Daddy Dearest

By Heather
Published by Heather at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Heather

Chapter 1: The Good News

Chapter 2: Breakfast with Mom

Chapter 3: Me and Anthony

Chapter 4: The Letter

Chapter 5: The Call

Chapter 6: The Ultimate Surprise

Chapter 7: The College World Series 2011

Chapter 8: Home At Last

“
Wake up darling” mama said as she
shook me and turned on my room light. I sat up, wiping the crud
from my eyes. Then I did a quick stretch and yawn before saying
“Good morning mama”. “You better hurry up Natali. Your dad called
this morning and said you could call him back when you wake up.” I
jumped out of bed and ran straight to the phone to call my dad. My
dad is in the army and I don’t see him very often, so I talk to him
whenever I can, as soon as I can.

*Ring*Ring* “Hello”. “HEY DADDY! How are
you?” “I’m doing fine Natali. I have good news. The leader of my
troop said that we will be able to return in a few weeks.” “Oh
daddy that’s wonderful! I miss you so much and I can’t wait to see
you!” “I miss you too honey. I can’t wait to see your smiling face.
Natali, I have to go now but I will call your mother as soon as I
can and let her know when I’m coming home.” “Ok daddy. Please be
careful and I love you very much” I love you too sweetheart. Bye
now” “Bye daddy”. The call was over. The call that I had been
waiting for since he left 3 months ago.

I ran back upstairs to tell mama what daddy
had said. I ran into my room and mama was sitting on my bed
smiling. “Come here sweetie” she said to me as she held out her
hand. I went and sat beside her on my bed. She picked up the
picture of my daddy that was sitting on my bed side table. She put
her left arm around me. “Darling, isn’t it amazing that he will be
coming home, that we will be able to run up to him and give him a
hug?” “Yeah mama, I can’t wait” I said staring at the picture of
him. “I miss him mama” I said looking up at her. “I miss him too
sweetie. I thank God that he will be home again soon.” Then mama
shed a single tear, which made me want to cry too but I’m supposed
to be the strong one, daddy’s little trooper. At least that’s what
dad calls me. I wiped the tear off moms face with my thumb, gave
her a kiss on the cheek and said “Don’t worry mama. He will be home
very soon.” She looked at me and smiled, then grabbed me and hugged
me so hard that I could barely breathe. “Come on Nat, Do you want
some breakfast?” “Sure mama, but what about Anthony?” “You know
your brother, It’s no telling when he is going to wake up. After
all, it’s summer and it’s only ten o’ clock in the morning. Your
brother probably won’t be up for a good forty five minutes.” “Mom,
he is such a slacker” I say with a huge smile on my face. My
stomach starts to rumble. I’m not sure if my stomach is rumbling
from being hungry, or from the excitement that I’m going to see my
dad soon. I change from my pajamas into my clothes and run down the
stairs for breakfast.

When I got downstairs, A wave of sweet aromas
pounded my nose. Mom was cooking bacon, eggs, and grits. After all,
we are from South Carolina. I poured two tall glasses of orange
juice for mama and me and sat down at the table. When the food was
ready, she fixed our plates and came and sat down at the table next
to me. We looked to the other side of the table where an empty
plate sat right next to where Anthony sits. Mama likes to keep the
plate there because she says it is waiting on the table for daddy
when he comes home. After dinner every night, she will wash the
plate, put it in the drain rack, and set it out again when she and
I (and sometimes Anthony if he is up) eat breakfast. In a way, I
think it is kind of silly, but I understand why she does it. It is
like a memorial of daddy when he is not here. Mama always prays
before we eat. “Dear Lord, Please bless this food to our bodies, so
that we may serve you. Please help Nathan come home safely, and the
other men in the army as well. I say this prayer in your name.
Amen. I just looked at her and smiled, for I wasn’t really sure
what to say.

