Howard had lived alone all his life, with regularity and calm times defining his environment. Although he had no family of his own, he had found unexpected happiness in the local kids. Eager to tell him stories or play checkers with him on the porch, they came over after school. Their laughing gave him a feeling of purpose and filled the voids in his days.
However, a knock at the door broke the silence that afternoon as he sat in his shabby armchair, half-watching a rerun of an old sitcom.
He braced himself, anticipating Sarah’s endless arithmetic queries or young Tommy’s next school assignment. However, his heart almost stopped when he opened the door.
A woman with a small red box in her hands stood in front of him, her silver-streaked hair gleaming in the afternoon sun.
He didn’t recognize her at first. The years suddenly fell apart as their gazes locked.
“Kira?” His voice was hoarse from shock, and he hardly managed to speak her name.
Her smile was gentle, unsure, but definitely hers. “Hi, Howard. After looking for you for two years, I finally discovered you.
His ears throbbed with his heartbeat. “You’ve returned?” His mind was racing, caught between the past and the present, but it was a stupid question.
She extended the red box, its corners ragged with age. She said, “I was meant to give this to you all those years ago.” However, my mom never mailed it. As a result, our lives were irrevocably altered. Please, open it right now.
He took the box with shaking hands. It felt heavier than it ought to have.
He was struck by flashbacks to a time when love was everything.
Forty-eight years in the past…
Cheap prom decorations had glittered around the gymnasium, and Kira’s blue dress was illuminated by broken light from the disco ball as they swung together on the dance floor. Her dark waves cascaded down her back as her head leaned against his shoulder.
Howard had envisioned their future numerous times: a life together, marriage, and college. He had been waiting for the proper time to pop the question, and he had been prepared to do it that evening in the warm glow of the dance floor.
However, Kira had dragged him outdoors and guided him to the ancient oak tree where they had first kissed years before.
Unable to look him in the eyes, she had muttered, “I have to tell you something.”
He felt his gut turn. “What is it?”
She had tightened her hold on his hands. “We’re on the go. To Germany. My father is being transferred by his employer. Tomorrow, we depart.
Tomorrow.
He was broken by the word.
He had argued, “We can make this work.” “We’ll call, write—”
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Kira had shook her head. “Howard, long distance never works. In college, you’ll meet someone. I do not wish to hinder you.
“Never,” he’d vowed. “Kira, you are my true love. No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you.
Then she had buried her face in his chest and cried. She had promised to write to you.
However, she never did.
So far.
Today…
As Howard opened the crimson box, his breath caught in his throat.
A folded letter, yellowed with age, was within. A pregnancy test underneath it.
Good.
His knees almost gave way. “Kira…” His voice broke.
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she nodded. After we relocated, I learned. Howard, I wrote to you. I pleaded with my mother to mail it, and I handed her the box. I assumed you didn’t want us when I didn’t hear back.
Howard gritted his teeth, anguish and anger battling inside him. “Kira, I never understood. A letter was what I awaited. Every day I checked my mail.
“I understand,” she said in a tremulous tone. The box was concealed in my mother’s attic, and I only discovered it recently. I believed you had abandoned us all along.
It felt like the air was too heavy to breathe. “You reared our child by yourself?”
She gave a nod. “With my parents’ assistance. Howard is a son. We have a son.
The globe whirled. “Where is he?”
Kira turned to look at the road. “He’s present. within the vehicle. Are you interested in meeting him?
Howard’s legs were weak, but he was desperate to get past her.
There was a blue automobile parked along the curb. The door opened as he gazed, and a man in his fifties emerged.
Howard gasped. He had his eyes.
In a single glance, they absorbed a lifetime of absence as they stood motionless. His son then moved forward gradually until he was standing at the bottom of the porch steps.
“Hello, Dad.”
Something inside Howard was shattered by the word. Before he could think, his arms opened and he stumbled forward, and then they were embracing.
He could feel his son’s solid, real arms encircling him.
The man whispered, “My name is Michael,” as they separated, both of them dabbing at their eyes. “I teach. English in high school.
Howard tasted the name as if it were holy and repeated it. “You’re a teacher, Michael?”
Kira whispered, “We now reside in Portland.” Michael recently gave birth to their first child with his wife. Howard, you are a grandfather.
Dad.
Too many emotions to list filled his chest.
“I apologize,” Kira muttered. “I apologize for taking so long to locate you.”
In his throat, Howard swallowed the lump. “You weren’t at fault. I ought to have done more research. I ought to have realized something wasn’t right.
Kira gave a headshake. “The past cannot be altered. However, there is still hope for the future. Are you planning to visit Portland? Learn more about your family.
Howard turned to gaze at the home where he had spent decades, the peaceful evenings, the routines he had established to occupy the void.
He then turned to face his son. His grandson.
“Yes,” he responded in a passionate voice. “I really want that.”
When Kira moved nearer, he felt her arms encircling him for the first time in almost fifty years. Then Michael joined them, and Howard stood between his recently discovered son and the woman he had always loved.
He had believed that life had moved on from him for a long time. Time has erased that affection.
Love, however, had returned.
And he wasn’t going to let it go this time.