Generation Gap

“Jimmy, go check to see if we got any milk today,” ordered Don in his slow, gruff voice.

“I’m sorry Pa, but you know the milkman hasn’t come by for months now,” said Jimmy in as much of a sympathetic voice as he could muster. Jimmy was well aware that he was sending him on a mission to which Pa would only turn his anger of not being able to afford milk for the family onto his only son.

“Dammit Jimmy, that’s not the answer I want to hear from you, boy! If there’s no milk for us, you better do something to fix that problem before I fix you!” Having no milk was a constant reminder that his more than capable son could never help him with supporting the family. Milk became the symbol of his obvious failure as a father.

“I’m doing what I can Pa. My school exams are almost complete and then I can…” but Don abruptly cut him off as he jumped to his feet, his fist crashing onto the kitchen table.

“Boy I swear I hope Mary and all the saints are watching over you, because if here you say the word ‘school’ one more time, you’re sure as hell are going to need them to protect you!” Don’s unyielding gaze met Jimmy’s and seemed to physically force him backward. And for what felt like the entire morning, Don finally cooled down and finished his milk-less cereal. Jimmy lost his appetite and left for school.

The school was about five miles from their home, uphill both ways. The tedious walk gave Jimmy ample time to think about yet another scolding his father paid him. It was becoming too perfunctory for him to put up with these morning tirades from his father. Did Pa even understand what he was doing? Was he so myopic that he didn’t realize what an education in banking would mean for them? Two more weeks and I will make more money in one year than he has ever made in his lifetime…

Just thinking about his son, his pathetic, failure-at-life son, was enough to get him riled up again. Have I not fathered him well enough to show him what twenty-five years of hard labor can do? Sure there are times when we barely got by on what we had, but all in all, if you work hard, you get paid. But if you’re in school, you make nothing. An erudite son puts no milk in my cereal! His incarnadine face wasn’t going to cool down any time soon. He tried to think about the job he was assigned for all these years. He would be a part of history, working on the world’s largest building in the greatest city on earth. It made him proud. Two more weeks and his life’s work would be complete.

The two weeks went by and Jimmy and his father barely saw each other. They were so engulfed in their respective work that Don had no time to quarrel, or rather, deride his sons’ decisions. They sat awkwardly beside each other at church, counting the seconds when this family formality would end and they could hide behind their work again. But after the closing hymn finished and they exited the church, neither of them knew what to do. Don had no work to do on a Sunday, and Jimmy finished his exams. They were forced to spend time together until tomorrow.

Tomorrow came, and not a minute too soon. They both lumbered into the kitchen and sat at the table. Don had completed work on the Empire State Building, and he had no desire to see the fruits of his labor as it meant no more source of income for himself. Wishing his son would maybe earn a few pennies for once in his life, he fixed his eyes on his son and was about to begin their old morning routine until he notice something on Jimmy’s face. Was he smiling? Does my son have the audacity to smile at my impoverished predicament?! But before he could launch a slew of invectives, his son began to speak.

“Pa, I want to thank for all your hard work. I know you hate me, and I am beginning to understand why. You could have had a strong, intrepid son to work at your side, to take breaks with while overlooking the entire city, to have pride as my mentor. I was none of these to you. I was a failure in your eyes. But I am sitting here, ebullient and proud, because I have something to give you.” He practically gamboled to the front door, opened it, and hauled in ten cases of milk. Don was aghast, his eyes wide, his jaw to the floor. “Because of your work Pa, I was offered a job in the building you built. And with my signing bonus, I wanted to offer you more milk than you could possibly drink. And I figure since you are out of work now, it will give you something to do.” His father could have beaten him to the ground if he wanted to, but he didn’t. And even if he did, Jimmy would probably still have that fatuous smile on his face, knowing full well that he either paid his father the most loving compliment or the most insulting jab he would ever be able to make. Suddenly, tears came down Don’s face. He knew Jimmy was right, but he still didn’t know whether his son would forgive him. But before he could think any further, Jimmy embraced his father. For at that moment, they finally understood each other and were happy to be a part of the same family.