Fight Back

The sun was slowly revealing itself above the horizon. Its rays were shining through the ocean of trees surrounding the mountains. James got up quite early and left San Francisco at five a.m., hoping to make it to Yosemite National Park by nine and start his weekend with a hike in Mariposa Grove. He thought his son, Alex, would enjoy seeing the Giant Sequoias and that it would make their first trip together entertaining. "His son." James was still not used to referring to the 12-year-old child that way. They looked alike, with the same brown eyes and the same habit of rubbing their head whenever they were thinking. But after all, he had only been aware of his existence for the past six months. 

While driving up the winding road, James glanced at Alex sitting in the passenger seat, staring out the window, his face getting paler and paler the more James turned the wheel. 

"You okay, kid?" 

"Are we there yet?" asked Alex while keeping his hand in front of his mouth. 

"I don't feel very good." 

"Just a few more miles, it'll get flat and straighter soon. Don't get sick in my Jeep kid," said James, while slightly rolling Alex's window down so he could get a bit of fresh air.Staring at the kid, James almost did not notice the black Kia coming on in front of them, taking all the space on the narrow road. 

"Son of a bitch!" James yelled at the car, hitting the horn.Alex cleared his throat. 

"Mom says we are not allowed to say things like that." 

"Well, your mom ain't here," said James while rolling his eyes. 

"Ever hiked before?" 

"No, Mom's not a big fan of the outdoors." 

"Well...This's gonna be an interesting weekend," muttered James.Focusing on the road in silence, James started thinking about Katherine, Alex's mother. He still could not understand why she never told him about the child. Of course, he knew she had her reasons. They were young and oblivious, and she must have known he would have been a terrible father. He was too loose back then for anybody to count on him.He liked binge drinking with his friends and surfing, not changing diapers and attending doctor's appointments. As far as James remembered, he had never been into children, being mostly repelled by the sound they make and the way substances ooze out of them. 

He thought about the first time he met Alex. The kid had been looking for him. He found out his mother got pregnant in college and never told his father, so he decided to find him and break the news. Better late than never. At first, James could not believe him, did not want to believe him. Alex showed up at his door one morning and bluntly told him he was his son, telling him everything he had found out about James and Katherine. James blinked and slammed his door, yelling it was bullshit. But then, he watched the kid rub his head through the peephole and he simply knew. Whether he liked it or not, he was a father. 

Half an hour of driving later, they got to the gate of Yosemite. James showed his national park annual pass to the ranger who gave him the park brochure and a map ofMariposa Grove. Alex grabbed the papers and asked his father if he would be able to walk inside a sequoia. 

"There is one you can walk under, it has a hole carved into it, it's pretty neat. But if you want to actually walk through the length of one, you'd need to go to Sequoia NationalPark," answered James while taking the road to Mariposa Grove.

 "It says that there are all kinds of animals in here," said Alex going over the brochure."Are you sure it's safe? Listen to this, Da–I mean, listen... 'Cougars roam throughout the parks so report any sightings.'" 

"Well, we'll just try to avoid any wild animals," said James, knowingly avoiding the fact that Alex almost called him "dad." It was too soon for him to handle that.