• Ah, father.

    You weren’t much of one, much as you wished to be.

    I’m sorry it had to end this way.

    Not really.

    Just like you said, it’s just another lie, right?

    Just like you do, it’s just another lie, right?

    You looked dashing in your latest fashion trend. A bright orange jump suit, topped with sterling cuffs locked around your wrists and ankles. A real show stopper. Authentic too, with County State Prison across the back. Boy, any kid would have been proud.

    For a few minutes, we said nothing. I was so ready to laugh it off. Laugh at you.

    Look where you got yourself, Father. You sure did outdo yourself.

    Not with that look in his eyes. I could practically taste the self-pity dripping down your body. I don’t believe in sympathy. You raised me that way, father. Makes you weak.

    Well, I guess I should go, huh? You won’t jeopardize your pride, even though you know you’re done. You’ve been caught. Found guilty as charged. You were wrong and I was right. You simply can’t admit that, well, it’s over. The game has been won. But you aren’t the winner. I am.

    So here I go, leaving with a fitting exit. You, dumbfounded and I smiling-no, laughing. Because, you see father, I never liked you and now I’m rid of you. I didn’t even have to lift a finger; you put yourself in here. Ha, I know I should feel sorry but I won’t. You’re a disgrace to the concept of fatherly love, family, and hope.

    Boy, any kid would have been proud.