A cop on patrol duty named Dean pulled over a car, but something amazing happened when the driver rolled down the window. When Dean began his patrol that hot summer Friday afternoon, he assumed it would end up as just a normal day out on the field. As a state trooper, Dean’s main duty was to ensure the safety of the streets and highways. He dedicated a significant portion of his patrol time to pulling over drivers who violated traffic laws.
That particular afternoon, Dean was just settling down to the business of the day when a white sedan sped past him. The driver wasn’t speeding like most of the drivers Dean usually pulled over; instead, it was the heavily tinted windows that caught his attention, clearly exceeding the legal limits. Dean wondered how the driver was even able to see out of the car. Tinting car windows was legal in the state, and many drivers chose to tint their windows for various reasons, so it wasn’t a big deal. However, it became a problem when the tinted windows were so dark that the driver couldn’t see properly.
As the dedicated cop that he was, Dean didn’t want the driver or anyone else to get hurt due to the poor visibility of the car’s windows, so he sprung into action and promptly kickstarted his patrol car to chase down the white vehicle. The chase lasted for a few minutes before Dean overtook the driver and signaled him to pull over. The driver obeyed the order at once and pulled over by the roadside. Dean left his lights flashing as he got out of the patrol car and strolled over to the white vehicle to speak to the driver.
As the driver rolled down his window, the first thing that Dean noticed about him was his age and appearance. To Dean, the driver was most probably in his mid-50s and was particularly well-dressed and groomed. Dean then started politely talking to the driver about his overly tinted windows, but instead of attempting to defend himself, as many drivers in similar situations would likely have done, the driver simply introduced himself as Dan. Then, with a warm smile, Dan started asking Dean about himself.
Of course, Dean was initially surprised about Dan’s unusual questions, but there was just something so oddly enchanting about the man that Dean soon found himself talking with him like they had known each other for ages. Dean normally didn’t talk about his personal life with strangers, let alone strangers that he was about to book for breaking a traffic law, but with Dan, it was totally different. Dean simply felt an odd, inexplicable connection with him. So Dean was soon telling Dan about the town he was born and raised in.
Dan excitedly told Dean that he spent most of his life in the same town before he traveled abroad. Dan then asked Dean about his parents. Dean answered that he was raised by a single mother named Debbie, who worked as a banker. Dan immediately told Dean that he knew his mom very well. According to Dan, Debbie was one of his biggest customers when he was managing a grocery store in the town. Dan further revealed to Dean that he even knew his father as well.
Dean was really amazed at the revelation because he never really knew his father. Dean then pleaded with Dan that he would really love to hear a thing or two about his father from him. Dan replied that he was actually on his way to a business meeting, so perhaps they would both have to meet and sit down to talk some other day. Dean, who seemed to have even forgotten the reason why he pulled Dan’s car over in the first place, quickly agreed to his suggestion. Both men exchanged phone contacts and home addresses, and they even agreed to meet for lunch at Dean’s place in two days, which happened to be on a Sunday.
Dan then thanked Dean, shook his hand, and promptly drove away. But as soon as Dan drove away, Dean seemed to have suddenly come back to his senses. A voice inside him told him that Dan only became too nice and chatty as a ploy to avoid being booked for his infraction. Dean basically felt that Dan had fooled him by lying that he knew his parents just to divert the attention away from his tinted windows and escape being booked and fined. Dean returned back home that evening feeling a mixture of confusion and excitement. He was confused as to whether Dan really knew his parents, especially his father, like he claimed to. However, Dean was also excited as he was quite eager to learn something, anything at all, about his father whom he never knew.
The then 25-year-old Dean was raised by a single mom named Debbie. Dean had everything he needed while growing up, apart from a father and siblings, of course. Debbie spoiled Dean silly with love and care. She basically made Dean the center of her universe. Dean loved and cherished his mom in return. She was his provider, protector, and confidant, and the only person he could trust wholeheartedly. But as he grew older, Dean started noticing something quite strange about his mom.
Debbie never talked about Dean’s biological father; she never even so much as mentioned his name once. Worse still, Dean never found a single picture of his father in all the photo albums in their house. All the pictures were of Debbie and his younger self. It was like Dean’s biological father never existed, as if he was conceived by immaculate conception. Moreover, Debbie lived like a pariah. She had neither friends nor relatives, and she never socialized.
This odd realization only piqued Dean’s interest to find out from his mom who his biological father was. But try as much as he could, Dean never got any concrete answers from his mom about the issue. Debbie would always ignore him, or she would simply tell him to just forget about that shameless man whenever Dean asked her about his father.