I believe in God. I believe in everything
that he has done. But I don’t really understand religion, or the
bible. My brother and I share stuff with each other when we can’t
tell mom, or don’t think she will understand. My brother is like
me. He believes in God, he just doesn’t think or say much about
religious stuff. I sit through prayers and church services for the
sake of my mom. She is so worried about daddy, and God is the best
way to make things happen. I know that God keeps my family and my
daddy safe. I pray every night and ask God to keep my daddy safe.
My dad has been safe for the past 7 years since he joined the army.
I believe in the power of prayer, but I just don’t quite understand
everything else.

After eating breakfast, here came Anthony
trotting down the stairs with his pajamas wrinkled and his hair
messed up. I went over to him to try to fix his hair but he pulled
his head back and looked at me and smiled. “I like it this way” he
said with a grin that made him look like he smelled something
horrible. He has always been the smart butt of the family. Anthony
and I have a history. Even though we are twins, and people think
that siblings are supposed to fight, Anthony and I are not like
that. We are actually like best friends.

My brother and I are almost exactly alike,
although we are twins. We don’t look a lot alike, but we think a
lot alike. We usually have the same opinion on stuff, we both love
baseball, like our dad (the South Carolina Gamecocks and the New
York Yankees are our teams), and we love each other. I know I can
tell him anything, and he knows he can tell me anything. We may
fight sometimes, but it is just because we love each other so much.
Sometimes we pick on mom for the outfits she wears. She still has
some of her old clothes from the eighty’s. When she wears them
around the house, Anthony and I will get together and go up to her
and say “Oh My Gosh, It’s Madonna! “Ha Ha very funny you two” she
would say to us as she rolled her eyes. Anthony and I are very
close. We take the same classes in school so we sometimes help each
other with homework. Anthony usually has trouble in history and I
usually have trouble in math. I am pretty good at history and
Anthony is great at math, so we always help each other out.

Every time we go out to town, Anthony and I
always ask mom to stop by Mcdonalds and get us a strawberry
lemonade. To me and Anthony, that is about the greatest thing on
earth, next to daddy coming home. We both miss our dad very much.
Every week, Anthony and I will sit down together and write daddy a
letter. When we are done writing the letter, mom takes us to the
post office to mail it to daddy. We have the biggest smiles when we
check the mail and there is a new letter from daddy. When daddy
isn’t home, that’s one thing that makes life worth living is to get
a heartfelt letter from him.

It had been about a week, and there was still
no call from dad. Mama told me and Anthony that we could write a
letter to him. I went to my room and got some paper and my special
pen that he had given me before he left for his last assignment. I
went downstairs and Anthony was sitting at the table, waiting for
me. We always write our letters together. Anthony always makes me
do the writing though. I started to write: “Daddy Dearest, (That’s
how I start every letter to my dad) I hope you are doing okay.
Anthony, Mom, and I miss you very much. We can’t wait to see you
when you get home. (But I want to give you the first hug, I’ll
fight Anthony for it okay daddy?) Anthony and I just got our report
cards in and we made all A’s! Mom hung them on the refrigerator for
you to see when you get home. I hope you have a safe trip home.”
“Tell him I’ve been keeping up with our team’s baseball scores!”
Anthony says much too loud, considering that I’m sitting right next
to him. “Daddy, Anthony said that he has been keeping up with our
team’s baseball scores. I hope that you will be home in time to
watch the The College World Series and the Yankees games with us.
You know the Gamecocks are going for a back to back CWS win, daddy
you can’t miss that! It’s just not baseball without you daddy.
Please be careful and we will see you soon. WE LOVE YOU! – Love,
Mommy, Anthony, and Natali.” “Okay mommy, I’m done with the
letter.” I said as she dried her hands from washing dishes.
“Alright then, if you two will get your shoes on we will take them
to the post office now.” Anthony and I got our shoes on and we went
out the door.

