What Happened To Father?

Chris Flynn

2,135 words

What Happened To Father

by Chris Flynn

It seems like it’s been forever in the desert. My mind and my heart are in two totally

different places. My emotions are rolling on the plane home. My sweet little sister is picking me

up. I can’t wait to see her. It’s been too long. My mind, is still on the front lines going over

possible missions that still need to be done. My family is waiting for me at home, but the boys

will be left behind. What can anyone do?

The flight home was easy. Everyone was nice and thankful for my service. It means so

much to hear that. The missions, the deployment, and the sacrifices were all made to keep

Americans safe. It was all worth it. Breathe deep and breathe easy. This is the flight home.

Walking through the airport, you know she’s here. You know she can’t wait to see you.

How much has she grown? She’s what, in her twenties now? She’s driving her car to pick me up?

I’ve been gone for too long. Calm down heart, she’s just as excited. Let’s see, my bag should be

at baggage carousel 5? Yeah, she might meet me there. Maybe?

My body is too flushed with adrenaline to be tired right now. Damn, it feels good to me

home. God Bless America!/ AbbiesShort / 2

My bag comes around after a little wait. Pick it up and let’s go. Turn around and there is a

tug at my arm. Turn around again in this childish game. It’s my sister! “Daphne!” We embrace

like we’ve never seen search other before.

“How much have you grown? Look at you kid!” She is all smiles. “I missed you too

brother.” This feels damn good.

The walk to the car is what I have been waiting for so many years. The catch up about

what has been going on. The love that never left these two siblings. “Hey, let’s stop the pub for

lunch. My treat.” How could anyone refuse. “Sure thing sis.”

The drive wasn’t too long. My emotions were calming down, and my stomach was

waking up. The old town hadn’t changed too much. It still feels like small town home. My eyes

were starting to try to close, as my body was getting ready to go into relax mode. A couple pints

would ease my mind.

We had a lot to talk about. As you would have guessed, some of it wasn’t happy news.

“We have something we need to talk about. I hate to be the one to bring this up, but Daddy

passed away. He was gunned down by the mob up in New York.” She was troubled by the news

and wasn’t sure how to tell me. “I know. I read the letters. How did he get involved with the

mob? Wasn’t he a business man?” She looked lost and confused. “I don’t know too much, but

they have been working with him for some time. The whole thing in New York was mob

business. You think you know a person. He left us down here in Florida to go be a mobster?

What?” This was not the web that should have been waiting for me. “Are you sure about all of

that. I read the letters like I said, but there has to be more to the story. He wouldn’t have just

ditched his family to be a mobster!” Deep Breathes./ AbbiesShort / 3

The server comes by with my pint of Guinness. “Thank You.” She smiles at me in a

proud American way. “Dapnhe are you ready to order?” She flips through he menu again trying

to distract herself. “ Ughh, yeah. Umm… Can I have the wedge salad. Thank you.” Without even

looking at the menu my mind was already made up. “Yeah. Can I have the nachos please. I

missed them.” She is so eager to serve me it’s cute. “Sure thing.”

There is an awkward silence now that the cat is out of the bag. How do you react to that?

A gulp of Guinness eases my mind. There is no proper segue. “So, how’s Mom?” She isn’t too

eager to tell me the bad news. “She’s overcome with grief. All that she does is cry. She cries

because she lost him, and she cries because he was a mobster.” She starts to play with the

coasters. This is not a healthy conversation, but maybe one that needs to happen.

“So, that’s family news, for what it is.” She’s trying to change to subject. “Alright. Well,

thanks. How about you kiddo. Do you have a boyfriend?” She laughs to herself. “No. I’m just

focusing on my career. I’m in marketing. I got a job in Downtown Tampa. It’s a good paying job,

but is it a forever job? Dunno. Maybe I’l marry rich and raise kids at home.” She jokes, but there

is some truth to that. She’s never been the one to get too excited for work.

#

She drives me home. It’s good to see the old house again. She has to get back to Tampa,

so she hugs me one last time. “I am so glad to be home. I missed you so much kiddo.” She is all

smiles and sunshine. “Love you too. I’ll be around. I’ll call you tonight. Give Mom a call, The

number for her home is on the fridge.”

She drives away a grown woman now. After all that time, this is where my heart is. This

is where my heart belongs. Rest now. Home now. You can play some quiet jazz, and sit in your/ AbbiesShort / 4

chair. Mikey comes to see you. “Hey boy! Hey Mikey!” He is beside himself with joy. The best

welcome home ever. “I missed you too pal. Haha. Good boy!” The dog is going to sit on my lap.

“Uggh, okay. You’re kinda too big for that pal.” He settles down. “Okay. Okay. Okay. Hey

Mickey! You’re a big doggie. You’re not a puppy anymore.” The families beloved fully grown

golden retriever is laying down on me on the chair. “Okay, buddy.”