“But Mom, please, I deserve to know about my biological father, whether he was shameless or not,” Dean would always cry out to Debbie during such episodes. But all his pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears until Dean decided that enough was enough. He just couldn’t take it any longer. The utter ambiguity about his father was killing him. So Dean decided to go to the most extreme lengths to force Debbie to open up to him about his father.
It happened one late evening during a dinner that Dean had with his mom when he was barely 17. Dean suddenly stood up during the course of the meal and picked up a table knife. Holding the knife close to his neck, Dean threatened to hurt himself if Debbie didn’t open up to him about his father. The obviously scared and stunned Debbie looked into Dean’s wild eyes and realized, to her utter dismay, that he wasn’t bluffing.
“Calm down, darling. Just calm down, and I will tell you everything you need to know about your father right away,” Debbie desperately begged her beloved son.
Dean settled back into his seat. Then Debbie immediately started telling him about his father. According to Debbie’s story, she had met Dean’s father in college. They were both classmates, even though Dean’s father was three years her senior. They got talking, and soon enough, they were fully dating. Debbie continued the story about how Dean’s father got her pregnant only to deny responsibility for the pregnancy when she told him about it. Debbie was profusely crying as she told Dean that, as if to add salt to injury, his father dumped her just three weeks before their planned wedding.
Then, barely a week later, he eloped with a younger, richer lover. Debbie was so heartbroken after Dean’s father dumped her that she almost took her own life, but she somehow managed to pull herself together, nursed the pregnancy, and finally gave birth to him. Debbie ended her lengthy story by expressing her disappointment that despite her lifelong efforts to provide for him, Dean paid her back by reopening old wounds.
After her final words, Debbie’s tears seemed to increase in crescendo. At this point, Dean, who had been looking quite gloomy since Debbie burst into tears, rushed over to her and embraced her tightly. Dean then vowed to Debbie that he was never going to bring up the issue of his father ever again, a vow which he religiously kept.
But all this had happened almost seven years earlier. Debbie was even deceased. She had died from ovarian cancer about a year prior to Dean meeting Dan. Needless to say, Dean was extremely saddened when the news of his mom’s death reached him. He cried like a baby for days on end, both during and after Debbie’s funeral and burial. Dean felt so alone and abandoned; his mom was the only person he had really known and trusted all his life. But time, they say, heals, and with time, Dean gradually but surely healed from the trauma of losing his mom.
Dean was already a cop when his mom passed away. He had always dreamt of becoming a cop since his childhood days, so with his mom’s blessings and support, Dean had proceeded to a police training academy once he graduated from high school at age 18. After two years of intensive police training, Dean graduated from the police academy with excellent honors.
He received the badge and was duly introduced into the city’s police department. Dean was quite overwhelmed with joy that he had fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a cop. Debbie was proud of her son and happy for him. But barely four years after he became a cop, tragedy struck and Dean lost his beloved mom.
After Debbie’s death, Dean made the resolve to totally immerse himself in his policing career. He sought to find solace and purpose in his police career. Hence, Dean took his duties as a state trooper quite seriously. He always proved that he was a dedicated officer, especially in regards to responding to risky emergency situations, much to the admiration of his superiors. And it was even in the line of duty that Dean met Dan, who claimed to know a lot about his father.
“What would Dan possibly know about my father? Does he know a secret or two about him that my mom never told me about?” These were the thoughts going on in Dean’s mind as he turned in bed
throughout the night that he met Dan. Dean tried everything possible to sleep that particular night, but all to no avail, as his mind just kept wandering back to the encounter he had with Dan. He finally managed to sleep for only three hours that whole night.
As Sunday approached, Dean was on the fence as to whether Dan would keep to his promise and call at his home or not. Nevertheless, he sincerely hoped Dan wouldn’t disappoint because he was eager to learn about his father, who had always seemed like a distant dream. Dean literally counted the hours down to Sunday. On Sunday, Dean prepared a nice meal for lunch. He even bought a bottle of expensive grape wine. The day happened to be his free day, so after he was done with preparing lunch, Dean just sat in his sitting room watching TV while eagerly awaiting Dan’s arrival.
Dan had promised to call at Dean’s home before 3:00 p.m. that Sunday afternoon, but as Dean keenly waited in his sitting room, the appointed time came and passed, and there was no sign of Dan. Dean was really getting increasingly frustrated as the minutes ran by. He even started blaming himself for being so naive to have believed Dan in the first place.
Soon enough, the wall clock struck 5:00 p.m., and there was still no sign of Dan. By then, Dean had waited enough. He had totally given up all hope that Dan would still honor his promise. Dean was about to grab his car keys to go to a nearby bar for some beer to calm his tense nerves when he heard a loud knock on his door.
