Brass Hook
Brass Hook
A Michael Lee short story
July 28, 18
J.P. Grant, the great great great grandson of Ulysses Grant (okay 7 generations since U.S. Grant), is 36 years old and not truly doing much with his life other than working a nine to five dead-end job, growing old, and putting the minimum into his retirement fund against his mother’s weekly encouragements. He has a five-acre homestead and a few livestock animals that cost more than they are worth. His father stops by most days to tend to the animals while J.P. is at work, has been known to name the chickens here and there, and only charges a few eggs a day for his services.
J.P. Grant woke late Saturday morning, like most other Saturdays this year; still drunk from the night before and head spinning. He rolled out of bed, tangled in worn cotton sheets onto the floor; his head hitting the nightstand on the way down before his arms could free themselves from the sleep-made straight jacket, created after a night of drunkenly tossing and turning. Pushing the nightstand over with his head, his phone and lamp crashed to the carpet with him; he groaned with regret, had no desire to untangle himself, or to get up off the cool floor. Grant lay there on the soft matted carpet saying to himself for the first time “never again.”
His phone lay on the ground, the speaker as close to his ear canal as possible without actually being in his ear, began to ring at full volume. Grant rolled over with a start; struggled to untangle his arms and lifting himself up on his elbows threw up in his mouth a little bit, swallowed then grabbed his phone and said hoarsely. “Hello, mom.”
“Where the hell are you John Paul? Have you been smoking cigarettes? You sound like you’ve been smoking! Your dad’s birthday is today and you two were supposed to go fishing! Remember?” She said as unhappily as any mom could sound when her son misses an important outing with dad.
“Mom, I don’t smoke and Dad’s birthday is tomorrow, not today.”
“No John! It’s today! You are five hours late; your dad said just come out to the lake and he will come to get you in the boat. Maybe you can salvage his day. So get your ass up and go meet your father before I come over there! Don’t forget his present either, you forgot it last year, and even though he didn’t say anything I just know it hurt him.” She exclaimed.
“Okay ma, I’ll be there in a little while. Can you call him and tell him I’ll be there?” Grant asked knowing that if he called his dad, he’d be told not to worry about coming so late in the morning.
“Yes, J. P. I’ll let him know you are on your way.”
Grant got along with his parents pretty well and didn’t actually mind going fishing with his pops a few times a year. He didn’t forget the present this year either. A brass fishing hook with “Love you Dad” engraved along the side of it. So yeah, not a real hook. It’s one of the hat clip hooks but J.P. got a quality one that his dad wouldn’t mind keeping around for a while.
Grant got up off the floor, not stepping too far from his bed, looked around his room for a clean shirt to wear. He hadn’t always been so messy, or even a drunk, seeing his room like this made him feel gross inside. His eyes still a little blurry, mouth dry and filmy he could feel the room spin just a little before falling to the bed and going back to dreamless drunken slumber.
“Hey, son. Wake up. We need to talk.” Grants father said calmly as he gently rocked his son’s shoulders as to not surprise the sleeping young man half off the bed like he had just fallen there.
Grant opened his eyes a little thinking he was dreaming, then sprang up shouting. “ah shit dad I am so frickin sorry! I didn’t mean to go back to bed for real. What time is it?”
Grant’s father looked at him brokenheartedly, chin down he said. “It’s 3pm son.”
“Hey dad, you know, let me get cleaned up, maybe we can go get an early dinner or something, please let me make it up to you.”
“That sounds good but we still need to have a little talk before we go anywhere okay.”
Grant nodded his head, grabbed the clothes he attempted to put on earlier, and rushed to the shower leaving his dad in the bedroom doorway still glum-looking.
“Hey Dad, how did you get in the house?” Grant yelled from the shower. His father didn’t yell anything back and Grant figured he was a bit too far to hear him or was watching the news by now. Grant got out of the shower just as the steam finished filling the bathroom, dried off with a towel that still smelled fresh from the laundry mat then took a blow dryer to the bathroom mirror to dry away the fog. J.P. Grant didn’t have the dad-bod of his friends and still checked himself out in the mirror after every shower, asking himself where the beach was and what the shape of the world was even on his worst days.
“Hey, dad, where you want to eat?” Grant said while trying to shave off a week’s worth of hair with a two-dollar razor. He finished getting ready skipping the hair gel and settling for the trucker hat his dad got him last Christmas, blank with just a patch sewn on the front displaying a colorful rooster, and headed to the kitchen passing his living room where his dad was patiently watching the news, turned up just loud enough to drowned out a shower, waiting for his only son to hurry along. Grant rifled through the fridge trying to find something to drink to get the strange taste out of his mouth. Two cans of cola sat in the back of the fridge. One of the cans said in cursive along its side “Share one with dad.” Grant rolled his eyes and said to himself “just rub it in why don’t you.”
“Hey dad, you never said how you got in or where you want to go eat,” Grant said curiously as he walked from the kitchen to the living room sitting on the couch across from his recliner that his dad was occupying. His dad’s head was down and his eyes were closed and a house key on his knee. Grant smiled, cracked open the can just right to make it noisy but not spray soda everywhere, took a sip of his drink, and looked around at his clean house. “Hey there sleepy head, you cleaned my whole fricken house? I’m going to miss more family gatherings if you keep that up.”
