When Leroy heard the front door slam, he got up from the chair he’d been sitting in all evening. He placed his Bible on the table, which he left open to Psalms 51, and then made his way into the main hall. As soon as Eric walked past, he stopped him.
“Son? I need to have a word with you.”
Eric threw up his guard right away. “What is this all about? I’m busy.”
“We can have this conversation here in the hall or we can have a seat in the den like two civilized men.” Leroy was not moved by his son’s attempt to intimidate. “The choice is yours.”
Eric cracked a small smile. “The choice is mine. Funny that you should say that…”
“Where have you and your brother been all day? It’s Saturday. You had no classes and you had no practices of any sort.”
“How do you know that? You’re never around?”
“Lose the attitude, young man.” Leroy took several steps forward. “I never told you that I’m perfect, but I am still your father and I expect you to treat me as such.”
“You might be my father,” Eric said. “But that doesn’t mean I have to listen to you.”
“Clearly, you’re hurt over some of things I’ve done, or did not do, but I will not stand here and allow you to disrespect me in my home.”
“You see, that’s your problem, dad. You get upset for nothing. You hate your words to be challenged, yet you expect us to swallow everything you push down our throats. We can’t have an opinion, we can’t express ourselves, and knowing how you would react in any given situation, we would talk to mom first before we talk to you. Ever since the incident, you have never been the same…”
Leroy put up a tough exterior, but on the inside, Eric’s words pierced his soul. “Where’s Sean? I would prefer to talk to both of you.”
“Well, dad, you don’t always get what you want. That’s what you taught us, right?”
“I also taught you about love and forgiveness.”
“Yeah, that was when we were like five or six–”
“All that I do, and all that I’ve ever done,” Leroy continued, “was because I wanted to protect this family. I wanted to give you all everything that life has to offer…”
“And you did give us everything. We never lacked for anything when it came down to you providing for us.” Eric spread his hands before him. “But money, cars, and an eight-bedroom house is not a substitute to spending quality time with your family. Why do we have to beg for your attention? All of a sudden you stopped coming to our games–”
“I have explained this to you and Sean repeatedly. I am obligated to that church–”
“No! Your obligations are here with us!”
“Don’t you raise your voice at me!” Leroy didn’t want to get upset, but he couldn’t stand having his position as the head of the home taken lightly. He pointed a stern finger at his son, changing gears so quickly that Eric didn’t have time to catch up. “You keep that half naked woman out of this home. If I ever catch you or your brother indulging in such perversion, I will personally write you both a one month check out of here. I won’t tolerate your looseness in here!”
“What are you doing, man?” Eric’s eyes watered at hearing his own broken voice. “You can’t fix this by threatening us. You have no idea what’s going on with–”
“I will not turn a blind eye to what you and Sean are involved in!” Sin was a brutal slave driver and Leroy did not want his sons following his mistakes. “You boys had better know that I’m not playing when I say that!”
“We’re not asking you to turn a blind eye, dad.” Eric swatted away the tears that’d dropped down his square jaws. He was annoyed at himself for allowing his father to see that he’d gotten to him. “We need you to stop flying off the handle and listen to your family for once in your life!”
Leroy withheld his rebuke when he saw the grief in his son’s eyes. It was the first time he’d seen him cry as a young man. And it was at that point that he realized that no matter how old his sons got, they still craved the attention and the validation of their father. That was the easy part. Admitting that he was wrong would be a challenge.
“Eric, I’m not too set in my ways to recognize my mistakes…” Leroy heard the front door slam for the second time and he figured it was Sean. It felt as if he took forever to walk into the area where they were. When he had, his expression told Leroy that he was about to bolt back through the door.
“Don’t panic, stupid,” Eric told him. “Just come right in and take any standing spot. Our father is about to share some important words with us.”
“Sir,” Sean said, keeping his eyes on his father. He didn’t care what Eric said. He had to be sure his father was in his right mind. The last time the three of them stood together like this, Eric had taken the BMW for a joy ride and crashed it into a wall. The punishment had been horrendous.
“Where are you just coming from?”
“Friends, dad. We went bowling. Are we in trouble?”
“No, my boy,” Leroy said. “You came at the right time. I was about to apologize to your brother, but I don’t want to leave you out of it. Come; let us sit over here in the breakfast nook.”