Soon

I’ve been waiting forever to see my father. Sometimes I miss him so much that I feel sick. A lump grows in my throat and my stomach hurts. My mom says these feelings are nothing but nerves and that if I ignore them, they will go away. I guess she’s right, but my stomach is tied into knots.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my mother but my father is super special. He’s like a superman for me. He can do everything and for every problem, he has a magical solution. He makes every day fun. My little brother, Sam misses him too, that is, when he’s not being naughty or getting into trouble.

A crop of dark hair springs from my little brother’s head and blotches of freckles dot his face. His brown eyes look innocent but his innocence is often a disguise. Some kind of mischief is just lurking somewhere inside him. He usually wears faded blue jeans and a shirt the color of his favorite soccer team. I, on the other hand don’t care for soccer that much. I’m more into boxing and entering into speech contests which I usually win.

Just the other day Sam’s school soccer team won the tournament. Sam paraded around the soccer field after the game. He looked very proud. But then I noticed a tear forming in his right eye. “I sure wish dad were here to see my team win,” he said sadly. I knew exactly how he was feeling. Nothing is the same when dad’s not here.

Yesterday mom was cooking noodles. I love noodles but it seems that since my dad left, we’ve been eating a lot of them. My father used to cook for us every kind of food we could ever imagine. But then my mom made chocolate chunk cookies and Sam chopped up the nuts that mom needed to include in the cookie dough. So, I guess I’m ok with noodles as long as there are chocolate chip cookies for dessert.

The smell of the cookies while they were baking drifted to every corner of our house. I could smell them everywhere. They smelled like chocolate and brown sugar at the same time. I almost drooled thinking of eating them. My mom makes the best cookies and cakes in the world I thought. Finally we got to taste her cookies. Yum, yum, yum! They were worth waiting for. I know they are the best cookies and the chocolate chunks just melted in my mouth and on my hands.

At school I don’t handle my father’s absence well either. My friends crack jokes and I smile but the smile is only on my lips. My smiles don’t come from my heart. My teachers keep me busy with schoolwork and give a lot of homework. But nothing eases the emptiness of my father’s absence. My little brother Sam and I are trying to pack and sell all our things so we can join our father. I told Sam, “Packing seems real because it means that when we sell all our stuff, we can see our dad.”

Sam thinks a minute. He is already planning. He’s looked at what cars he wants his father to buy and what kind of house he wants his father to own. “I’m always searching the internet for good deals,” Sam says to me.

I roll my eyes. “Sure, dad’s going to listen to you. He’s going to buy a blue Chevy or silver Ford just because you say so. I think the number one thing is to get all our stuff ready so we can join him.”

We go back to packing our things and advertising our furniture and giving away books and things we can’t sell and can’t take with us either. Time is going too slow. I miss my dad.

Before he left, my father and I made an agreement that I would text him a message every day and tell him how I feel. This is one thing I really enjoy doing. “Dad, I really miss you. Days without you are long and painful. Yes, school doesn’t leave me much spare time but I still miss you so. Also[ED1]  Mom, Sam, and I are busy packing the things we are going to take with us. It’s hard to decide what to sell, what to give away, and where can we put the things essential for our trip. One day soon hopefully we will all see you. I can hardly wait!”

I keep thinking of the long flight to America. It seems so exciting. I want to taste the hot meals that will be served. I want to drink lots of soda and juice and I want to sit beside the window so I can see everything grow smaller below me, the trees, the houses, and the cars as they speed along the highways. And of course I want to see the Pacific Ocean stretch into a path of blue and watch the plane soar above the clouds. I promised my dad in a text message that, “I won’t sleep at all. I’ll stay awake and watch a movie or two and watch the other passengers all the way until I reach you.”

Today I ran home after school. Something feels different. Something exciting. I don’t see my mother anywhere. I call her, “Mom, where are you?”

I hear a voice coming from the backyard. “Come quick,” my mom says.

I rush out and see her holding a letter and some tickets. “This is it,” she says happily. Next week we’re leaving.”

Before I climb into bed, I brush my long brown hair, stare at my large brown eyes and scrutinize my small frame. Then, once I’m settled down to go to sleep, I stare out my bedroom window. It’s too good to be true. I see a thousand stars winking back at me. The moon hangs orange and full in the dark blue sky. It’s smiling at me. Soon, I will see my father. Soon I’ll be with him again and then I’ll give him the biggest hug in the world.

 [ED1]