Part 2 - "Son"

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I knocked at the door and checked my mobile for sms’s, there were none. The Door was still locked tough, I knocked again and waited silently. My legs were tired standing in the longest of queues I had ever faced for an interview. As I knocked in a third time, exceedingly irritated I shouted out loud “Pa, Where are you? Open the door” The door finally opened aafter another few minutes and what greeted my eyes blew up my temper even further, “Pa, you always find new ways to embarrass me don’t you? I have a bon voyage party in half an hour and you are still not dressed”, “You can’t walk around shabbily dressed as you are now”; Dad looked at me said nothing and smiled. I continued “And what took you so long to open the door, I waited for what was like an eternity”

I entered the house and started arranging stuff for the party. I couldn’t believe that I had got myself tricked into throwing a Bon voyage party when I had better things to do , “I still haven’t packed a thing , and I am supposed to leave in two weeks” I said to myself. With the finishing touches to the arrangement done , I looked around to Check if dad was dressed as yet , I entered his room and found him well dressed , Shaved sitting on the recliner and thinking something , “Dressed to kill , Right Pa “ I said and Chuckled.

“Don’t go Son, Please Don’t “he looked at me, his voice sermonic. “We have been through this a number of times Pa , You know I have to go , I really can’t help it , Indian economy is on a decline and Usa counterparts even though dealing with a recession is expected to pick up in a couple of days , You can’t expect me to rot here in this country , when I know I can go to better places and scale new heights” I said “Besides , It would take me some three months to get settled and then I will fly you to Usa with me”

He took my hand into his and touched my fingers, “But having lived all my life in India, I really don’t know if I will be able to adjust to the high profile life there, Besides all of our relatives are in India I see no reason, Why even you want to go there, The economy will soon be back to normal and you will find a decent pay package in the country itself”. “I really don’t have the time for any of this, I can’t believe I am having this conversation with you again Pa, You are just another old stubborn man, People like you are a hurdle in the growth of their children as they refuse to see the truth and grow with it” I yelled and stormed to answer the doorbell shutting the door with a loud thud behind me.

All my friends had come over , As I opened the door , They hastened past me in a big huddle , After a few complimentary drinks and speeches the party began. It took me and my friends four hours to finally end the party and realize it was pretty late in the night. I looked towards dad’s room to find the door closed tightly as ever and I realized he didn’t even have his dinner , he never stepped out of the room after my outburst.

With the crowd of cheering people around me gone, I was finally hit with the realization that indeed Dad loathed my decision to go abroad. How much ever as I wanted to go, I knew I won’t be able to make it until he agrees, “He is my dad after all, I love him a lot” I exclaimed.

I checked the calendar again , Some two weeks were still left for my tryst with destiny to begin , I was exultant when I had pulled my usa trip off because being an average student all my life, It was mind – boggling that I was indeed going to the United states. “I need to convince Pa, This can change my entire life, and I can’t choose to be emotional right now” I said to myself.

I checked the Door of Dad’s room to find it ajar, I went straight in and enquired “Dad, you still up? “. He didn’t say a word, I assumed he was sleeping, so I sat down the bed near his legs and started massaging them. The tough seemed to startle him and he woke up in a whisker.

“What are you doing son? “ He asked, Sounding Concerned. “Pa, you skipped dinner tonight?” I quickly placed the dinner plate on his table “Please, eat something”. He refused to look in the direction of the food, I was feeling repentant for yelling on him in the evening and He had skipped his dinner to punish me. I took the bottle of juice from the dinner plate and made him drink it, as I looked into his eyes, I saw a Drop of moisture outline sharply across his eyes. “I am Sorry pa , I guess I lost it today” I said and started crying , Dad placed his hand on my head and said , “It's okay , I know I am being a stubborn old man , But my problem is I love you a lot son”

“I love you too Pa, and there is a reason why I want to go the Us. I know I will love it out there Pa , The work atmosphere , the people , salary , everything is so phenomenal , I mean now I can’t find any reasons to stay back in India” I said and looked at him. “The reason is sitting right in front of your eyes my son, isn’t it?” He chuckled

I laughed along with him “ Pa , all my childhood you have taught me only one thing, work and study hard and attain my goals to be successful in life , Now I want to work hard pa , I want to be there not because I am being sent , but because I belong there” I said with assertion in my eyes.

Dad’s hand caressed my head “You really want to go there don’t you?” “Yes Pa, I would love it there” My dad forced a pained smile and said “Then go, but don’t forget to pick me up after three months” he giggled.

The two weeks passed away in no time and I got to see less and less of Dad due to Visa work and settling stuff in the USA. But every time I saw him, I got the feeling he never was happy with me going abroad. Every time I saw him he joked and smiled but something gave me the feeling he was growing fragile, weaker from the inside.

My departure was not very emotional; Dad and a couple of friends had come to see me off, all of them giving me best wishes for my future. The ride on the plane was smooth, but due to air turbulence problems it took me some 10 hours extra to reach America.

I was so happy to be in the country of my dreams , As soon as I stepped my foot on American soil , my cell beeped , In spite of the excitement of being in America taking its toll on me , I decided to check it “I hope you reached America safely. Your father passed away in a massive heart attack he suffered last night , we couldn’t reach you , call as soon as possible”