June 1960
Frank Richardson Jr. My son. I'm a dad now and it's been life-changing. All I can think about is my boy. Training for football starts in July so I've been trying to spend every waking moment with Frankie Jr.
"Frank, you know I can take him." Heather chuckles. "I understand you're bonding with him but you haven't left our side in almost a month."
"I know. I just want to be here for the special moments, babe. This my first kid (that I know of)." I snuggle Frank Jr.
Heather shakes her head and leaves me to hold Frank Jr. She doesn't understand the bond between a real man and his firstborn son. Oddly enough I was preparing for a girl. Heather claims she was happy just to be a mother but I know she wanted a baby girl. I get it. Boys can be tough; especially a boy with my genetic makeup. But I have no idea how I could manage having a girl. I would want to keep her in my sight all day, every day and that isn't possible. In my opinion, girls are much more difficult for a man to raise than boys. Women can be extremely difficult in general, especially black and brown-skinned ladies...
Frank wiggles around and yawns while I hold him and his tiny hand. It's truly incredible to see what two people can create. Frank has a few of my features such as my furrowed brown, giant square head, and nose. He has his mother's eyes and her attitude for sure. He even makes this cute noise like Heather when he's sleeping. And people say God isn't real?
"Frank, um, do we know anyone from Italy besides Mary?" Heather questions. "There is a box in the kitchen addressed to us."
"Shit! MARY!" I exclaim.
"Language, Mister! We have a child now." Heather scolds. "Mary is in Italy?"
"Yeah. Family emergency." I answer. "And you need to relax, woman. He's a baby. He can't understand what I'm saying."
I look down at Frank Jr who is looking at me with a smile on his face. I laugh and Heather takes him from my arms.
"Babies understand more than you know Frank. Come on my sweet boy." She reaches for Frank Jr. "We won't have daddy corrupting you with his sailor mouth already."
I leave Heather and Frank Jr in the living room and walk into the kitchen to open the box. As soon as it opens, It is as if Mary is standing right in front of me. It smells like her, and that is very comforting. The very first thing I see in the box is a blue baby blanket wrapped neatly in some tissue paper. The next thing I see is a blue sailor suit with tiny socks to match. The heavy item I see is a wicker bottle of table wine. The last two items in the box are envelopes. One is addressed to Heather and the other to me.
I walk into the living room to show Heather the items Mary sent to us only to see Frank Jr and Heather passed out in the rocking chair. I quietly pick up the baby and take him to his crib. I return to Heather and cover her up with a humongous quilt my momma sent us. The letter Mary wrote Heather sits on the coffee table for her to read when she wakes up. I place my letter on the kitchen counter and put everything else away.
When I finish cleaning up, I take my letter and sit outside on the porch to read it. I open the letter and the scent of her perfume hits my nose almost causing me to drool. Man... I have to pull myself together. She's just a lady.
Carissimo Franco,
Congratulazioni a te e Heather per la nascita del tuo bambino. Non vedo l'ora di incontrarlo una volta tornato negli Stati Uniti. Spero che tu stia bene, amico mio e amante.
Mia nonna è morta poche settimane fa. Ho il cuore spezzato ma grato per gli ultimi giorni che ho passato con lei. Mi ha detto che sembravo molto brillante e felice. Lei e mia madre mi hanno chiesto se c'era un uomo nella mia vita. Non ho dato una risposta chiara perché non so come descrivere quello che abbiamo, Frank.
YOU ARE READING
Just A Man
Non-Fiction"Sometimes the truth doesn't doesn't matter. You just want to please the fans..." 'FTHW'
