Ghost of Valentine Past

Five years ago today I said goodbye to a father I barely recognized. I sat perched on the edge of a flimsy nursing home mattress and said goodbye. I said, “I love you” and meant it. And this man, this father I barely recognized said, “I’m sorry.” He whispered, “Forgive me” and meant it, while floating in and out of a morphine dream.

My real father, the one I recognized and knew growing up, would never have apologized. He…