The loud knock really startled Dean as he quickly rushed to the door. Dean flung the door open, and standing right there was no other person but Dan, smiling from ear to ear. Dean, who had seemingly forgotten all his frustrations once he had sighted Dan, warmly greeted him, then he stepped out of the way to let his guest into the house.
Dan immediately apologized for his lateness, which he attributed to a traffic jam. Dean accepted the apologies with a warm smile, then he promptly led Dan to the dining table where he treated Dan to a sumptuous meal. When they were done eating and over a glass of wine, both men then settled down for a heart-to-heart chat.
Dean wasted no time at all before he excitedly asked Dan to tell him about his father like he had promised to.
“What’s even his name to start with?” Dean asked Dan. “My late mom never even bothered to tell me my father’s name,” Dean continued.
“Dan,” Dean’s guest simply answered with a sly smile.
“Pardon, but you must have misunderstood me, sir. I just asked you for my father’s name, not yours,” Dean hurriedly replied.
“Dan,” his guest repeated, with a serious look on his face this time.
Dean was somewhat taken aback by the answer, so he promptly asked Dan if he was a namesake to his father.
“Yes,” Dan simply answered.
“Oh, I see,” the startled-looking Dean answered before he asked Dan where he thought his father might be at the moment.
“He’s right here with you,” Dan replied, looking straight into Dean’s eyes.
Dean was stunned beyond words. He subconsciously leaned back into his seat and just sat staring at Dan in utter disbelief. Dan then seized the moment and began his story. He told Dean of how he had met and fallen in love with Debbie in college.
Dan revealed to Dean that he and Debbie had actually gotten married. Dan further told Dean that he unfortunately lost his job as a clerk at a new consultancy firm barely six months after his birth, and that was the genesis of his problems with Debbie. Dean simply remained silent and just kept staring at Dan with his mouth agape as he continued his story.
According to Dan, Debbie became a real thorn in his flesh once he lost his job. Debbie would shout at him at the slightest provocation, and she never got tired of calling him lazy and all sorts of insulting names. Dan’s once peaceful home suddenly became hell for him as Debbie ceaselessly nagged and bitterly complained that the financial burden on her was just too heavy for her to shoulder alone. Dan paused a little, as if he was contemplating whether or not to make further revelations to Dean. Then he suddenly hit the nail on the head in a deeply teary tone.
“Debbie finally dumped me for a richer man, my beloved son. She then sued for divorce, and the authorities threw me out of the house. You were barely two years old then, son.”
Dan continued that he was so shattered by the divorce that he left for Canada, where he eventually succeeded in picking up the pieces of his shattered life. Dan concluded his story by pointing out to Dean that he never forgot him once, as he dearly loved him. He had actually been following up on his life from the information he got from his acquaintances ever since.
Dan also disclosed to Dean that he learned that the rich man Debbie dumped him for eventually dumped her too, in less than two years. Then, almost 22 years later, he heard about Debbie’s death and felt that the time was finally right to reveal himself to his beloved son. Dan finished the story in a voice that clearly indicated that he was trying so hard to hold back his tears. Then he started looking ever so pleadingly at Dean, like he was begging him to believe his story and accept him as his biological father.
“But Mom told me that you were the one that left her for a richer and younger lover just a few weeks to your planned wedding,” Dean quickly blurted out.
Dan said nothing, like he had anticipated and was ready for such a question. He just dipped his hand in his trouser pocket and brought out some pictures, a piece of a document, and a small tape recorder one after the other. Dan first passed the pictures over the table to Dean, who picked them up at once and stared at each of them in sheer bewilderment.
They were all pictures of a younger-looking Dan and Debbie on their wedding day. Dan then passed the piece of the document over to Dean, just like he had done with the pictures. Dean, with his hands shaking, picked up the document and glanced through it. To his growing astonishment, the document was a copy of the divorce papers that Debbie had clearly initiated against Dan.
Finally, like the icing on the cake, Dan started playing the tape recorder. Dean listened carefully and was stunned to hear the unmistakable voice of his late mom shouting insults at Dan. Debbie even called Dan a lazy, good-for-nothing man in the recording and threatened to leave him for a real man that would take good care of her. There was no doubt whatsoever left inside Dean when the recording ended that Dan was telling nothing but the whole truth. So Dean promptly rushed over to Dan, crying, “Oh, Dad!” Dan quickly stood up and stretched out his hands as Dean tightly embraced him.
“I loved you, my beloved son, and I will continue loving you forever,” Dan kept telling Dean amid tears as the two men were locked in a tight embrace.
“I love you too, Dad,” Dean answered Dan amid tears too. It was a really emotional scene, to say the least.
