years old but I realized that I had changed. Savannah on the other hand was the same girl from back then. While we had a lot of fun and I could see us together for a long time, I found myself questioning why I still had a void in my spirit.

Being around Momma made it more pronounced. When I was back home, she was at my elbow every time I turned around. She cooked my favorite food, did my laundry when I brought it, made my bed every day, and took copious notes every time someone called. I turned back into her little boy which did not fare well when I returned to the real world with City Mouse and her sometimes evil roommate Tammy Gregorio.