– Well, hello, son, – an old man greeted Scott.
He was wearing an old, scrubbed jacket, right trousers and a knitted hat with a dirk. Scott was wiping the car with a rag at that moment. He looked at the old man and said:
– Man, you must have made a mistake. Go on your way. I don’t have any money.
– Come on, Scott! Look, it’s me, your father, – the man said.
– You’re not a painting for me to look at you. I’m telling you, you’ve made your mistake, go on your way.
– Don’t you believe me? Look,” the man took out some documents from a folder, “and here’s your photo. Here you are one year old.
Scott looked at the photo more closely, and then looked at the old man again. It’s the same! And then, he started to get furious. Scott remembered everything he had experienced without his father. He had left him and his mother when he was only a year old.
He also recalled that his mother loved this bastard so much that she even refused to go out again, although there were good candidates. He recalled how the boys at school used to beat him and insult him, and there was no one to defend him. He remembered how he always dreamed about his father and cried at night for him to return, but he was gone for 35 years.
– You got it now, son?
– No, I never had a father,” Scott replied sharply.
– Of course you didn’t, I’ve collected all the receipts of alimony payments. I always paid you back. I have it all saved up here! Yes, it didn’t work out with your mother, but that’s life. It happens, and I have fulfilled my paternal duty to you.
– Life? And the one you left us in charge of? Didn’t you even have a heartache when you left? Where were you when I went to school? You weren’t at my graduation or my prom! Where were you when I cried at night and my mother put a cold towel on my bruises? She even wanted to go to the police, but I told her no. I just needed you to be around so I could see what a real man looks like. But you gave me nothing! And you still come to me after that?
– Yes, I came because I have nowhere else to go. I’m old and healthy. I have a studio apartment, but I can’t keep it because I spend all my money on medicine. I don’t even have the proofs to show you what I can do. That’s why I came. I propose to negotiate and determine the amount that you can give me.
– You have a conscience! You were not even 35 years old, and now I have to pay you money?
– This is emergency aid. I used to pay your mother alimony, so now you have to support me.
– I’m not giving you anything! Get out of here and don’t let me see you again!” Scott snapped.
– So you’re with me… Okay, – the old man said with a slight smile.
– Are you threatening me?
– No, son, no. Bye!
– It’s better to say goodbye!
– No, we’ll meet again.
Scott was furious at his father’s unexpected entrance and kicked the car. A month passed and he received a summons to court. The plaintiff was his father. It turned out that the man was taking all the receipts and documents. He demanded a percentage of the fees and the court decided to transfer the full amount of Scott’s salary for the treatment of his father. As luck would have it, Scott had a good job and a high salary, so the amount was a tidy sum.
But why should the son pay alimony to the one who abandoned him and didn’t tell him all these years?
