It was supposed to be a fun guys’ week down on the Gulf. Me, Dad, his best friend of over 25 years Tom Jordan, and Tom’s son Trevor, who was just a couple years younger than me. Tom had Airbnb-ed a great house for us right on the water. We had jetskis and a really nice motorboat at our disposal to spend our days fishing, sunning ourselves, or just be out on the water drinking relaxing, and shooting the shit. It was going to be a week to remember for sure! What is it that they say about best laid plans, though?
When Dad and I got to the house, Tom greeted us by revealing that Trevor had ditched us to spend time with his fiancee. She was supposed to have been gone to Boston all week on a business trip. That got canceled and, well… You know women. She snapped her fingers and told him to stay home with her, so he did.
Then, about three hours after we’d arrived, Dad received an urgent text message from work. A big project that he was in charge of and thought was at a good stopping point for him to take a week off of work had gone off the rails and he needed to hop in the car and drive back home to take care of. It was going to be just me and Tom for at least a couple days, if not the whole week.
As he was walking out the door with his suitcase in hand, I was begging and pleading with Dad to let me go back home with him. But Dad was having none of it.
“You need this time away, Mikey. Some relaxing time by the water will do you good. Everything will be fine. Besides, I’m sure I’ll have everything figured out at work and be back before you know it. Tom’s a great guy. Don’t be so judgy and give him a chance.”
Dad was right. Tom is a great guy. But being around him always made me feel uncomfortable…and not for the reason you might think. Let’s just say that Tom and I weren’t just on opposite sides of the aisle politically speaking, we were on completely different ends of the spectrum. While I’m sure Tom knew where I stood and he was never rude or anything but kind to me, to say he was outspoken in letting his political beliefs be known was an understatement. I was almost certain if Dad made it back down here before the week was over, he’d walk in to find that Tom and I have probably either killed each other or - best case scenario - not be on speaking terms and keeping to separate ends of the house.
I stood in the doorway of the house and watched Dad ease the car down the driveway and lurch onto the street before driving off. Now that my way back home was essentially gone, I decided to try and make the best of being in this beautiful house in a gorgeous location. I went to the fridge, grabbed myself a bottle of beer and walked out to the back deck of the house to find Tom sitting in a chair with his feet propped up and a beer bottle in one hand. I guess great minds - even ones with differing viewpoints - think alike after all. When he heard me walk outside, he turned and smiled at me.
“Your dad heading back home?”
“Yep,” I said as I plopped myself down in a chair next to him, worried about what we’d possibly find to talk about that wouldn’t result in an argument.
Tom reached over and gripped my shoulder. “I’m sorry he and Trev couldn’t be here, but to tell you the truth, I’m glad it’s just us…uh, at least for a couple days.”
“Oh yeah?” I turned to look at him with what I imagine was a facial expression that was a mix of ‘you’ve got to be fuckin’ kidding me’ and ‘well, that makes one of us.’ “Why is that?”
“I’ve practically watched you grow up, Mike. But, I can’t remember the last time it was just you and me hanging out. Trev or your folks or my ex were always around.”
He and Brooke had divorced eight years ago and, to my knowledge, he hadn’t uttered her name once since the ink dried on the divorce papers. Actually, referring to her as ‘my ex’ or ‘the ex’ was the nicest I’d ever heard him speak of her in recent years.
“It’ll be nice having just the two of us here,” he continued. “It’ll give us a chance to reconnect.”
When I was certain he was looking out over the water, I rolled my eyes. I was in sheer hell. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had no idea just how wrong my outlook on the week ahead was.
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