“Please, may I have some paper and a pencil, Laurie?” the old man, Constantine Leroy, asked his nurse as she walked into his hospital room.
“Of course, Mr. Leroy,” Laurie replied and hurried out of the room.
Might do me some good to write to me boy, Con thought solemnly. Laurie hurried back with a pad of paper and handed him the pencil. She asked what he was doing and he replied that he was writing to his son whom he hasn’t spoken to in over twenty years. Con noticed that her face had a shadow over it and wondered if she has experienced the same thing, but didn’t ask.
Laurie gave him his medicine and left him alone to write the letter he should have written twenty years ago.
Dear Gabriel,
I know you may hate me right now, and I wouldn’t blame you if you threw this letter away before even opening it. But I pray to God that you are reading this so I can explain why I left you. It wasn’t an easy choice, but I had to do what I knew in my heart what was right, son.
My parents never knew about me and your mom bein’ together. They would never have let us be together. After you was born, I got to worrying that my folks would find out and take you away coz of what your momma used to do. Even when we was married she would still go out at night and come home all drunk and sometimes bring another man home. You would be there crying in your crib and she would yell at you and tell you to keep it down coz she had a headache or something. After a while, I couldn’t deal with it, so I took you and left, but I couldn’t keep you coz of my parents finding out.
So I put you in a foster home. The best one I could find. You didn’t deserve to live with someone like your mother, boy. She would have ruined you…This is all that I can say about this matter for now. I really hope you understand why I did what I did. It was only for the better, Gabe. You must know that by now, right?
Anyways… I love you, son.
Your true father,
Constantine Leroy
“Of course, Mr. Leroy,” Laurie replied and hurried out of the room.
Might do me some good to write to me boy, Con thought solemnly. Laurie hurried back with a pad of paper and handed him the pencil. She asked what he was doing and he replied that he was writing to his son whom he hasn’t spoken to in over twenty years. Con noticed that her face had a shadow over it and wondered if she has experienced the same thing, but didn’t ask.
Laurie gave him his medicine and left him alone to write the letter he should have written twenty years ago.
Dear Gabriel,
I know you may hate me right now, and I wouldn’t blame you if you threw this letter away before even opening it. But I pray to God that you are reading this so I can explain why I left you. It wasn’t an easy choice, but I had to do what I knew in my heart what was right, son.
My parents never knew about me and your mom bein’ together. They would never have let us be together. After you was born, I got to worrying that my folks would find out and take you away coz of what your momma used to do. Even when we was married she would still go out at night and come home all drunk and sometimes bring another man home. You would be there crying in your crib and she would yell at you and tell you to keep it down coz she had a headache or something. After a while, I couldn’t deal with it, so I took you and left, but I couldn’t keep you coz of my parents finding out.
So I put you in a foster home. The best one I could find. You didn’t deserve to live with someone like your mother, boy. She would have ruined you…This is all that I can say about this matter for now. I really hope you understand why I did what I did. It was only for the better, Gabe. You must know that by now, right?
Anyways… I love you, son.
Your true father,
Constantine Leroy
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