To Love, Honor and Cherish

  Chapter 5

  Early in the morning on Thanksgiving Day, the Rogers family loaded up into their van and drove to Joe’s house. As they pulled onto the street that Joe lived on, Betty noticed how nice the neighborhood looked. The houses were not pretentious, but they were much larger than the one they used to live in. As they pulled into the driveway of Joe’s house, Joe came out to greet them.

  After they had taken off their coats, Joe gave them a tour of his house. He started with the second floor. Besides the master bedroom, there were six other bedrooms, which were good sized. The master bedroom and three of the other bedrooms had private bathrooms. The other three bedrooms shared two bathrooms between them. All of the bedrooms were furnished, but Joe’s room was the only one that looked lived in. Joe had finally cleaned all of his parents’ things out of the master bedroom and had donated most of the clothing and personal items to charity, within the past few weeks.

  On the first floor, there was a very comfortable living room, a family room, two bathrooms, a large dining room, a laundry room and a large kitchen that would make even a gourmet cook jealous. There was also a library. All of the rooms on the first floor had polished hardwood floors, except for the bathrooms, the kitchen and the laundry room.

  Betty’s favorite room was the kitchen. Besides a built-in refrigerator, and two ovens with stovetops and microwave oven, there was a huge island with food prep area and double sinks on both sides of the island. There were plenty of cabinets and lots of counter space, with a breakfast nook, which could easily seat ten people.

  There was a double gas fireplace. One side faced out into the kitchen and the other side faced out into the dining room. There was a separate fireplace in the family room as well.

  Matt and Mary thought the library was the coolest room in the house. There were bookshelves on three walls of the room, filled with books, from children’s stories, to the classics. There was a huge reference section and a medical reference section as well. There must have been over two thousand books. On the fourth wall, there were two computers with large flat screens. There was also a work desk between the two computers. In the middle of the room, there was a long table with chairs, as well as a couple of overstuffed chairs for pleasure reading.

  The basement was divided into three large rooms. The first one was a huge playroom with shelves filled with Joe’s old toys and games. There was plenty of floor space for kids to play, as well as a table and chairs to play games or do puzzles.

  The second room of the basement had a pool table, four arcade games, and a jukebox. There was a full service bar, though it was only stocked with soda, ice cream, and snacks, because Joe did not drink.

  The third large room in the basement contained a large entertainment center complete with large plasma screen television, DVD player, VCR, and a state of the art stereo system, which was connected to speakers throughout the basement. There was a collection of over 300 DVD’s and videotapes, and over 500 CD’s, of all types of music. There were a couple couches and a few chairs, so that fifteen people could sit comfortably.

  The basement had a couple of smaller rooms for the furnace and storage as well as two bathrooms. The garage was a three-car garage, but one third of it was used as a workshop.

  After the tour, Joe told them to make themselves at home, while he started on dinner. Betty offered to help, but Joe would not let her. Joe did, however, allow Mary and Matt to help him, when they asked.

  While Matt and Mary went to wash up, Joe took the other children to the basement to play with the toys and games. Joe pulled Mrs. Rogers aside and told her that he had a proposition for her.

  “Mrs. Rogers, I would like to invite you and your family to move into this house and share it with me. I have thought a lot about it. This house used to be full of life and laughter when my parents were alive, but since they died, I have lost my zest for life. In addition, this house is too big for just me and has become like a tomb. Since your family has come into my life, my life has meaning once more. I like your kids and I think that they like me too. There is plenty of room for all of us in the house. Mary could have her own room with a private bathroom. She is at the age when she needs her privacy. The boys would be less crowded as well. This house is in one of the best school districts in the city.” Joe could see that Betty was thinking it over in her mind, and he continued. Since you work the night shift, I would be here in the house while you were at work and you wouldn’t have to pay a sitter.”

  Betty told Joe that she could not burden him by moving herself and her six children into his house. “It wouldn’t be a burden to me, it would be a blessing” said Joe. “Think it over and I won’t mention it to the kids, so they won’t influence your decision in any way”. Betty told Joe that she would think it over and let him know.

  While Betty went into the playroom to keep an eye on the younger children, Joe went upstairs to the kitchen to start working on dinner. Mary and Matt were ready to start cooking. They were thrilled to be included in the preparation of Thanksgiving dinner. They felt very grown up, because Joe was giving them responsibilities and he did not treat them like little kids.

  After the salads were made and the side dishes were prepared, Matt and Mary set the table with fine china and crystal and sterling silverware. Joe directed them where to place the dishes and the silverware.While the turkey and the pies were baking, Joe showed them how to fold the napkins into fans and put them on the plates.

