He Missed Our Daughter's Birthday Again novel · Chapter 22 of 24
Chapter 22: Sammy's List
Sammy had a list.
He had written it in pencil on the back of a coloring page, and he held it against his knees.
It was the first Saturday in December.
His room on the oncology floor had a window now, with the blinds open, and he was sitting up in bed with his paper whistle on a string around his neck.
Celia stood at the foot of the bed.
Roderick stood beside her, and I sat in the chair by the door with my coat still on.
Clifton came in alone.
He had left the lawyer downstairs.
He had left the rabbit downstairs too, and the gift bag, and the navy overcoat.
He wore a gray sweater and held his hands in front of him, empty.
"Hello, Sammy," he said.
"You have to stand there," Sammy said, and pointed at a square of floor by the window. "Mom said that's where visitors stand."
Clifton stood there.
"Number one," Sammy read. "Are you my dad?"
"Yes."
"For real?"
"For real. I should have told you the first day you could understand it."
Sammy marked a tick with his pencil.
"Number two. Why did you say Grandpa?"
Clifton's mouth worked.
"Because I was a coward," he said. "I wanted to see you, and I didn't want to answer for you."
"Mom says a coward is somebody who's scared and does the wrong thing."
"Your mother is right."
"Number three." Sammy looked up. "Did you tell Mom to call Roderick when Junie was having her party?"
Nobody in the room moved.
"I did," Clifton said.
"That was mean. She was turning five."
"It was."
"And her mom had a baby in her tummy."
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