My cell rings. “Robert!” It’s my brother. “Andy! Hey man.” His voice is so enthusiastic,

he’s yelling down the phone. “Hey man! Did Daphne pick you up?” Can’t to see this guy. “Yeah,

she did. We went to lunch. I’m at the house now. Just hanging out with Mikey.” This was a good

day. “Ah great. I’ll see you when I get off of work. It should be about six or so. Love you man,

and welcome home.”

He hangs up and the house is quiet, with a little jazz record playing in the other room.

“Good boy Mikey! What’s up buddy?” He likes me; he’s so glad to see me.

#

It was relaxing being at home in a quiet house. Mikey got down eventually and went

looking for food in his bowl. The TV was full of war and crime. Booo. Daphne calls to tell me

about a visitor. “I had a lady come and talk to me. She said she was with some kind of

Intelligence unit or something. Anyway, she wanted to talk to you. So, I gave her the address.

She said she has information about Daddy, and all of that. I dunno. Maybe you can make sense

of what she says. She was polite and nice. Anyway, she should be coming by soon. He name was

Leann, I think or Lee.” This was new information. “Oh. Okay. I’l talk to her when she gets here.

I will know if she is legit or not. You know, with my special forces background I deal with that/ AbbiesShort / 5

kind of stuff all the time. So, yeah, I’ll talk to her. Thank you Daphne.” That seemed odd, but

give her the benefit of the doubt.

#

The lady showed up a little while later. She came to the front door. “Hey, can I help you

ma’am?” She was short and dressed in a black skirt suit. She looked like a government goon.

“I’m here to help you. My name is Leann Dwyer. I’m with a independent Intelligence Agency,

The Society of Secrets. Perhaps you’ve actually heard of us.” The special forces followed me

home. Shit. “Yes actually. You’re intel save a lot of lives. Do you have the tattoo?” She pulled up

her right sleeve. She was wearing a glove on that hand, but below that was the old familiar

indicator. The long rose tattoo of The Society. “Yeah, okay. So what’s this about?” She gives off

the feeling of confidence and professionalism. “Your Father. We have very important information

you might want to know. Can I come in?” Oh yeah, please at this point. “Yeah, sorry. Please do.

Can I get you anything? A cup of coffee, or a gatorade?” She had a kind smile to her. “A cup of

coffee please. Thank you.” She sits down as I make her coffee. My hands are a little nervous.

What information do they have? They saved our asses in the desert, but this home. “Here you go

miss.” She was playing with Mikey. “My husband and I have a dog at home. He’s a german

shepherd that only speaks German. Haha.” She is kind and pleasant.

“Alright. Thank you for the coffee. Let’s begin.” She has big folder with a bunch of

papers and photos in it.

“I know that your Dad recently passed, and we want to send our most sincere

condolences. The reason that I am here, is to shed light on the great mystery that your father was/ AbbiesShort / 6

involved in.” She checks my facial expression before she moved on, gauging how I was going to

react. “First and foremost, we need to tell you, that your father was not a mobster. He was a spy.

I know this, because he worked for us. He was an infiltrator. He infiltrated the Germano crime

family in New York.” She hands me photos that have never been seen before. “What is all of

this? He was a spy?” She doesn’t back down. “The information that he gave us lead to the

conviction of the Don. The State of New York convicted Georgio Germano, and sentenced him

to life. Once we got the Don, the whole family fell apart.” She paused, and waited for me to

think things over. “We know how hard this was on your family. We apologize for your hardship,

but this needed to happen. Your father was a good man. He made sacrifices to bring down a

major crime family gripping New York.” What the hell? “Ummm… This is all so much. Umm…

I had only read the letters my family mailed to me, so I didn’t know the whole story. I couldn’t

believe that my Dad was a mobster. This explains everything.” There was a silence. We both let

it be. The answers came at last. My father was a great man after all. The rush of relief was

overwhelming. She sipped her coffee while my eyes ran though everything.

“This is a lot. Uuhhh… Thank you. Thank you for letting us know. What do you want me

to tell the rest of the family?” She put down her mug. “I have already talked to your sister. She

was really nice. As for the rest of your family. You can tell him he was working undercover, just

not for us. Don’t mention us. He was working with NYPD detectives. He would report to us, and

he would report to them. We work with NYPD and The FBI, and the CIA, and so on. We owe

him a debt of gratitude.

It’s not an easy life as spy. Hopefully, you can get some closure with this. Celebrate your

Father, he was a good guy after all. The Society sent me into help you guys get the closure you/ AbbiesShort / 7

deserve. We are very sorry, that he had to be away from you guys so much. We apologize for the

strain that caused.” She waited for me to answer. My heart was feeling lighter. The broken pieces

were falling into place. “Can’t really thank you enough Leann. My heart is at peace now. Thank

you for that.” The photos and the paperwork were handed back to her. She collected everything

and stood up top leave. “It’s been a long time in the service. Enjoy your retirement.” There was a

kindness to her that you have to appreciate. “I will. It feels good to be home. I have a job lined

up starts in like two weeks. So, I can rest and take it easy for a while.”

She drove away after saying heartfelt goodbyes. She was warm, and kind, and caring. She

felt like a new friend. She came in a brought healing to my family. For that, we will be forever