The Son I Lost

The son I lost My sister had three sons she was not in good health and when her oldest brother was 16, she died and left them to a father who was cold and distant. Since I didn´t have a son, I thought of the oldest, Earl, like my son. Earl worked hard and studied, and moved out as soon as he could to a flat of his own. Of his two younger brothers I have little to say as they succumbed to the narrow confined of a small town. Earl married too early to an unsuitable woman, but the marriage produced a son the divorce court gave to him, which set back his studies for a few years Finally, he got his diploma and worked for an oil firm designing rigs and the mysterious world of techniques I know nothing about. When he had a difficult problem, he came, stayed at my house sat on the terrace to late-night till he found a solution. Years went by he grew and became a leader, although he was naturally shy, he put that aside when working. Suddenly, it appears to me that everything happens at the same time, It was time for him to retire. I have lost him as a son, he doesn't need me anymore, and that is the way It should be.