Weathering The Storm

After they both passed away, he sat there alone in his house with a bottle in hand. The ladies from the center in town delivered meals a couple of times during the week and from what he noticed a young woman made the stop at his home those trips. Today was just another day but, this time when she knocked, he answered the door. She stood there, she couldn’t be but 25 years of age medium built shoulder length hair and said; “Mr. Green some food for you, you don’t have to eat it but please take it, in case you get hungry”.

He looked at her standing there and said, “you don’t give up do you”, she said; “what do you mean”, he said; “you keep knocking and leaving the food at my doorstep, never knowing if I come out to get it or throw it away”. Looking at him, he was about 6’1 salt and pepper hair, more pepper though than salt and seemed to have an angry look on his face, she was warned that he always had it and said” I just figured everyone gets hungry and maybe one of these days you will too”, as she glanced at the bottles by his chair. Sam said; “maybe one day you’d like to talk about it”, he raised his eyebrow to her then slammed the door in her face.

Before going back to her car, she looked at the door and whispered softly, I’m sorry and drove back to the center. Sam told one of the other ladies that helped prepare the meals what happened and she said; “maybe you are getting through to him, laughingly she said; “baby steps”, when she was done volunteering for the day, she went to the library to do some research on Mr. Green.

Sam didn’t know anything about him, maybe Mr. Green wasn’t even his name at all. She started looking for tragic accidents that had happened in town, beginning with ten years and to the more present time. Nothing appeared around the ten-year span, then she went to five and there it was the tragedy that took his wife Amanda, 35, and daughter Brianna, 6 the drunk driver’s name was listed as Michael she didn’t have to look at the last name, she just sat there in shock and said it can’t be.

When Sam was around ten years of age her mother and father got divorced, two years later her dad met a woman named Lisa and she had two kids one girl and a boy named Michael, the same Michael that killed Paul Green’s family. She wrote down a little bit of information and headed to her dad’s house, arriving he was happy to see her, but he also saw that look on her face, the look she had when she found out something and was coming to him for confirmation.

Looking at him, she said: “you need to be truthful with me daddy, did Michael kill someone”? He said; “honey that was a long time ago”, she said; “five years is not that long, did he or did he not do it”? Pete grabbed a cigarette, took a deep breath before lighting it and said; “you know the answer, so why are you here”? All she had to do was look at him and he said; “yes”, she said; “my GOD why”? He said; “Michael was 18, going on 25 and wanted to go somewhere but he got grounded, he grabbed some liquor out of my cabinet, grabbed his keys and left”.

She said; “why didn’t anyone say anything about it”, Pete said; “I told his mother I didn’t want you to know anything because his bad behavior would rub off on you”. Sam looked at him and said; “that’s when Michael left”, Pete said; “he was charged with murder and that’s when Lisa had her mental breakdown”, Sam said; “I remember that”. Pete said; “I will always blame myself for that tragic accident because I was the one that grounded him”. He said; “I try to keep it out of my thoughts but it’s not easy”.

Sitting there she said; “you are not the only one suffering, what about Paul Green, he’s grieving over a family he can’t get back, at least Lisa can see her son, Mr. Green can’t. He is alive and living in a hell he hopes nobody will ever go through”, Looking over at him, she said; "this whole situation is not good for anyone, you or him sooner or later, will have to let this go if you don't this will eat you up inside, I am sorry I stopped by and drug all this back up”, she gave him a kiss on the cheek and left.

Back at his house Paul could smell the food, and was actually hungry for a change, he walked over and noticed it was not T.V. dinners that it was home cooked and made a plate to eat. A few days later Sam walked up to the door knocked one time and he opened it, she said; “here is some food, I hope you enjoy and turned to leave”, he said; “ma’am I need to apologize for the other day”, she said; “don’t mention it”. Paul said; “I am truly sorry, maybe I will take you up on your offer to talk sometime”, she said; “that will be great”.

The same time that next week when she stopped by it was her last one for the day and he invited her in for a few minutes, he said: “things have been pretty bad since my wife and child passed away”. She said: “I am so sorry to hear that”, she listened as he talked, a few years’ worth of bottled-up anger and sadness. He even talked about the boy that killed them and was happy that justice was served but it still didn’t bring them back. Until they talked a little more about the situation there was no way she was going to confess to him that it was her stepbrother that took his loved ones away from him.