It was a beautiful Sunday and Dad and I were out together, celebrating my graduation from college. We went out for lunch and of course, he was the one buying the meal. We talked a bit about my life in college, which I only told selective tales of, and he told me about his life while I was away.
You see, my mother left Dad without a word many years ago and Dad had never been able to find her. I was still rather young then, at merely the age of 5 that I can never really recall much about my mother. It even felt weird to say that I had a mother. But apparently, with my mother walking out on him, Dad had been alone all the while. Sure, he did date a little, and date some more, but never was he serious about any of the women he dated. He never even brought them home. To him, they seemed to be just a fling -- to kill time and loneliness. Of course, being his only family, I was supportive of him and we were really very close. Our contact was only broken when I was sent off to college at the other end of the country, and the busy schedule kept me from visiting or even calling. Naturally, I was worried about how he would cope without me, for since I was 12, I had been cooking for him, washing and ironing his clothes and all. Before that, we settled our meals with take-outs or at diners, and our clothes at the washers. So here I am, all graduated from college and back home to see how my father had been.
He told me that initially, it was tough for him. He had to start cooking and clean up after himself, and more importantly, having to cope with going back to an empty home. But gradually, he got used to it all and even started to experiment cooking. He seemed so happy talking about it that it made me less guilty. In fact, I was glad that my absence helped my Dad 'grow up'!
After we were done, we went to take a walk in a park we used to go to before I left. I saw a cartwheel store by the field selling kites, and I turned to Dad and said, "Hey Dad, reminds you of old times? How you would bring me out here to fly kites when I was young? Man, that must have been ages ago!"
Dad chuckled. "Well, we can do it again, what do you say?"
He jogged towards the store to buy one and came back to me, smiling broadly. "Let's go son, let's find a good spot"
I smiled back at him and headed towards the fringe of the field -- there were a few trees there so at least we could get some shade. We fly the kite and lay down on the grass, lazily tugging the string every now and then to keep the kite from flying into others'.
"Does seem like old time, huh? Only that I'm older and don't have the energy to run about any more" Dad said as he winked at me.
"Does feel like old time! But trust me; you're still in pretty good shape. I don't believe you can't keep up with it!" I snorted; amused that he felt that he was old. A t least to me, I thought he looked better and fitter than before.
"Wow, son, don't you believe it when I say it?" Dad joked.
"Well, we shall see about it! Last one to the tree over there does all the house chores for a month!" I yelled as I ran off.
Dad laughed loudly as he chased after me, abandoning the kite. Though I was ahead, Dad was fast -- faster than I expected, actually. He caught up with me soon but we reached the tree at around the same time. He tackled me to the grass as we reached the tree and gradually came to a stop. We started wrestling like we used to and was giggling like some silly twerps. We lay beside each other, catching our breaths.
"Oh, man, Dad! You liar! You sure can run! Who says he doesn't have the energy like he had before, huh?" I laughed.
"Well it's true! You need some training up, lad! You let this 30-year-old man beat you in running!"
"Hah! Just like old times, indeed! I really do miss this!"
Dad chuckled a little and we were silent for a while, breathing deeply. All of the sudden, Dad flipped over and was on top of me. It kind of surprised me. My body froze, not knowing what to do. His arms were on either side of my head, supporting him on top of me as he looked deep into my eyes. This was then I noticed how beautiful the colour of his eyes was -- azure blue.
"I missed those times too, son" he whispered as he continued staring at me, his fingers lightly stroking my cheek. He flipped back onto the grass and sat up. I was still a little stunned by it, though not too concerned. He turned to look at me. "You think we should go home already? It's getting a little dark. I still have some papers I need to settle"
I nodded and got up, and we went home.
The next day, I cooked up dinner for us while Dad was still a work. I thought he would like it if I cook his favourite -- beef lasagne. Soon, I heard the door open and close.
"Hey, Matt, I'm home" Dad chimed as he threw his coat on the couch. "What are you making?"
"Oh, hey Dad. Erm, I thought of making beef lasagne for dinner. Will be ready in 30."
"Sounds good, son. I had never been able to make beef lasagne, you know? The last time I tried, I almost blew up the kitchen!" Dad snorted as he climbed up the stairs, heading for the showers. He showered and came down just in time for the lasagne to be served.
"Mmm! Taste great! No one makes lasagne like you do!" Dad said as he wolfed down the pasta.
I smiled as I stood up to get some drinks. "Beer, Dad?"
