A Father's Story
GoldenView
What a disappointment! Jesse could barely hold back the tears! It was the greatest moment in his 8 yr. old life & his Dad wasn't there. Jesse'd always been a mediocre player on the team, but he'd improved a lot, thanks to his Dad's backyard training sessions.
Today, he did something spectacular! He hit the winning home run! True, the other team had kinda let� it happen. They'd dropped his fly ball....thrown it from one fumbling kid to another... then, with a wild throw, had totally missed home base, while the hapless catcher yelled "THROW IT HEEERE!"�
Even as Jesse ran, he was looking up at the stands, hoping he'd see his Dad! But no...not a chance. His Dad had never shown up! Today, of all days, his Dad wasn't there! He spotted his mom holding the camcorder in one hand & waving madly with the other. Everyone was chanting "Jesseee! Yeah Jesse!", but Jesse felt so disappointed that all he could think about was the lame excuse his Dad would have. "I bet he FORGOT! I bet he forgot all about the game!" (Jesse was angry.)�
His Dad got home just as they were finishing dinner. "Save some of that apple pie for me!", he said, with an obvious note of joy in his voice. To Jesse it seemed his Dad cared more about missing out on the pie than missing out on the game! "How could he feel so happy!?" Jesse thought. "I GOT it!" his Dad was saying.... "They SIGNED the papers!" "So THAT'S it! Jesse blurted out! You didn't show up today because you had to sign some old business deal!" Jesse felt the corners of his mouth being drawn down. Resisting the urge to cry was making his whole face twitch. "May I be excused?" he said, as he bolted from the table. His little sister stared after him......"Wow! What's wrong, Dad?" "It'll be OK, Honey. How about the three of us going out in the living room to eat our pie? We can watch the video Mom made today!"
Jesse was in his room. He could hear his family laughing as if nothing had happened. "Great! I just made my first homerun, & NOBODY cares! They're too busy watching some stupid TV show!"
He was lying on his bed when his Dad entered. With his back to the door ....refusing to look at him... Jesse lay there... silent and motionless. His Dad sat down on the bed, and started to chuckle. That was too much! Jesse WHIPPED around to confront him...& saw that his Dad wasn'tlaughing! He was crying! "Sorry Jess!" was all he said, but it was enough.
As they both took a deep breath, his Dad said "You're gonna love this video! The look on that poor catchers face is priceless & YOU!!! Wow!! You are a hero!"
Then Jesse said something he'd never said before. "So are YOU, Dad! You are the best Dad I ever had!" That made his Dad laugh! "I am the ONLY Dad you've ever had!" "Right!" said Jesse, with a wink. "Let's go watch the video!