We only live about ten minutes from the post
office. We write daddy a letter once a week. I enjoy writing daddy
letters, but I hope there comes a day when I won’t have to write
daddy dearest anymore. A day when he will be home safe with us, and
won’t have to go back overseas. We arrive at the post office. Every
time we first walk in, the room smells of clean paper and packing
material. Since we write daddy letters every week and take them to
the post office, we know the people that work there really well.
“Hey Robbie!” I say as I run up to him and give him a hug. Robbie
is nineteen and his parents have been friends with mom and dad for
years. “Hey, How’s my favorite army brat?” he says while looking at
me with his goofy grin. “I’m fine, and you know I’m not a brat
Robbie!” “Yeah, sure” he says as he rolls his eyes. He turns to
Anthony and says “ Hey army boy, have you been keeping your sister
straight?” “I’ve been trying to Robbie.” He says back. I looked at
him with my “you’re going to get it later” face. He’s been trying
to keep me straight? I think it’s the other way around…. Anthony
isn’t even straight! Although I’m not exactly a perfect line
either. “So Robbie, we have another letter to Nathan for you to
send” my mother said with a smile. “I’ll take care of that right
now for you Mrs. Turner” Robbie said, again with his goofy grin. We
got the letter stamped, sealed, and I let Anthony drop it in the
mail drop off box, since I wrote it. Once Anthony dropped it in the
drop box, we said bye to Robbie, and left for home.

The next day, mom got a call from daddy. She
sounded excited as she was talking. Anthony and I were sitting in
the back seat wondering what they were talking about. “Kids, your
father has fantastic news for you both!” mama said. Mom handed us
the phone from the front seat. I put the phone on speaker so
Anthony and I could talk to him at the same time. “Hello?” we both
said at the same time. “Hey kids! How are you both?” daddy
responded. “ We are fine daddy, but I’m dying to know, what is the
good news?” Anthony said in an excited voice. “Kids, I get to come
home in four days.” “YAY!” Anthony and I said at the same time.
“Daddy I’m so glad and I can’t wait to see you!” I said. “I can’t
wait to see you both either darling. I have to go now so I can get
everything together. I love you and I will see you all very soon.
“Wait daddy, we sent you a letter, it should be there before you
leave though.” I said. “Ok darling, I’ll have it when I come home”
“ Ok daddy. We love you!” “I love you too sweetie. Bye now” “Bye
daddy.”

It had been eight days since we sent the
letter. Seven days since the call from dad. I was upstairs in my
room talking to Anthony when the phone rang downstairs. Anthony and
I got very quiet. We heard mom talking, but in a low voice. All we
heard her say clearly was “Yes I will Nathan. I love you too honey.
Bye” Anthony and I ran downstairs to see who it was. “Mama, was
that daddy?” Anthony said in a cheerful voice. “Yes sweetie it
was.” She said. “Is he ok mama? What did he say?” I asked. “ He
said that he was fine.” She paused for a moment. “Darlings, your
father said that his assignment had been extended two more weeks,
and then he will be able to come home. “Mama I thought he was
supposed to be home in a few days.” Anthony said with a sad look.
“I know honey. Your father said that he was sorry and he was going
to make it up to you both very soon.” “But mom, the College World
Series baseball championships start this Friday. We can’t watch the
games without dad!” I said gloomily. “I know honey, He mentioned
that and said to keep up with the scores for him for when he gets
home.” Anthony and I both looked at each other with sad faces. Then
our heads slowly looked towards the floor in disappointment. “Hey
kids, don’t be sad. He is coming home soon, just not as soon as we
planned him to. I have an Idea, Why don’t we go down to the
Gamecock baseball stadium tomorrow. Tomorrow the team is having a
fun day on the field. There is going to be games, and food,
entertainment, and the team will be signing autographs. “No way!
Are you serious mama?” Anthony yelled out. “Yep, I told your father
about it and he said it was a good idea to take you two.” “Mama I
would love to go, but we absolutely have to get the team’s
autograph for daddy.” I said with a serious look. “That is a great
idea sweetie. Your father will love that.” Anthony and I both
smiled. We both hated that dad couldn’t watch the first few games
with us, but we were also happy about getting to meet the Gamecock
baseball players.