Best Dad

My dad sits next to me on the bed, his hands twisting in time with the rising sun outside my bedroom window. As it rises higher, his hands become almost unnoticeably more frantic in their dance.

Twitch, bend, hand over hand, repeat.

I sit as still as the sky, unmoving as the sun rays reach to the heavens above. My breath is frozen by the sound of my phone alarm and I reach under my pillow to shut it off. My dad sighs, stretches his arms and stands. The sun hits his back casting his shadow, it fills the whole room and I could almost imagine the sun never rose.

"I'll go make you some breakfast Q. " - he says before walking out the door.

It's my turn to stand and as I stretch on my tiptoes the moving shadow of my hair almost block out the sun. At the telltale crack of my bones waking up I walk over to my dresser to pull out the pre-styled outfit from the night before. I give myself a pat on the back for my great thinking; dark gray jeggings with a belted oversized button up shirt is just dressy enough without looking forced. Paired with my trusty flats, this outfit can probably make me confident enough for an interview at Stanford so today should be a piece of cake.

GRroowl

I look down - "oh shush stomach, I'll get you fed but it won't be cake."

Getting quickly dressed, I shake out my hair letting it be it's natural self for the day and head out to the kitchen. The mouthwatering scent of pop tarts and eggs doused in hot sauce hit my nose in the hall and I skip into the kitchen.

"Dad you know me so well! Those eggs smell great, thank you for breakfast."

"Well I gotta get you out of bed somehow and I know the smell of fiery eggs from hell seem to do the trick. It's a wonder you haven't turned red yet Q-tip" - dad replies while giving me a plate and his famous eye crinkle.

"Har Har Har, very funny crinkle fry eyes. You know as long as my nickname is around so will yours be. Aren't you worried Ill call you that in front of your boss at work?"

Dad shrugs his shoulders "I'm sure all my coworkers will be green with envy if they heard how cute my Q-tip is by giving me a nickname. Besides, its your own fault that as a baby you cried so loudly. I gotta say it was very convenient, my ears were always cleaned out by your yelling I saved money on Q-tips."

I give a disgruntled sigh and decide to drop it by scarfing down my food. Dad leaves the kitchen, most likely to get ready for his day. When I finish eating I pat my belly and head to the sink to wash the dishes. My dad enters the kitchen fumbling with his phone and then stills next to me.

"Are you sure you don't need me to drive you?" - he asks looking not quite at me but not at his phone either.

"I still have time dad, so I'm going to probably walk to the outlets first and then I'll get taxi. No need for you to drive me."

"Alright if you say so, love you Q." -he whispers before kissing the top of my head and heading out the door.

I dry the dishes that I washed, grab my bag with my essentials for the day and head out before I hesitate. While I'm walking I do my best to think about everything other than why I could have hesitated. Things like "Look at that stick, its shaped like a man how funny!" or "Oh what a silly squirrel carrying all those acorns, must be for his family." My inner commentary carries on that way the whole time I window shop, get a taxi, arrive at my destination, sit down and then... and then well I'm practically fidgeting worse than my dad was this morning. I look around the diner trying to keep my breathing steady. My phone hasn't received any notifications all day but that's fine I hardly noticed I think, placating myself. All the while my hands can't seem to stop trying to massage the creases out of their own knuckles; frustrated with their own wrinkly existence. The waitress comes over to take my order and I panic for a moment unsure if I should wait for my companion. The waitress notices my indecision and offers me a popular combo consisting of a shake and seasoned fries. I nod in agreeance thinking it'll be better to have something to do while I wait. The shake comes with the fries and I nibble and sip. The clock ticks silently and I chew and swallow. My left hand picks up my phone to play an app I have been obsessing over and I eat and drink. The waitress takes the empty glass and plate, returning with some water and the bill but I end up ordering another popular combo. This time I eat unabashedly, my phone in my hand never dinging with a notification. When I look up my back creaks, I guess I didn't notice how late it had gotten. I pay my bill before heading into the dark clutching my silent phone. I know there is a nice scenic park nearby, one that I use to go to with my dad in winter to ice skate over the frozen lake. Slowly trekking my way there I decide to give my dad a call to let him know I was fine.

"Hey Q, how- uh how is everything?"

"Hey dad, everything is fine. I'm actually walking to the park right now to just get some fresh air and then I'll get a taxi straight home."

"Oh, are you by yourself? Did it go okay?" -hesitantly he asks.

"Well, he didn't come..." - I whisper, holding back the tears, I kick a rock out of my way.

"Phil didn't come!? That lowlife! I should have went with you, I'm so sorry. How could he do such a thing after saying he wanted to be a part of your life after all these years?! He better hope I never s-"

"DAD! please..."

I cut my dad off quickly before his ranting turned into a descriptive confession of murder.

"Listen, I'm... I'm okay and I'll be home in like thirty minutes I just want to sit for awhile."

I hear him sigh sadly before answering "of course honey, I'll whip up your favorite deviled eggs with my firecracker tacos for dinner tonight. Sounds good?"

Sitting down on the park bench and stretching my legs out I respond with water in my throat "You're the best Dad."

A hundred feet away from me the moon's light hits the lake, causing rippling stars.