“Grandpa, Please Don’t Leave”
My father stepped out and opened the rear hatch.
He pulled out my overnight bag and dropped it onto the pavement.
The zipper caught against the ground and popped open.
A sweater, two shirts, and Noah’s pajamas spilled onto the shoulder.
Then he pulled out Noah’s small backpack.
I stepped out.
“Dad, stop. Whatever you’re angry about, Noah has nothing to do with it.”
He ignored me.
My mother stayed inside the SUV.
I walked toward her window.
“Mom, look at your grandson.”
For one second, her eyes moved toward Noah.
He stood beside the vehicle clutching his stuffed dinosaur to his chest.
“Grandma?” he whispered.
My mother’s face tightened, but she turned away.
My father set Noah’s small blue blanket on top of my bag.
Then he got back into the driver’s seat.
Noah suddenly understood what was happening.
He ran two steps toward the SUV.
“Grandpa, please don’t leave us here.”
I grabbed his hand before he could get closer.
The SUV pulled away.
Noah watched the red taillights shrink into the distance.
“Mom, are they coming back?”
I wanted to tell him yes.
Instead I knelt in front of him.
“Listen to me, Noah. You’re staying right beside me, and we’re going to be okay. I need you to trust me.”
His eyes filled with tears, but he nodded.
That was when the mother in me wanted to fall apart.
The officer in me wouldn’t allow it.
Not yet.
