I close the door behind me and kick off my shoes into the coat closet near the front door. I'd seen his white '96 Camry parked in the driveway so I knew he was home. I called out for him as I ran up the stairs.
"Dad?"
I hear his response coming from downstairs in the living room, so I toss my bag and keys on my bed and head down again. From the kitchen I ask him how his day has been; I can see him sitting on his sofa chair in the living room corner, by a tall lamp and a wall of books. Often when I ask him this question he'll answer with something like, "productive" or "good"; today he chose the latter. As I pull out milk and cereal I continue to throw out questions. I ask him about work and church; sometimes I even just ask what he thinks of a certain event or person. I know he is reading, but I continue.
After each inquiry that I make, he patiently looks up from his book, his expression thoughtful, and answers my questions with a smile that brings out the gentle wrinkles around his long-browed eyes. He's in his favorite past-time: the lamp is shining on him and his book; he has a blanket spread out on his lap because the heating costs too much and the television is off. I should’ve let him be, but part of me wanted to throw his concentration off one more time so I ask:
"Dad, do you want some tea?"
He puts his finger down on the page, looks up with that easy smile and exclaims in delighted, unshaken surprise, "Oh! That would be very nice. Thank you, my wonderful daughter."
He goes back to his reading, still smiling.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Very simple, very homey! I must admit it's not a very unusual scene - nothing going on that out of the ordinary, or particularly noteworthy - but that might be its charm.
I don't know if it really has a lead - I think it jumps straight into description - but the ending is solid, and that's a good scene-break place.
Just as with the lead: I'm not sure why you picked this to write about. It's very mundane, and the kind of thing that happens often enough. It has to particular features - no unusual action, no unusual setting, nothing very attention-grabbing. On the otehr hand, though, you capture the image very well, and I have a mental image of your dad very well-drawn in my head.
Post a Comment