Get in This Car!
On this Father's Day, I'd like to tell a quick story about my father.
I always thought the main reason my parents had such a good marriage was due to the fact that they didn't believe in the silent treatment. Oh, they believed in giving an argument a rest, for sure. But no one ever stomped out of the room, or put a topic of conversation on a Do Not Discuss list. (Nor did my father buy into that strong, silent type nonsense.)
They stayed together and hashed it out, brother!
However, one day these two great actors let a minor disagreement escalate into a fight so huge and complicated, they couldn't find their way out of it. The "scene" they had created needed a grand finale.
Dad had a brainstorm, and stomped out of the house. "I've had it! We're through! It's over! Keep the house! Keep the car! Good bye forever!"
My mother recognized a cue when she saw one, and gathered us four kids.
"Look sad," she said.
"What?!"
"Look sad!" she said, and piled us into the car.
We found Dad stomping down the long bridge to downtown.
With dozens of cars behind her, Mom slowed down to a crawl and drove beside my father. She shouted out the window at him.
"Walter! Walter! Look at these kids! Look! Get in this car! I'm not going to raise these kids alone! Get your [ ] in this car! These kids are devastated!"
There we sat, with tears in our eyes, and our lower lips jutted out. "Daddy! Daddy!"
Dad hopped in the car, Mom sped up, and we drove to an A&W for root beer in those tiny frosted mugs.