Delores Parker's Arc

Chapter 8 of 8

After the speech, the fathers stayed at the table awhile. They scraped their plates clean and traded stories about their own kids. Delores watched her husband relax into his chair. His hands had stopped shaking. The index cards sat on the table between them, finished work. She squeezed his shoulder and stood to start clearing. She did not have to do much. Farmer Fred carried the empty roast pan to the side counter. Papa Acorn gathered the crumpled napkins from his end of the table. Troll Daddy walked the paper plates over to the trash and pressed them down. The fifth father, the one who had sold his own Ford years back, wiped the table with a damp cloth. Frank Holloway folded the tablecloth corners. By the time the kids ran out to the picnic area, the bin by the door was stacked high with plates and napkins, and the floor was clean. Daddy Parker stood by the row of six red cars and watched the fathers work. He did not know what to do with his hands. The fathers gathered their kids near the open door. One of them pulled a stack of folded shirts from a paper bag. Each shirt was bright blue with a red Model A printed across the front. He handed one to Daddy Parker, one to Delores, and one for each of the three children. "From all of us," he said. "For the man with six." Daddy Parker laughed and held his up against his chest. Delores thanked them and meant it. Outside, near the path, the fathers had set a small marker in the grass before lunch — six brass rings around a pale stone post. Delores had seen it on her way in and not known what it was for. Now she did. They had brought it themselves. The fathers walked out in a loose line, kids in tow. Delores and her husband followed them to the edge of the drive. The fathers turned and waved. Their kids waved. Daddy Parker raised his hand and Delores raised hers, and together they shouted, "HAPPY FATHER'S DAY." The fathers shouted it back. Then the cars pulled away one at a time, and the drive was empty. Delores stood beside her husband. The six red Fords sat behind them in the garage, where they would stay. She had known that for a long time now. What she had not known, until today, was that other people would come here for them too. She took his hand. The day was done, and the cars had earned their keep.