The strange man opened the squeaky door to his old Grand Torino station wagon and little Timmy climbed in. He slid across the green vinyl seats all the way over to the passenger door. His Mom Darla scooted in beside him and the new fellow hopped in behind the steering wheel. Timmy wasn’t sure what was going on between his Mommy and this guy, but they were both silly and happy. The passenger door had a large armrest and that is where Timmy always liked to sit when he rode in his mother’s car, so he raised himself up and planted his 3 year old tiny behind on the object. In the mid 1970s seat belts were not a big deal, few vehicles even had them. Timmy would grow up to learn there were many “good ole day” things about the 70s that kids couldn’t do later, like sliding around freely in a car.
Darla Waters had not dated anyone since her ex-husband ran off with the waitress from Denton. She kept working in the textile mill and trying to support little Timmy and herself. She was making the trailer payment and buying groceries on her own without any help. Tom Cranford began stopping by her winding machine at the mill several months earlier and tried to get her to go on a date. He was divorced with a 9 year old son of his own and really wanted to get to know Darla. At first she was apprehensive. Who was this fool who is always so full of himself and why was he slowing her down at work? The supervisors were liable to run her off if they saw her talking to him. He was known as a “fixer” in the mill and that was a prestigious job. Tom had the attitude that he could prance all around the cotton mill without any consequences. He had a lot of bravado.
Over time Darla started talking to him often and they took breaks together. She even brought a little extra food that she had cooked so he could try it out. It didn’t take long for Darla to start to imagine that she deserved to be happy again and that life could be better for Timmy and herself.
Darla told Tom she would consider going on a date with him, but only if she could take her three year old. “I don’t go anywhere he doesn’t go,” said Darla. Obviously the cocky and over-confident Tom was hoping for a little romance, but he conceded that if he wanted to get to know Darla a little better he was going to have to meet Timmy right off the bat.
This first date was a trip to the Rocket Drive-In in town. The best burgers, hand-patted, cooked fresh and seasoned with worcestershire sauce made the drive-in famous. Timmy loved the perk he always got when visiting this restaurant. Patrons had to pull into stalls and lift an old black phone receiver from it’s hook on a pole to order. He always climbed across his mother’s lap and reached out the window to pick up the receiver. When Tom pulled the Ford wagon into the stall, he put the gear in park and began rolling down the window. Darla reached over and guided Timmy, “it’s okay, you can get the phone.” Tom picked up on it right away and took the shy little boy from his Mom, held him out the window and let him grab the phone. When he pulled little Timmy back in the window, their eyes met, Timmy was grinning and Tom felt his heart melt. He knew it was going to be a good date.
A few months passed and Darla was able to meet Tom’s son, Randy. Even though he was more than six years older than Timmy, they played well together and Darla was completely in love with Tom. Neither of them wanted to be alone, felt they were ready to put the past behind them and took a second chance on love. This time when Tom opened the door of the green Grand Torino for little Timmy to climb in, he was wearing a brand new buster brown suit. Tom, Darla, and Timmy headed the car toward the Cleburne County Courthouse to meet with the Justice of The Peace. Randy’s Mom wouldn’t allow him to attend the ceremony, so it was just the three of them. A flat tire along the way made Timmy panic a little, but Tom swiftly changed it and got them back on the road. A sign that he would always take care of the important and scary stuff in life. He reassured little Timmy, “no worries, I am in charge.”
As they stood before the Justice, Timmy clung tightly to his mother’s hand. After saying a few vows, the older man asked the couple to close their eyes so they could pray. Timmy was used to going to church with his grandmother and saying all his prayers late at night, so he closed his eyes tightly and listened intently. The Justice of The Peace spoke about commitment, dedication and love. He said that once they spoke “amen,” the three would be a family and the marriage would be official. As soon as the prayer was over he pronounced Tom and Darla as married. Timmy couldn’t contain his excitement, he piped up, “I got married too…I closed my eyes too!!” Laughing, Darla and Tom assured Timmy that yes, he did get married as well and they were all one family. In the coming days and weeks when the marriage was discussed, Timmy would always interrupt the conversation and let them know he closed his eyes also, so he was married too!
Timmy’s biological father would disappear almost completely from his life, but he learned to love Tom as his Dad. They dropped the word “step” from his title after Timmy explained to them that “No one is stepping on me..he is just my dad, not my stepping dad.”
The years moved on and Timmy enjoyed learning to play ball, fish, plant a garden, love Alabama football and all the things that Tom could teach him. Even though a little sister came in a few years, Timmy never questioned his place in the family or in Tom’s eyes. Tom’s large family also took him in and called him their own. He felt very loved and blessed to have his Dad.
As an adult, Timmy went on to college and became a successful businessman. He made his Dad very proud in everything that he did. One of Timmy’s corporate positions garnered him season tickets to the Alabama Crimson Tide football games. One of the best memories the two would ever make was going to games as grown men. What Tom must have felt when he looked in Timmy’s eyes back at that Rocket Drive-In was the same way Timmy felt when he saw his Dad so excited at the ball games and so proud of his son.
Shortly after Timmy turned 30 years old a bad diagnosis came. Tom was suffering from stage 4 cancer of the intestines. After several trips to the University of Alabama hospital in Birmingham, the prognosis was grim. The doctors sent Tom home to die. Darla, her kids and the family couldn’t bare the thought of giving up the fight. There just seemed to be so much left to do with his life. Timmy set out to find a way to try and save his Dad. He searched all over for specialty hospitals and found a wonderful facility in Zion, Illinois called the Cancer Treatment Center of America. Tom was frail and weak. It was questionable whether or not he could make the trip. In addition, Darla had just suffered a fall and broken her arm. Neither Darla or Tom had ever lived outside Alabama or traveled anywhere other than by car.
Timmy loaded up both his parents and headed to the airport. He put them both in wheelchairs and they made their way to the plane. The trip to Illinois gave the family hope during a time of complete stress and chaos. The doctors were confident they could help Tom.
Tom and Darla had to stay for months in Illinois for treatment. Timmy and his siblings and other family members would travel and accompany them every opportunity, but it all seemed to be working and a good outcome appeared to be around the horizon.
After nine months of treatment, they felt they had beaten the cancer. Tom and Darla were home with the kids for Christmas when he took a turn for the worse. They drove him to the nearest ER and he was admitted to the small community hospital where they lived. He continued to decline over the week and it was obvious he was not healthy enough to travel back to Illinois. On Sunday morning an on-call doctor announced to the family that his organs were shutting down and it would not be long. Tom asked for time alone with his wife and then each one of his children.
Timmy stood alone next to his Dad’s bed. The middle of three children, he felt no different about his relationship with his Dad than the other two must have felt. Tom took Timmy by the hand and lowered him down to the bed. “Son, it looks like we are at the point where I need you to take over. You are the strongest, I raised you to be. You are in charge now.” Timmy thought about those words, “your in charge.” His eyes were watery and when he closed them to pray tears streamed down both cheeks. He cleared his throat to speak, “Dad, a long time ago I closed my eyes too, no worries, I am in charge.”
They say that divorce can be the worst thing to happen to a child. Every now and then there is a silver lining and when the parents and the children are on the same page, the new relationship can be amazing. It takes a special child to look up to man with total respect, submission and love when he is not his biological father. It takes and even more special man to nurture, support, and love a child that wasn’t born his. It can work out for the best if they are both on the same page. It doesn’t hurt if everyone closes their eyes too!