Grant sat back and smiled; he was holding the brass fishing hook so when his dad looked up he wouldn’t be able to miss it. Thinking to himself, “Shit, my dad can be so damn cool sometimes.” His dad just lay reclined back as still as could be, the news lady on TV was complaining about something, and Grants eyes grew big body lunging forward.
“Oh fuck… DAD!”
My life is about to change!
Well it now has been to long since I have written and now I feel bad because I am so way behind. Since last month so much has happened I don’t know where to begin; I guess I’ll start with my Macey is getting so big. She can almost walk and is trying to talk; Macey stands up in the shopping carts now. I know it’s not what the masses consider safe but to me it teaches balance and helps her to stand; Sarah and I are always close by to make sure Macey doesn’t take a tumble. Our little girl seems to love riding up front of the cart. Now around the house she is using everything to balance with, from the couch to the tables and even our legs if she can catch us. For Christmas we got her this train thing with a handle that she can use to balance with to aid her in her lessons on walking, my mama also got her a cool little car looking thing this is similar so now Macey has a choice in toys to play with. It also makes sure that it is easier for my nephew to share too; more on that it in a bit. Just the other day Macey’s first teeth cut through her bottom gums and wow were Sarah and I excited at the spectacle. Macey now is sticking everything in her mouth and giving it a little nibble. Her bite isn’t hard yet but as soon as it is she won’t be biting any more if I can help it. We have also been taking Macey up to the mall to play on the little kids’ playground there because it is gauged towards littler kids like Macey and such. She has been having so much fun there playing with the other kids… well she still just stares at 
them and does her own thing but we enjoy watching her learn and plus the floor is squishy too. I like just standing on it because my feet hurt after working all day and that is normally when we go up there to let her play. I wish my floors at home were the same as the floor at the kids play area in the mall. For Christmas Macey also got a swing that I hung this evening for her; it was a gift from my Mom and Rich. I am so glad they got it because Macey is going to get a lot of use out of it since she loves to swing and I don’t mind pushing her either. She got a little test run in it before bed tonight and was fricking excited to be in it.
My sister Jessica and her son has moved in with Sarah and I so that she can have a better
chance at succeeding in this world than she has in Inverness. She has already gotten a job and our next days of we are going to try to see about getting government help with daycare. I have high hopes for my little sister and I really hope she does something good with her life. Jess and Sarah will be getting their GEDs soon too I hope… well they will because I will not quit bugging them until they do! They both are smart girls who just need to get their shit straight.
Sarah, Macey and I had our family pictures taken a bit ago and wow did they come out great!! I love the one of me holding Macey above my head it turned out so great. Well all of them turned out great I hope you enjoy the album. I enjoyed every minute getting them taken.
We spent Christmas day over at Sarah’s mom’s house and my mom’s and my dad’s. we did a lot of driving on Christmas day and I got no where near enough pictures either but I think that this one came out pretty darn good and I wish I had one with my mom and Rich and my dad and Lisa and all the siblings I could muster up. These will be the in-laws soon and I am glad they are nice. I hope everyone had a merry Christmas.
So I don’t think I have written about the next subject in tonight’s blog before but there will be a lot more to come with what is next. Actually I may not write about it here in this posting but I think I will just make a page of it. And then add to it from there. But… well.
Okay this will be an account of what has been going on up till now.
Right around three years ago I got the most life changing knocks at my front door. It was about July 2006 and I had a house full of people; my roommates at the time Jenn, Adam, Dave, Jonny and me were sitting around watching TV when the whole thing started. I opened the door to see a familiar face. She was a short thin redhead that at the time I thought of often. Her name is Elisha and she was an ex girlfriend of mine. I promptly gave her a hug and invited her in to visit; I had not a clue about what was to come. Elisha and I went into a separate room so she could have a little chat with me and to fill me in on what had been going on with her. I feel like I remember so much because what she told me was so shocking. She sat me down and boy I thought she was going to tell me she gave mo some life treating disease or something. But what she said brought over whelming joy to my heart. Elisha told me that she had giving birth to my child, a little girl that she had named Arianna Shirk. Once it had sunk in I was a little mad since she had left me in the dark and not told me that I was a father since my daughter was now four months old. I didn’t get to name her and my name wasn’t on the birth certificate. I took a breath and told her I wanted to see her and that I needed to be apart of her life. Elisha agreed and promised to bring her over; a week or so went by and she came back with Arianna. I was so happy I couldn’t really speak and I cherished that short hour or so that I got to spend with her. After our short visit I told Elisha that she needed to bring her back over so that my mom and step dad could meet my daughter. As a little side note Elisha and I started back up a relationship so that we all could be a family and such but it was so strange that every time E was here she didn’t have the kids, yes she has two. Well a few weeks went by and Arianna got to meet my mama and we have a few pictures of all of us together, I have always kept a picture of Arianna and my mom up in my room in hopes that there will be many more to come. The visit at my mom’s house went well and I thought I was on my to becoming the family I always wanted. Elisha moved in with me shortly after that and said that the kids would move in soon after. Again it was false hope