Senior and Junior

The next morning, you helped Carrie make breakfast for the family while your dad played football with everyone else.

"How did you sleep last night, dear?" Carrie asked, her lip quirked with the slightest smile.

"I slept okay mother. Is this enough flour?" Carrie walked over, looking into the bowl.

"Another quarter cup, dear. How did you like the proposal?" she said, her ring glittering on her finger.

"It was very nice, mother. I'm so happy for you both."

"Good, make sure you stir in that flour all the way. I don't want your father getting any flour aftertaste in his pancakes. And after breakfast, please come up to our room. Your father and I need to have a little chat with you." You almost dropped the big wooden spoon.

"Yes mother."

After breakfast, you helped Carrie with the dishes, and then she led you upstairs. Your father was waiting for you. You hadn't had a real conversation with him in over a decade. He cleared his throat.

"Your father has something to say to you, dear," Carrie said gently.

"Thank you Barbie. I know we haven't talked much ... well, talked at all, since I sent you off to that camp. I blamed you for what happened with your mother. I blamed you for my losses. I didn't take any blame myself, I just wallowed in it. I couldn't handle you liked to dress like a girl, I couldn't handle you were gay. But Barbie has helped me. She's helped me so much. And I can accept it now, and I can accept who you are and what you want. I wish so much I had that strength back then. I'm sorry, Junior. I'm so sorry for what I did to you."

You were crying now. Crying for the lost years. Crying for the mother you lost, the family you lost, the father you lost. The father that you'd found again.

"D-d-daddy," you stammered, pushing your 5'7 frame into him, a place you'd feared as he wrapped his strong arms around you, hugging you tightly. "I f-f-forgive you."

You were both that way for what felt like hours, but was only minutes. Finally, the tears stopped from both of you.

"I love you, son. I want you to be happy," he said, smiling as he wiped away your last tear.

"I love you Daddy. And I love you, Mom." Carrie smiled brightly, having healed another rift.