Chasing the Bear

'Do you know why you were so committed to the one?' Susan said.

I smiled at her.

'Yes,' I said. 'I believe I do.'

Susan looked at me and raised her eyebrows and cocked her head.

'I grew up in an all-male family,' I said. 'A good family, but one without a woman in it. I think I was always trying to complete the family.'

'Which I did,' Susan said.

'Yes.'

'So you knew that all along,' Susan said.

'I figured it out after I met you,' I said.

'How did that make you feel?' Susan said.

'Maybe I was looking for a missing mother,' I said. 'The fact remains that out of all the women I have known, you were the only one I loved.'

'And I loved you back,' Susan said.

'So even though you're a Harvard PhD shrink,' I said, 'you still believe in love.'

'Yes,' she said. 'I've overcome my education.'

'Atta girl,' I said.

Chapter 46

Looking back, it was like a Norman Rock-well painting. My father and my two uncles and me at the train station. I had made all state in football my senior year and gotten some scholarship offers. My father had urged me to take the one in Boston because he still thought Boston was the intellectual hub of the universe. He hadn't made me choose Boston, but he urged as strong as I had ever heard him. So, I went to Boston.

'You get to Denver,' my father said. 'You take a cab to Denver Airport and stay in this motel. In the morning you go to the terminal and check in and fly to Boston. It's all right here on this ticket envelope. Be about four hours or so. You take a cab to the college and do what they tell you. Here's some money.'

It was a pretty good wad of cash.

'Can you afford this?' I said.

'Three of us working,' Cash said.

'And we don't need much,' Patrick said.

'Open a bank account, like I told you,' my father said. 'Put the money in it. We can wire you more when you need it.'

The train to Denver started to board.

'Okay,' I said.

I hugged each of them. I could feel my eyes begin to tear.

'Okay,' I said again.

I picked up my suitcase and stood for a moment looking at them. My God! They were tearing up too.

'Take care of yourself,' Cash said.

Patrick nodded without speaking.