These years spent, so faded and wreckless

Song Of The Moment

For 10 years, I lived with a woman. 7 of those years I was a husband and 3 of those years I was a Father. Still am a father, really. According to my young one, I am "Daddy", even if Mommy's new boyfriend needs to be called Dad, so her new baby doesn't get confused. She still calls him Frankie...inconsequential.

What I forgot was that I was "Uncle Hughie" to the womans sisters' 2 boys for those 10 years. When visiting, we would play, the 3 of us. As I always told them, always new games, and we always made up something new to do. The one with the red afro of hair (William) and the other with blonde fair hair (Shayne) and me. When they moved to B.C. for a Summer, I missed those kids, and was honestly afraid that they wouldn't remember me. When they came back, it was almost like they never left.

When my career as a husband ended, it was hard trying to see those kids. Her and I could not be in the same room, without a fight. Tell the truth, its still the same to this day, hence the "Stop calling your ex-husbands house" order on her from the police and the reason why I do not go to her door, only as far as the driveway, when picking up my young one. I do not want a scene. So, inevitably, I stopped seeing my 2 nephews... that step of seperation came and went. Shortly after, they all moved to B.C. again. Mom, Dad, the 2 boys and their new baby sister, for good.

Til last month.

They moved back and settled into a little trailer, 3 houses away from my young ones Moms house. Their Mom left her guy, as well, and the William went to live with him. Shayne and the baby stayed with her Mom. Naturally, I was shocked when I first seen them when picking up my young one. The short, quiet one had grown 5 years and a foot older. The baby was no baby, no diapers and crawling, walking and talking and best friends with my young one.

Tonight, I took my young one out trick or treating and, naturally, she wanted her cousins to come. Picking them up was almost a half an hour in the driveway, learning how much Shayne had grown (Quadruple-jointed elbows and stories of close encounters with bears in B.C.) and discovering how much like my young one the little girl was. Trick or treating with them was, of course, a blast, with my young one laughing most of the time, and the other 2 living it up in the "Free Chocolate" paradise.

Destiny has a plan for all of us.... comeuppance for shit we've been through, so to speak. When Shayne, almost as tall as me, lugged an arm over my shoulder and said "I missed you, Uncle Hughie", Destiny was talking to me. I know this from the lump in my throat I still have.






Ciao