Train Me Daddy

“How long?”

She demands, I didn’t think that there was an angry bone in her body. Now I can see that it exists, and it’s fucking frightening, but I don’t blame her. She’s been used, but I wonder like she does, how much.

“Two years,” he whispers.

“So when you helped me after my parents died, you had all this in mind.”

Granddad blurts out, “Yes.”

“How many other schemes did you try on Isaac to get him where you thought he should be?” she asks him as she stands in front of him. The tears are streaming down her eyes, and I wish that I could comfort her. Tell her that I knew nothing about this, but part of me is curious about how far he’ll go to help me.

“Olivia, lighten up on him. He’s just trying to help the two people he loves most. He wouldn’t have gone through so much trouble to get us together if he didn’t love both of us. And he’s a sick man.”

“No!” Olivia says shaking her head. “I’m not going to lighten up. He should have been honest with me from the start and so should of you,” Olivia snaps, “Don’t be so naive Isaac, do you believe that he’s sick?”

Shit, I hadn’t even thought about that. Granddad wouldn’t stoop so low to make out that he’s dying just to get us together. I’ve seen nearly every family member die; he wouldn’t lie to me about dying.

“Don’t be silly; he wouldn’t lie about dying. Not after what I’ve been through. First my parents, then Dede. That’s when I melted and couldn’t get back up again.”

“Who the fuck is Dede?” Olivia says, and I know that she’s mad. She cusses not ever.

“She was Isaac’s fiancee, she reminds me of you in a way,” Granddad says as he’s trying to comfort Olivia, but with her arms folded he’s going to have to do a lot more than apologies.

“Isaac used to work twenty-four seven. He loved Dede, but that wasn’t enough for her. She wanted his attention. She had a heart condition,” Granddad pauses as he relives my painful past.

I nod my head confirming that it’s fine for him to tell Olivia the truth. The one that I’ve kept hidden from her and I should have just told her from the start.

“She stopped taking the pill. Hoping that if she was pregnant and we had a family that our two-year engagement would turn into a marriage,” I say as a tear escapes my eye.

“Did it work?”

I shake my head, “No, even worse she was told about the risks of getting pregnant. She was seven months when they rushed her to the hospital. I lost not only her but my baby boy at the same time.”

“And that’s when you started to drink?”

Olivia asks as if she’s trying to put all the pieces together.

“Yes.”

“The girl in the photo. The one on the wall in your apartment.”

I nod again, “Yes.”

Olivia sighs, “The one that you still love?”

I’m about to correct her and say that I never thought I could give my heart to another when Granddad says, “Olivia’s right. There’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Oh fucking hell!”

I’m so fucking mad I know that if I stay in the barn a minute longer, I’ll fucking blow. And he’s going to wish that he never confessed. That’s when I hear Olivia mumble, “The cookies are on the table,” she appears as if every emotion has bee

n taken out of her. She starts to head to the cottage.

I throw down my polishing rag and walk out of the tack room, leaving Granddad alone with the saddles. As I cross the lawn, I see Olivia slowly heading toward the cottage. I want to run after her but don’t.

In a few minutes, everything had been turned upside down. I couldn’t put all the blame on the old man. I told myself. I was part of the conspiracy. Damn it, why couldn’t I have just played along with Granddad. Why did I have to fall in love with Olivia? Why, why!

I don’t have the answers, just the questions. Without thinking I take a cookie from the platter. I bite into it and shake my head. Damn it! I need to leave this fucking ranch. Before I do something that I’ll regret. I knew that I shouldn’t have fucking come back. This place has too many painful memories, and the old man’s just added another one to the list. He made me fall in love with the ranch hand, only to have to fall out of love with her all over again. There’s just one problem; I haven’t got a fucking clue how to do it.