Rob and Rex go their ways (December 14)

The meal passed agreeably. By the time our second beers arrived, … Rex was keen to fill me in on events between Port and Toronto.

“Things are great with Josée. And Antek wants us to get married in the spring. By the time you see us next year, she’ll be Josée Doiron like me. We’ll bring my parents down for the wedding, and that’ll be it.” He clenched his fist on the tablecloth. “My future’s in Toronto now. I never thought so, but that’s the way it is.” His decision came as little surprise.

My grandfather’s rueful prediction a year or more earlier rang in my ears. “You’ll see, Rob. All at once he’ll be smoothing the sheets on the bed he always swore he’d never lie in. And you’ll have to wish him well. But in fact, with any luck, he’ll be fine.”

There had been no mockery in Grandpa’s voice. He was simply preparing me for the inevitable. And now his prophecy was coming true. I heard myself saying what I knew he would have expected. I believed it, too.

“Rex, you’re a lucky guy.” We clicked bottles. “I guess I won’t make it, but I’m sure it’ll be one hell of a party.”

Pp. 219-20

Of course, Rex’s bond with Josée and her family had been in the making for years. The final outcome was not only predictable but also just as satisfactory as Grandpa foresaw. Time goes on, relationships ebb and flow, and the chief lesson is not that we cannot infer what will happen (which is obvious), but that we can never be sure how we’ll react when the time comes.

As Buddhism teaches, ‘Karma’s workings are deep and hard to trace.’ Do you agree? Why not leave a comment?

(Illustration generated by AI)