Short Story Dispensary - Summer and Fall by Randall Andrews

Tom Gallagher sat in his favorite coffee shop in a town two thousand miles away from where he grew up, a widower, father of two out of the nest. At fifty years of age, he'd done well for himself, able to put his kids through college and retire all in the same breath. His spot in the rear of the shop afforded the opportunity to see everyone who came and went, he'd lift his gaze from his computer every time the bell rang above the door. Tom Gallagher was fit for fifty, his son and daughter pushed him to exercise all those years raising them, it's what a single dad had to do. He devoted his life to work and the kids, his wife died when the kids were little and he never looked across the gate of love again, just devotion to family.