My Happy Ending

When I was in the sixth grade, I came home from school one day with a school picture that I had taken that my mother absolutely loved. She loved it so much that she decided to make a last-ditch attempt to reach out to my father, who we hadn't heard from in years. She wrote him a letter, what it said cant really recall, but I remember she enclosed the picture of me in the envelope and mailed it to the last known address that she had for him. But two years later, we still hadnt heard back.

My whole life, I had hoped that someday he would have a change of heart and come back to us. But after that, I gave up all hope.

When I was thirteen, I was sitting on the couch one day watching television when the phone rang. I answered it and a man asked for my mother. I remember thinking it was strange because he asked for her by her maiden name, not her married name, and no one had called her that in years. Thinking nothing of it, I handed my mother the phone.

My mother took the phone from me, and asked the caller who was speaking. She looked puzzled.

Im sorry, who is this? she asked.

My mothers eyed widened and her mouth dropped open. Then she bolted into the other room. I didnt have to ask who it was.

I knew. It was him.

I sat on the couch eavesdropping on the conversation for a few minutes. I heard my mother laughing and telling him how much I looked like him and how glad she was that he was called. I poked my head around the corner.

Is that him? I mouthed to her.

She nodded. I think it was all she could do at that point. She looked shocked, as if she couldnt believe this was really happening.

After she finished the phone call, she explained to me that my father had recently got married, and when he told his wife about me, she was extremely supportive and encouraged him to call me. He still had the letter saved that my mother had sent him two years prior.

He apologized to my mother for being absent throughout my childhood, and to this day Ill never understand why he left, butI did know one thing: I was glad he finally made the right decision to be a part of my life.

He told my mother he was going to be in the area the following week, so we agreed to meet him and his wife at a restaurant in Cape Cod.

My mother and I were the first to arrive at the restaurant. I can recall sitting at the table anxiously, waiting for him to come walking through the door, wondering what he looked like.

Then I heard laughter. My father has one of the loudest laughs you'll ever hear, and to this day I'll always remember that as the first thing I heard. I looked up and saw a very tall man walking towards me who looked like... well... me.

I smiled and ran over and gave my dad a hug. I knew at that moment, everything was going to work out just fine. Any doubts or fears that I had felt instantly faded away.

Finally, after thirteen years, I had a dad.

To my surprise, my dad and his wife, Susan, were two of the nicest, happiest people I had ever met. They showed me a picture of my five-year-old sister, Lexi, who looked exactly like me. My mother and I spent the next two days with them until they flew back to Florida. Shortly after our visit, I flew to Florida to meet my sister, and Susan found out she was pregnant with my brother.

Every time I flew to Florida, my dad would always pick me up from the airport, and we would drive around and listen to music together before heading to his house. He would tell me stories about the days when he played in a Boston-based rock band and about the bands he had opened for back in the early 80's. He still played with a band in Florida occasionally. He told me about a time when Bruce Springsteen was at one of his shows andthe band performed a cover of Pink Cadillac in Bruces honor. At the end of the show, Bruce stood up on his chair and applauded for them. I could tell by the smile on my fathers face when he told the story that it was one of his prouder moments in music history.

Susan and I went to see my fathers band play one night when I was visiting. Towards the end of the set, my father smiled at me and they started playing Pink Cadillac. Something tells me that ever since Bruces standing ovation, its my fathers favorite song to play.

I cant help but smile to myself every time I hear Pink Cadillac and think of my father. Although not all stories end with a happy ending, Im glad mine did.