“Hey, Dad?” I murmured, moving over to his side. I patted his shoulder. “Are you sure you’re okay to do this?”
He frowned and looked down. It seemed to take a few minutes before he adjusted himself.
“I can't not give a speech,” he muttered. “We already came all the way here, and people are waiting.”
Even though he said so, I didn’t miss the rough quality to his voice. I didn’t doubt, that if he went ahead and tried to speak, even if he could, he’d end up crying. Dad was a man full of pride. It wouldn’t sit well with him to cry in front of a crowd.
“Jake,” Dad said, taking a deep breath. “I want you to go up there and talk.”
My eyebrows jumped up. “Um, Dad? What was that?”
He turned his red eyes to me. “I thought I could do it, but I’m not sure I can. Can you please go up there and give the talk on my behalf?”
Crap.
Since he’d asked so formally, I couldn’t just immediately shoot it down. I’d known something was up when he asked me to come along. If he really could have done it, he would have gone alone, and I wouldn’t even be needed on this trip. I figured I’d be there for emotional support, but I didn’t think he’d just give up last minute.
It wasn’t the kind of man my father was, after all. But, the past two years had been terrible on him. Looking at him right then, with his greying hair and haggard face, I started to wonder when my dad started looking so old.
“Do you think you can do it?” he asked.
I sighed and shrugged my shoulders. “If you can explain it to the big wigs, I’ll go along with it and try my best.”
If it was just giving a speech, it wasn’t something too terribly hard. I knew my dad’s story better than anyone since I grew up listening to it. I had disregarded it for a while, but it wasn’t like I didn’t reali
ze his incredible feats. I was just a hard-headed youth.
Dad went to talk to the school’s representative and professor who had been taking us around. I stood aside and watched them talk, and in the end, he sent a nod my way.
I nodded back, feeling my stomach cramp a little bit.
Not long after, we were directed to seats set to the back of the platform, right at the edge so we would be visible. The crowd broke into murmurs as soon as we showed up. I swallowed the lump in my throat and watched as the representative went forward to introduce the both of us. The murmurs increased when he said I’d be speaking in place of my dad, but they all still broke into applause as I was invited up to the podium.
I turned to Dad. Just looking at him, he looked the same as always. But, when he patted my shoulder, I couldn’t help but notice his hand was trembling just slightly. I got up and walked to the podium, exchanging a handshake with the representative, before he went to sit down.
I wonder if any of them are disappointed, I thought.
Taking a deep breath, I started.
“Good morning,” I said, and the room quieted down. “I know you were all here hoping to hear from my dad, but I hope you will listen to me instead. If there’s anybody else that would know his story just as well, it should be me, after all.”
I looked around at the crowd, and it was a large crowd. If it wasn’t for the fact that I’d done several presentations during my college years, this might feel daunting. But even those large classes didn’t amount to half of the crowd in front of me. A lot of them looked young. I’d been where they were not all that long ago, but standing in front of them, I felt a lot older than I did back in college.
My eyes passed over one particular audience member before doing a double take.
No…fucking way.
I had to use all the control I’d instilled in myself from working at the company to not let the shock show on my face. She was seated in the first few rows, making me think she’d come early to have a seat so close to the platform. I could see her clearly, so I couldn’t even say I was deceiving myself.
She was staring at me, too, her expression one of shock. I forgot myself for a minute as the two of us continued to stare at each other.
Fuck, what is she doing here?
I never once expected to see her here, and I was supposed to give a speech with her looking at me like that?
Then, she did something else unexpected. She smiled. She looked like she was happy to see me.
Suddenly, I couldn’t feel the cramp in my stomach anymore; I didn’t feel as low as I did just a while ago.