and after a few months I realized there was something up. I wasn’t getting to see my little girl and was getting really upset. Elisha and my relationship started a downward spiral that ended with her moving out and me still not getting to see my little girl. Elisha moved out to Orlando and I soon there after went to see Arianna’s grandparents to get a DNA test and to reassure them that their granddaughter wasn’t a bastard child. I had my mom go with me to Arianna’s home where I got to first meet Martin, his wife and Arianna’s great grandmother. After I introduced myself and being the possible father of their granddaughter the great grandmother burst into selfish tear saying “oh my god he is going to take her from us!” at that second I knew there was a lot of selfishness in the house and that there my be an obstacle to over come. Instead of being happy that their grandchild had a father they were worried about their feelings and wants instead of their grandchild’s right to know her father. They invited me into their home and allowed me to see Arianna and we had a nice visit. They invited me back to meet a couple that had an interest in my kid. Well they had planned on adopting out my little girl and Elisha’s son too. I told them on my second visit that I was going to have no part in that and that I would set up everything to get a DNA test done. I went to child support enforcement and go them to kind of start a case that only need to be signed by the grandparents and all would go great. Well once it was all said and done they never showed up o the child support place and when they were contacted by the lady who was handling everything some one at their home told her that they weren’t coming and that I wasn’t allowed back to their house. I took a deep breath and said I guess all in good time I will find a way.
A year or so went by and I was watching Judge Joe Brown and they had a thing for an upcoming show that if you thought you had a kid and wanted a DNA test to contact them. Well I did and they called me back in like a day. But when they called Elisha she flipped out and told them to go to hell; she called me and told me to go to hell and that Arianna wasn’t mine and that she didn’t even look like me and so on.
So I waited some more and every few months or so would tell my mom that I wanted to know and she would say okay and just brush me off. I don’t know why she never started any paper work or anything but I guess everything happens for a reason and god has a plan for every event that happens.
About six months ago I got to see pictures of what Arianna looks like now at three and I
cried my eyes out when I saw how much she looked like me. I emailed Elisha and begged for more pictures and she had only a few more to add to her myspace page. I couldn’t believe that she has so few pictures of her kids. I know that I would have tons mine, I would take so many pictures so that I could always see them, especially if I didn’t get to see them often. I show her picture to everyone I knew and asked them how much she looked like me. Every one kept asking what I was waiting for. Well I was waiting for more money so that I could afford the best lawyers that money could buy. I was waiting until I had the world to offer my little girl so that she would never go with out. But what I wasn’t thinking was that every day with out me she was going with out. I want to see her so bad. Every night before bed I say goodnight to her even though I know she can’t hear me. Everyday I say good morning wishing I could be cooking her breakfast. She looks so much like me and I can’t wait to have her in my life. Some people say “don’t get your hopes up” but I know deep down that she is my blood and that someday she will know me as dad.
Well just the other day I broke down in tears and left work because I couldn’t take it any more; I went to my moms all upset because this would be my third Christmas without my little girl. My mom finally got up the energy to start the paper work. I have spent a lot of time at the court house these last few days trying to get everything all together and since I am with out an attorney, I have to double check everything to make sure it is all filled out right. And there is no help from the clerks because some attorney felt he was losing out on money and demanded that clerks not do what was morally right so that people had to pay out more money to the machine. Well tomorrow the Sheriff will be serving the paper work that will change a few lives forever and I cant wait.
My day will come and I will be united with my little girl.
My friends who have stood by my side I thank you for your encouragement and your shoulders when I couldn’t take it anymore. Sarah I thank you for being so excepting of my life and Mom thank you for your helpfulness and all the time you have spent preparing my paper work for me to fill out and for being my mom.
Christmas day I asked Sarah to marry me and she said yes. I gave her my grandmother’s ring that my grandfather gave her. I am so glad to have her in my life and I know I have finally made the right choice in women. We don’t have a date set yet but all in good time for now we have a lot that will be going on with our lives and all good things come with time. She had no clue it was coming and cried tears of joy… I hope. She couldn’t call anyone because we had to leave for my dad’s house and she had to wait till late the next day to tell anyone. My dad and step mom wee very happy to here that I was getting tied down. My mom is probably the most excited that I am getting Married. Well wish us luck:)
Well I guess I have about written a book today and well may have to write another one so that if everything goes south with the court Arianna will be able to Google her name one day and find my page here. I hope it never comes to that I hope that soon I will be writing about her and mine adventures at the park with Charlie the bull dog… no I don’t have a bull dog. Yet that is, so if any of you know any one with free bull dog pups let me know.
Good night and good luck
The hopeful
I took a ride in the dryer of doom and so did Jonny and Sarah, see all the videos here. We were very safe about it and please don’t try this at home or if you are way to fat. I can’t wait to get my little sisters in the dryers lol. It is just for fun and nothing else. hey we could be out bashing mailboxes.
Michael Trump
Michael Trump 