Chapter V: Dad

             Out of everyone’s hands I didn’t see in the air when I asked my question earlier, I was most surprised to not see dad’s.  My mild-mannered, quiet dad.  I was always told I was just like him so I expected out of everyone in this room, his hand would have been raised in solidarity with mine. I was wrong.

            Dad looked around at all of us and seemed a little nervous at the attention.  He cleared his throat and nodded at mom.  “First of all, I was the one that gave your grandma the elephant to begin with.”

            It wasn’t that surprising but somehow, we all gasped like it was some revealing piece of information.

            “I was eight years old and needed a Christmas gift for mom,” he explained.  “Since I was only eight, I couldn’t afford much but I was insistent that the gift be from me.  I certainly didn’t want dad’s help in getting anything.  That was always his answer, to throw money at the problem.”

            I nodded.  I could use that kind of band-aid in my life right now.

            “Even though I was young and parents didn’t talk to their children about such things in those days, I knew my parents didn’t have a happy marriage.  My dad worked all the time and was hardly around so it was just mom and me.”  He cleared his throat again almost annoyed at having to share so much personal detail.

            None of us interrupted him so he continued.  “One night, mom and I watched a documentary on elephants.  She said they were her favorite animal because they were loyal to their families.  So, when I saw the Elegant Elephant, I knew that was the perfect gift for mom.  Trouble was, I didn’t have enough money to get the elephant.  And since I was only 8, my only source of income was a monthly allowance.  I would not have enough money by Christmas.   Dad and I worked out a deal.  He would lend me the money, with 1% interest because he always wanted me to be wise about my money spending habits, and I would work it off by doing extra chores.”  He smiled a little.  “That stupid elephant cost me 3 months allowance, plus extra chores.”

            So, dad was responsible for bringing the Elegant Elephant into our lives.

            “That’s why your grandma was so upset when it was broken.  She was aware of what your dad paid for it,” mom explained like someone who had it explained to her previously.

            Oh, that was sweet.

            “But she also knew how hideous it actually was and I think she was a little disappointed that we not only salvaged it that night but also deepened our relationship,” he chuckled at mom and she nodded her head in agreement.

            “And then when Sam broke it she worked hard to fix it.  Mainly because of you,” he looked at me.

            “Me?” I asked.  “Why me?”

            He smiled.  “Whenever we dropped you off at grandma’s you were…” he cleared his throat, “not happy.”

            Mom snorted. 

            I looked at her and then back at him.  “What do you mean?”

            “You would cry and sob.  You’d be so worked up that grandma couldn’t even touch you.”

            Surely he had me mistaken for one of his other children.

            “But then you would look at that elephant for a bit and it would calm you down.”

            “See?” Sam whispered to Curtis. “That demon elephant stole his soul.”

            “More like grandma sold his soul to the elephant for some peace and quiet,” Curtis responded.  Sam nodded her head.

            “Wait,” I said defensively.  “That’s not right.  Grandma always said I was her favorite because I was the good child.”

            “Ha!” Sam said.

            Dad rubbed his forehead with his hand.  “Who in this room is grandma’s favorite?”

            Every person raised a hand and said “Me.”  Except for mom.  She didn’t raise a hand and she muttered, “Gil.”

            “But she always told me I was her favorite,” I said feeling a little dejected.

            “Bro,” Curtis said, “she said that to all of us.”

            “She never said such a thing to me,” mom again mumbled.

            It made sense and deep down I probably always knew the truth.  It still hurt to not only find out that I wasn’t actually grandma’s favorite but that I also used to be a whiny-snot of a kid.  Maybe Sam was right, maybe that demon elephant did steal my soul.

            “But mom was the one that broke it that night, right?” Sam asked interrupting my self-reflection.  “You’re not counting that as your break, too?”

            Dad rubbed his chin.  “No, my break came later.  Much later.  Shortly after mom’s funeral, in fact.”

            I looked around the room to see if everyone was reacting appropriately.  Now was the time for another collective gasp but I was the only one that seemed to think so.

            “You see,” he said and walked over to the shelf and stood by me.  “Your grandma left me a note.  She said that she was actually the first one to break it shortly after your grandpa died.”

            Now everyone gasped again.

            “What?” Sam and mom asked in unison.  Sam seemed pleased but mom looked annoyed.

            “She always told me I was the first to break it,” mom said.

            “Join the club,” Sam replied.

            Dad continued. “But because I had given it to her, she fixed it.  She fixed it alright.  She glued it back together but she tucked something inside it.”

            “What did grandma do?” Curtis asked.

            “She hid some cash grandpa had left her and an AT&T bond inside it.”

            We didn’t gasp this time but all our jaws dropped open.

            “So, she left me a note that I read after her funeral.  It told me about what was hidden inside,” he looked at me.  “So, I broke it.  Sorry, son.”  He put his hand on my shoulder.   “But I decided to retire.”

            “There was enough for you to retire?” I asked.  I am ashamed to admit I felt a little jealous.

            He laughed.  “Oh, heavens no!  I am retiring because I have been working since I was a teenager.  And I now have a pretty good 401K to live off of because my dad did instill in me how to invest wisely. But I want to enjoy retirement and not end up like my dad that never quit working.”

            “How much did she leave you?” Sam asked.

            “Enough for us to take a trip to Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

            “Australia for me because of, you know, Crocodile Dundee,” mom smiled.

            “New Zealand for me because of The Lord of the Rings,” dad said.

            The room was silent again.  This was a lot to take in.  The purpose of me coming to dinner tonight was to retrieve the Elegant Elephant but the elephant was no more.  Instead though, I felt like I gained something more.  I gained my family back. At the start of the evening, that elephant was my only family connection. But now, in what I can only imagine it being in a thousand shattered pieces, it had actually connected me to my family.

            I started to laugh.  A deep, long belly laugh that was as cleansing as tears.

            Everyone just stared at me and then one by one, joined in.

            The Elegant Elephant was responsible for starting my family and in its demise it brought us together again.

            When we finally stopped laughing we looked around at grandma’s living room.  It was time to say goodbye.  But not tonight.  Boxing up all her trinkets and items would be tomorrow’s project. 

            “I don’t know about you,” dad said.  “But I’m hungry.  Why don’t we go in and finish fixing dinner so that we can eat?”

            We nodded and went to the kitchen to prepare our family Thanksgiving dinner.

Chapter IV: Mom

Start again with Chapter I