"Going somewhere?" She asked attempting to sound normal again. Jayden noticed that her eyes seemed red an a little puffy. H wondered if she had been crying for him. Suddenly he was wishing that the two of them were alone. He wanted to give her a hug. No one had ever cried for him or quite understood how he was feeling about his father and himself as a man. He knew that he always maintained that he hated the man, but that was only half the truth. It was more like a love-hate relationship. The love-hate feelings that he had for his father manifested itself as love-hate for himself; after all wasn't he his father's son and molded into his own image. That's what kept him always in a state of confusion about his worthiness as a man, his relationship with women and his potential as a father. How much of his father had he actually inherited?
"The nursing home staff just gave the okay for an eight hour pass for Mr. Ellis to go out today."
"Really, how sweet…" She said with a radiant smile as she walked up looping her arm with Mr. Ellis and the other one with Jayden as she stood between them and they happily started walking out of the nursing home and to Jayden's car.
* * * * * * * *
"It's your day today so where would you like to go?" Jayden asked his father who sat across from him. Mia sat in the backseat watching and listening to the father and son exchange.
"Oh I don't know… It would be nice if the White Sox were playing today. You used to love baseball. Remember baseball camp?" Mr. Ellis reminded his son and Jayden smiled.
"Sure… you were my best trainer… making me get up early practicing before the practice." He said thinking how it would have been if he had had a father to share those times with. He imagined that his father would have wanted to be proud of his son, thus he would be pushing and driving him to achieve more.
"Ha-ha-ha… you do remember that huh? Those were the days… You hated that… Always would go to mom complaining…" Mr. Ellis fondly remembered.
"And Dinah do you remember how you would hate having to go to practice with us and waiting?" He turned around asking his daughter.
"Oh… Of yup… I'm sure you promised me a reward right?" She hedged remembering the times with her father how he would bribe her with a reward getting her to do some of the things she hated.