We went inside and sat in a red-cushioned booth. I ordered a vanilla milkshake, and we waited. And waited. Finally, about forty minutes later, a man tapped me on the shoulder.
“Are you Emily?” he asked. He was a tall, slim man. He had thick, dirty-blond hair and arresting blue eyes. Tommy’s eyes.
I nodded, and he sat across from me. He had an angular face, unlike Tommy’s. A well-trimmed mustache hung above his lips. He tapped his finger nervously on the fake wood table. Tommy sat right next to me, on the interior of the booth. We both studied Joe, wondering if he could see him.
“Where is he?” Joe asked me. “Where’s Tommy?”
Right next to me, I wanted to say. But I couldn’t say that. I glanced at Tommy.
“I’ll go down to the tracks,” Tommy said. “My presence is strongest there. If there’s any chance of him seeing me, it’s there. Take him there.”
I nodded, and he disappeared.
I turned to Joe. “Um…he didn’t want to meet you here. But he’s waiting for you. And wants me to take you to him.”
Joe looked at me, uncertain. “Is something weird going on here?”
“Not what you think,” I said. “He’s just nervous.”
Joe shook his head. “I’m sorry. All of this is strange. First time I’m going to meet my fifteen-year-old son. All of this is my fault. I’m just glad he wants to meet me.”
I stood. “Then let’s go.”
***
Tommy stood on the tracks as we approached. I walked beside Joe, waiting to see if he saw him. We traveled in silence through the rain-soaked woods and down the clearing to the tracks.
Joe glanced around when we got closer to the tracks, and Tommy. “Where is he? Where’s Tommy?”
“You’ll see him soon,” I promised, hoping I was right. My heart pounded when we moved toward Tommy. I clutched the news story printout of Tommy’s accident, and death, in my shorts pocket. If Joe couldn’t see Tommy, I could show him this and explain what was going on. I hoped he had an open mind.
I stepped on top of the track, a few feet away from Tommy. Joe followed me, placing his feet on the track, too. The same place Tommy had died two years ago.
“What are we doing here?” Joe glanced to his right, then back at me. And Tommy. He gasped, staring at him. “You’re here.”
“Hi.” He extended his hand. “I’m Tommy.”
“Tommy…” Joe shook his hand. “I’m so glad to finally meet you.”
A long awkward silence followed. They stood staring at each other, until Joe broke his gaze and looked away. Even the air felt tense around us. There was so much to say. But nobody quite knew how to say it.
Joe directed his gaze back at Tommy. “I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t mean much. But I am. I tried to contact you and be a part of your life. But not hard enough. I should have made sure I was a part of your life.”
“I always felt a piece of me was missing,” Tommy said. “And I was so angry at you for forgetting about me.” He held up the pocket watch I’d found in my locker. “This was all I ever had of you. A stupid pocket watch.”
Joe nodded. “I know. I left that behind for you because my father gave it to me. I guess I thought I was giving you something. I never forgot about you. I tried to contact you. But your mother kept me from having a relationship with you, if I didn’t want one with her. I’m sorry, but you were the only connection I wanted to keep. But I should have made sure to see you. To get to know you.”
“I know that now. Even just talking to you now makes me feel, I don’t know, whole for the first time in my life.” Tommy laughed and glanced at me. “This is kind of ironic.”
“Why’s that?” Joe asked, staring at him. “I know it’s awfully late, but we can get to know each other. Your mother will just have to get used to it. I’m your father and I have a right to be in your life, if you want me in it.”
“I’d like that. I really would. A relationship with you is all I ever wanted my entire life, but I can’t have it now. There’s something you don’t know about me.”
Joe shook his head. “We can have a relationship. We can start from here and see where it takes us. There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, too.”
I pulled out the article from my pocket. I handed it to Joe. Tommy and I watched him read the article. He shook his head.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “It says you died two years ago. How can that be? You’re standing right in front of me.”
“It’s true. I died two years ago right on these tracks. And I’ve been wandering the tracks since then, at least until I met Emily. She helped me realize the reason I couldn’t move on was because of you. I died thinking you forgot about me. But now I know the truth. I’ll be able to leave. This is why we can’t get to know each other. I have to move on.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” Joe said, confused. He stared at the article and then again at Tommy.
“Neither do I, Dad,” Tommy said. He walked closer to Joe and embraced him. “But I’m glad I met you. Even if it is too late. You gave me two gifts…life and the ability to leave this life. I’m grateful for both.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tommy and I walked along the metal tracks. Gray clouds still hung heavy in the somber sky. A soft, gentle rain fell down on us.
