Dan: Epiblogue

I went to physio this morning, but my heart wasn't in it. I don't easily conceal my feelings, Ms J.

"You look so sad, Dale," said Beenzy. "What's wrong?"

I told her about Dan being in court this morning and that I was worried about him.

"Are you thinking you should be with him?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, Beenz," I said. "I don't know how I feel. I don't know what to think."

"Have you done your weights yet?" she asked. "Cuz if you've done your strengthening exercises, you might as well take off. The weights are really the most important ones. Why don't you go and be with your son? You're not really doing much here, are you?"

Sabina was right. I really wasn't trying very hard to do my exercises properly. Or at all. All I could think of was Dan, so I left the clinic about 10:30 and came home. I found the court house address and phone number on the internet and called for information.

"Can you tell me if you have a Daniel Pringle on the docket there this morning?"

The lady told me yes.

"What time is he supposed to appear?"

"Nine a.m.," she said.

I looked at my watch. It was 10:45.

"Do you know if his case has been heard yet?" I asked.

She said she didn't know, but she thought most likely it had.

"They usually don't get too far behind schedule until after noon."

I thanked her and hung up the phone. There was nothing I could do now. There was no sense in driving a half hour to Burlington. Dan may well have been on his way home. Or in jail. I paced around the house here like a tiger in a cage for a few minutes until the phone rang. It was Reverend Linda from church.

"Oh hi Dale. I was just calling to thank you again for your sermon on Sunday. It was awesome. I hope you'll do another one for us someday."

And she went on. My ego was devouring her praise like a hungry dog might gorge itself on a rabbit. But my heart couldn't enjoy it.

"Are you busy right now, Linda?" I asked. "I'd like to come over and talk with you."

I visited with Linda for nearly two hours. She assured me that my decision not to help Dan was probably the best thing to do. And she reminded me of the parable of the prodigal son.

"We each have a path to follow, Dale. Maybe this is just part of God's plan for Daniel. You once told me you were in your 40's before you began to wake up."

She was right. Dan is foolish and reckless and inexperienced. He's not even nineteen yet, though. He still has time to grow up.

I met a friend, Frankie, for lunch. We talked about Dan and we talked about my decision not to drive him to court this morning. I wondered aloud if I'd made the right choice.

"Don't worry," Frankie said as she picked at her French fries. "As soon as you make a decision, The Universe adjusts."

I guess she was implying that any decision would be a good one, and I felt better. Frankie often seems to know just the right thing to say ...

I called Kelly tonight to ask about Dan. Apparently, he's too angry with me to talk to me. That's fine. I'm not exactly thrilled with him either.

"What happened, Kelly? Who drove him to Burlington? What happened in court?"

Kelly said she called the police and manipulated them into collecting Dan at home and delivering him to court twenty miles away. The police would have brought him home too, but Dan met a neighbour outside the court house, and caught a ride home with them. His case was remanded to September because he had no lawyer. I'll make sure I find out what day he's returning to court, Ms J. The police have offered to take him there again, but I might like to sit quietly in the courtroom next time and observe.

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