she’s resigned.”
Kendra shook her head. “I’m so sorry to hear that. It’s never good when the patient stops fighting. Did she decide to do the chemo at least?”
“Yes, but I gather this next round is the last, if she makes it. She seems to think there’s no use. She just wants to enjoy whatever time she has left rather than turn it into some heroic struggle.”
“I’m sorry, Dan. I know she means a lot to you. Just be there for her.”
“I will. For now, she’s getting the best help she can. That’s what counts.”
His cell rang as he pulled up in front of his house. It was Donny. He’d held out longer than Dan expected. Friends for more than a decade, Donny had been a constant in Dan’s life, the still point around which his compass revolved. When Dan had passed off a street youth for temporary shelter to Donny several years earlier, the pair had become a family unit: black father and white son. In Dan’s opinion, Donny had never seemed so suited to anything as he had to fatherhood, however convulsively it had begun. It had also seemed to put them on par again, both of them friends as well as fathers.
“You didn’t like him.”
“Is that a question?”
“No, I could tell. You weren’t warm to him.”
“Do lawyers do ‘warm’? I thought they were all cold-blooded.”
“Primarily, yes, but this one is a little different.”
“Because you dated him once?”
“I’m telling you, Charles is a nice guy.”
Dan wasn’t about to let him off the hook easily. “Fine, but I dislike the breed on principle.”
Donny spluttered. “He’s a lawyer, yes, but a lawyer who has never done anything to you!”
“Yeah, but he would for money.”
A long pause ensued. Dan glanced up and down the tree-lined street in Leslieville that he called home. Calm, peaceful. If it hadn’t been for that, he might not have been able to endure the city for as long as he had. It was here he’d given his son the sort of childhood that he, Dan, had never had.
“So will you take the case?” Donny asked.
“Tell him I’m still thinking about it.”
“You’re too much. Really, you are!”
“Many would concur. How’s Lester? I didn’t get a chance to ask you at lunch with all the overriding concern from your lawyer.”
Donny huffed. “Lester is fine. He just got an internship with a poverty outreach program.”
“Great news. Tell him I’m thrilled for him.”
“I will. With all his experience on the streets, he should be good at it. I’m very proud of him. Plus he’s got that band on the side. He’s passionate about his horn. Maybe not quite Miles Davis, but you never know. Still no talk of moving away from home, but now that the bird has wings it won’t be long before he flies off.”
Dan recalled Kendra’s comment about Ked’s unwillingness to abandon him.
“Funny, Ked’s the opposite. He’s afraid to leave me on my own.”
“He knows you too well.”
“Yeah, there’s that.” Dan looked up at the house. “I just got home. Call you later.”
“Think about the case!”
Ked stood watching him from the shadows. These days he seemed to hover a lot, Dan thought. Wasn’t that what kids were always accusing their parents of doing? Ralph, a geriatric ginger retriever, lay on a pillow in one corner. His eyes flickered occasionally from one to the other of them if he heard a word that sounded like it promised food or a walk.
“How’s school?” Dan asked.
“Cool. There’s a science fair coming up. I’m thinking of entering an idea I had for making a sling psychrometer.”
Dan’s expression was blank.
“It’s a device for measuring relative humidity.”
“Great!”
“It’s not as dull as it sounds, Dad.”
Dan smiled. “I don’t think it sounds dull, just a little outside my field of expertise. Is this the sort of thing you’ll be studying in university?”
Ked warmed to the question. “Pretty much. It’s in the same field of earth, ocean, and atmosphere studies.”
Dan nodded. “You’ll be meeting a lot of new people soon and your life’s going to change in many ways. Have you thought about where you want to go to study?”
Ked looked out the window. “I want to stay here. There are programs at York and U of T. I’ll probably get in one or the other of them.”
“Is that where you want to go?”
Ked turned back to his father. “Sure. Why not?”
“Those are both good universities. But are they the best for you? If it’s a matter of cost, your mother and I are willing to help you make up whatever you don’t have the funds for.”
Ked looked indifferent. “I just thought it was better for you if I stayed in Toronto.”
“For me? Don’t do that.”
His son’s eyes expressed surprise. Not the pleasant kind.
“But —”
Dan cut him off. “Don’t live your life to please me, Ked. Or your mother or anyone else. Live your life in the way you see best fit for your needs. It’s your future we’re talking about.”
“But I thought you would want me here.” He sounded disappointed.
“Don’t misunderstand me. If it suits your purpose, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you’re going to school. Or longer, if you like. But don’t do it for me. That isn’t a sacrifice any son or daughter should ever have to make.”
“But I don’t want you to be alone.”
“That’s up to me. Besides, I’ve got Ralph. We’ve made peace in our old age.”
Dan smiled to himself. Parenting? What parenting? If asked about his fathering style, he would profess that he didn’t have one. When it comes to kids, Dan advised others, just love them as much as you can, teach them good manners and respect for others, then get out of the way and let them be. If it works, you can be thankful. If it doesn’t, it’s probably not your fault.
“Even Ralph won’t be here forever,” he added. “Everybody leaves home at some point.”
“I