  When the pies were done, Joe asked Matt if he would like to say the prayer at dinner, since he was the man of the family. Matt suddenly looked upset and after a few seconds, he said, “Maybe you should say the prayer, Joe. I’m not good enough to be the man of the family”. Joe asked him what he meant by that. Matt was quiet for a minute, and then he told Joe and Mary something that he had not told another soul.

  “About a year ago, when he was still living with us, my dad wanted me to try out for the football team at school. I did not want to, because I am not interested in football. I tried to tell him that, but he would not listen to me. He kept pushing me to try out and when he realized that he was not going to change my mind, he called me a big sissy and a wimp. He told me that I would never be a real man, because I did not have what it took to be one. I tried to explain that I was interested in writing, drawing, and painting, but he just turned his back on me and walked out of the room. Every time he saw me after that, he looked at me differently, like I was no longer his son”. Matt choked back a few tears and then added. “Dad probably left because I was such a disappointment to him.”

  Betty had gone upstairs to check on Mary and Matt and she had stopped outside the kitchen door, when she heard Matt talking. After she heard what he said, she wanted to run into the room, hold her son, and tell him everything would be all right, but she fought the urge.

  Joe was angry that Matt’s dad had made him feel that bad about himself. Joe looked Matt in the eye and told him, “Matt, for the past five months, you have helped your mother take care of your brothers and sister. You have given up your free time and five months of your youth, to be responsible for your family. I would call that being the man of the family. Your dad walked out on you kids, and your mother. He took all of your money and left you with all the bills. You lost your house because of him. He was the one who was not acting like a ‘man’. You had nothing to do with his choice to leave. Do you hear me Matt? Nothing! You are not responsible for his actions.”

  Matt, who had been holding these feeling inside for several months, suddenly let it all come pouring out, all of his hurting, his anger and his guilt. He started crying and yelling “I hate him. I hate him for leaving and I hate him for making me feel like I was a nothing, as if I was worthless. I hate him for making Mom cry herself to sleep all those nights after he left.”

  Joe held Matt and let him cry for a while, until he was all cr
ied out. Matt did not want to let go of Joe. When he finally let go, Joe started talking. “Don’t hate your dad for what he did. He has many problems, including gambling. You can hate what­ he did to you and your family, but when you hate him, after a while the hate makes you a bitter person. It makes your heart cold. You can ask God to help him to become a better person.”

  Mary gave Matt a big hug and told him how proud she was to be his sister. Matt was starting to feel a little better and he said, “I hope that when I grow up, I will be as good a man as you Joe.”

  Betty had heard everything Joe had said and thought Joe handled the situation better than she could have. Joe was the male influence that her children needed in their lives right now. At that moment, she had made her decision.

  As everyone stood around the dining room table, which was loaded with a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, they all joined hands and Joe said a prayer of thanks. “Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for this beautiful day and for this meal before us. Thank you for bringing this family into my life at a time when I needed them. My parents are with you now, and now I have this family to keep the sadness away. Please keep us all safe and help us to appreciate the gifts you have given us.” Then Joe asked if anyone else wanted to add anything.

  Matt surprised everyone with what he added. “God, please help my father to overcome his gambling addiction and watch over him. He needs your guidance to help turn his life around. Please help me to forgive him and not hate him for what he did. And God, we can never thank you enough for bringing Joe into our lives. He is my best friend in the whole world. Amen”.

  Betty hugged her son and told him, “Today, you have shown maturity beyond your years. You have acted like a man and I am so proud of you.” Matt thanked her and had a big smile on his face. He had never felt prouder of himself.

  After everyone sat down, Joe stood in front of the platter with the turkey, preparing to carve it. Then, he handed the fork and carving knife to Matt and told him that he should carve the turkey. Joe talked Matt through the process of carving the turkey. Matt felt so proud to be carving the turkey. His father had always done it before. He felt like he was walking on air.

  Everyone enjoyed the dinner. Laughter filled the room. As the pumpkin pie was being served, Mrs. Rogers got everyone’s attention and began to speak. “Joe has asked if we would move into this house and share it with him. If all of you are okay with this, we can move in next week”. Everybody started cheering and said yes. Then Betty said, “Well Joe, I guess it’s unanimous. We accept your offer. All of the kids ran to their mother and hugged her and then they hugged Joe.

  After dinner, when Joe started to clear the table, Matt and Mary told him that they would clean up. “Joe, you can relax for a change. You deserve a break.”

  While Matt and Mary were in the kitchen cleaning up, and the younger children were playing in the basement, Joe and Betty drank coffee and talked. Betty told Joe that she overheard his talk with Matt.

  “Thank you for what you said to him. I had no idea that he was carrying that guilt and pain around for those many months. I guess it was something that he could not talk to me about. My children look up to you Joe. You are a great role model for them, and all of them need a good male role model in their lives, especially the boys. That is why I made the decision to move into this house.