I remember him very much as a cruel and strange man. My own father was very different in his day, and I don’t remember him ever punishing me, but from the time I was eight years old and Adam came into our house, I got the belt regularly. I was scolded for bad grades, for being late home from a walk, for getting my new clothes dirty, and so on. My mother didn’t react to this in any way, but my stepfather was unwavering.
For birthdays, I received presents only from my mother, and my stepfather behaved like an outsider to me. He wouldn’t let me call him “Daddy,” and I didn’t want to do that.
I considered the best time to move away from my parents and live on my own. But there always comes a time when you realize that your folks have actually always cared about you, and loved you, as strange as that sounds. And sooner or later they may need your care.
At seventy, Adam was all alone, and since I was the only child he and my mother had, it fell on my shoulders to help him. I helped with groceries, took the old man out for walks and tried to please him a little with rare meetings with his grandchildren. My stepfather never grew warmer toward me, but he loved his grandchildren and never scolded them. He became the grandfather who used to lecture me when I dared to raise my voice, let alone a belt, against one of the little ones.
Already when he was dying in the white walls of the hospital, exhausted by heart disease, eternal procedures, and pain, he kept calling me to him. I would sit in his room for a long time, we would reminisce about some good stories from my childhood, and my stepfather would open up to me in a different way. It was then that I saw clearly for the first time that he was educating me, not punishing me for nothing. It was all always deserved.
In addition to a will with all his possessions that was meant for me, he gave me a gift a couple of days before his torment ended-gifted me his father’s gold ring. It was heavy and wide, but it fit my finger. Adam smiled guiltily at me, saying:
– “I’m sorry it was wrong, son. I was just learning to be a father then. I hope it worked at least a little bit.
