Member-only story
I think about this shit sometimes, but after a while it just makes my head hurt.
February 14, 2025
It was the summer between my junior and senior year at college. I was home for a visit. My mother said the thing to me she always said, “Go talk to your father. He won’t be around forever.” So, because I loved my mother so very much, I went outside to talk to my father.
He was working on one of the cars. He was a mechanic. All he did was work on cars, our cars, everyone else’s cars. He was obsessive about cars and engines and greasy dirty smelly things that sickened me. He sickened me. But I put that out of my head for right then.
I leaned up against the railing on the carport and tried to talk to him. I prattled on a bit about one of my classes. I wasn’t looking at him, I didn’t really care about him. His presence was incidental. I was up in my own mind, thinking about my studies, thinking about my accomplishments, my goals, my plans for the future.
“I don’t know why you’re going to college,” he boomed from the undercarriage.
I was startled by the sound of his voice. I’d forgotten he was even there.
“Why do you say that?”
“You’re just going to get married and have kids. It’s a waste.”
