The Ambulance Chaser by Brian Cuban

Author:Brian Cuban [Cuban, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781637582428
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Published: 2021-09-14T09:59:28+00:00

Chapter 22

The gondola lurches downward toward the city and an uncertain future. I’m relieved to be the only passenger. Sam’s number is on speed dial, but the last time I pressed his baby photo icon was six months ago. He told me I was an embarrassment and that he had no interest in a father-son relationship until I checked myself into a rehab program. I can’t blame him, and being told to go away, even by my son, was a relief. It was easier to crawl back into a bottle and glassine envelope than face my problems.

How far ahead is London time? If people watched us fight, they wouldn’t know it, but Sam has a gentle, non-confrontational nature. Sonya fiercely defended him, taking on school officials, when his mixed-race looks subjected him to relentless high school bullying. Not only was he a Jew, but a half-Asian Jew. We finally pulled him out of public high school and sent him to a private school in Fox Chapel.

“Dad, is anything wrong?” Sam’s tone is concerned but comforting. At least he’s not snapping at me for calling in the middle of the night. The same apprehension I’d have if he woke me up at three in the morning.

“Did something happen to Mom?”

“Mom’s fine,” I say. “I’m fine. I…I wanted to hear your voice.”

How do I bridge the gap? A relationship steeped in lies, my lies, will never be real.

“It’s three in the morning here, Dad. Can this wait until later?” I worry he’s going to hang up on me, a behavior at which we both excel.

“Don’t hang up, Sam, please.” Painful silence.

“It’s my dad. Go back to sleep.”

My son has a girlfriend? Maybe a one-night stand? I don’t know a thing about his personal life.

The gondola jolts to a stop.

“I’m back, Dad.”

“I heard you talking to someone, a girlfriend?”

“My partner, yes. Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

I didn’t prepare a speech. My heart is pounding against my chest. I press my hand to it and push in as if the compression will slow the breakneck rhythm.

“I just want to tell you I love you and miss you.”

Only his breathing breaks the quiet. Maybe leading with my heart was a bad idea. Too much, too soon, but as Kevin once said to me, the easiest thing to say no to is nothing, although he was referring to jacking up the price of his product.

“I love you, too, Dad. Ah, has Mom told you I’m flying in tomorrow?”

She didn’t tell me, and I’m wondering if he would have if I hadn’t called. It doesn’t matter. His words envelop me with a more powerful high than the best cocaine I’ve ever snorted. Like the next line, I need to hear them again.

“When do you arrive, and where are you staying?” Part of me wants him to tell me he’s staying at Sonya’s, so I can start the drama. “Why don’t you stay in your old bedroom at my place?”

“Sam?”

Did he hang up? I shouldn’t have pushed.

“I arrive mid-afternoon but promised Mom I’d stay with her,” he says.

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