3 4 T H E T U S C A R O R A R E V I E W 2 0 2 3 The Stranger N I C H O L A S V L A S S O P O U L O S As I ride in the passenger seat of my mother’s car, I stare out the window, watching as the first leaves begin to fall off the trees. I haven’t been down this road in five years, but the towering oak trees lining the road are exactly as they once were. I’m comforted by the crisp breeze flowing through the window. I hold in my hands a list of items that my mother wants me to bring back with me after I leave. This is the first time that I am visiting my father in our old family home since the divorce a few years ago. After a lengthy custody battle that included several rulings and re-trials, it had been decided that I will be spending one weekend every month in the place that I used to call home. I had been staying with my mom exclusively until the court finally decided to throw my father a bone. Being thirteenyears-old, I had little say in the matter. It’s not as if they took my opinion very seriously. But it’s not exactly an arrangement that I’m in favor of. My father isn’t a bad person by any means. I just never had much of a relationship with him, as he was always working or on a business trip of some sort. The extent of my memory of our relationship was eating dinner together, and my mom has always been much more of a parent to me. As we approach, I immediately notice the trademark purple front door that can’t be missed, and the sprawling ivy climbing up the siding. I actually begin to feel a bit relieved upon seeing these familiar sights. After all, this used to be my home, right? It isn’t like I really had a rough go of it while I was living here. Maybe this won’t be so bad. My mom sends me off with a hug, tells me that it’ll be over before I know it, and that she’ll miss me as I head up the walkway. My father welcomes me inside with an awkwardly forced hug, and the memories all start flooding back into my mind at once: how I would curl up like a cat and nap under the skylight in the sunroom after lunch, how I used to lie in the hammock under the two giant maple trees with my older sister on gorgeous fall afternoons, just like this, watching as the crimson leaves fell all around us. Everything
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQxMTc1