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“I’m afraid,” he finally managed.
“I know you are. I know it’s not going to be easy, but you can do it.”
“The idea of sitting down and talking about what happened to Orin makes me feel like a scared little kid again.”
“You are braver and stronger than you think you are. Look at your job, how you help people every day. I think it’s time you help yourself.”
“Thanks for having faith in me.”
“I’ve known you since you were a teenager, Oliver. You didn’t stop being my son because you and Val split up. And I know you. You are a good man and worthy of the faith I have in you.”
Emotions welled up inside Oliver. “You’ve been a good father-in-law to me, Donny.”
“Children are a blessing, a gift from God. There’s nothing like holding a child you made with the woman you love, seeing yourself in them, watching them grow and change and make a difference in the world. Maybe you weren’t ready to go through this when you were with Val, but I can tell you are now. Don’t miss out on happiness because of a past you had no control over. We’ll never fully understand why bad things happen to good people in this life. But don’t let it stop you from living. Get the healing you need, be with the woman you love. You won’t regret it.”
Oliver nodded.
“You can consider it my last dying wish,” Donny said it with a wink, but Oliver knew there was more than a hint of truth there. “Don’t let me down.”
“I won’t.”
“Good man.”
The entire drive home, Oliver thought about the things Donny had told him, and he wept for the man who had been more of a father to him than his own had been. He wished he had gone for a visit sooner, that he had more time.
Going to therapy was a scary thought. Donny had tried to get him to do it years before when he and Val were falling apart over the same issue, but he couldn’t. Now he realized it was his stubbornness and fear that had held him back before. But Donny was right. More time had passed and maybe he was ready to finally deal with his ghosts now.
Late that night, he got a call from Val. Donny had passed away peacefully.