Charlie's Nephew

Charlie was my uncle
But, uh...

It's sort of a strange situation
Because he was married to my mom at one point

I mean, like
Before I was born

Then my mom left him and married my dad
And it was sort of a big family thing
For a long time

My dad passed away before he and my Uncle Charlie
Could patch things up
And I know that was something that always bothered him
Even if he never said so

My dad wasn't much for talking
But he was a pretty good father, all the same

I'm sorry, you don't care about--

Um, about a month before my dad got sick
My mom found out she had cancer
And it was the aggressive kind
She didn't tell my dad
Because she didn't want him to worry about her
But once he passed away
She started getting treated for it

I was working out of state
And my mom didn't want me to give up my job
So I couldn't be here for most of her treatments
But I guess when Uncle Charlie found out she was sick
He showed up at the house
And offered to bring her to the doctor's office
And wherever else she needed to go

I called him to say 'Thank you'
Because I knew that couldn't have been easy for him

He and my mom hadn't talked
For, like, twenty-five years
Since before I was born

He didn't answer when I called
And when I left a message
He didn't call me back

My mom said it was probably because
Me and my father have the same voice
And he couldn't handle hearing it

She said that Uncle Charlie bringing her to her appointments
Was his way of making up for the fact
That he never settled things with my Dad

I guess stubbornness runs in their family

My mom fought really hard
But when it's that bad...

It's an awful thing

Losing both your parents
In the same year
It's...

It's an awful thing

I saw Uncle Charlie at Mom's funeral
But he didn't say anything to me

So I figured...

I figured he couldn't handle what I was
What I represented

This symbol of this ultimate betrayal in his life

It sucked because--

Because he was sort of the only family I had left

My grandparents had passed away
And I didn't have any siblings

Sucks having to go through that kind of stuff alone

But you know, then I met this girl
This girl from work
One of the associates
And we started dating
And she was--she was just amazing

We started dating
And after a year
We got engaged

Planning the wedding was...bittersweet

Because I knew I couldn't have my parents there

I invited Uncle Charlie
But I knew he wouldn't show up

The day of the ceremony
I was in this little room
At the back of the church
Trying to tie my tie

And that's when I remembered that--

My Dad always used to tie my tie

I never learned how

At his funeral, I just wore this clip-on
But I forgot to buy one for the wedding
So here I am
Twisting this thing around
Trying to make it look decent
So I don't look like a chump
At my own wedding
When I hear someone behind me say--

'Need any help?'

I turn around

And there's Charlie

He walked up to me
And in about five seconds
I had a perfectly tied tie

When I told him my dad used to tie all my ties
He said--'Who do you think taught him how?'

But then he smiled a little
So I relaxed

It meant a lot to me to have him there
In spite of everything
It really meant a lot

'Thanks, Uncle Charlie,' I said, 'Thanks for coming'

And he said--

'I should have been here a lot sooner.'

I'd like to say we became close after that
But I think being around me
Was still hard for my uncle
And I understood that

He'd call on holidays and birthdays
And we'd get cards
And, you know, that was okay

I would have liked more
But whatever he could give

I appreciated

You have to let people love you
Whatever way they can
You can't put conditions on it

That's something
My dad taught me