Just Another Day - Part Two

I was sitting in my Mother's parents house in Santa Maria when my dad returned to us.

I couldn't believe it.

For the last year, I had been mourning his death and here he was right in front of me.

My dad was back.

My Mom was the first person to go up to him.

Normally, I don't like seeing my Mom and Dad together. It always made me uncomfortable because it usually meant something bad was going to happen.

But nothing bad was happening.

My dad was back.

My Mom gave him a hug and told him that she'd "been thinking about him."

My dad just smiled.

I told my dad that the Commander and I were going to have a boy in November.

He was thrilled and congratulated me with a level of enthusiasm that I've never seem from him.

He was crying.

My dad then took a rifle off of the wall and headed up to the back yard.

He fired at an animal and went out to retrieve it.

My dad brought it back into the house but I couldn't tell what it was.

The gun fire brought the attention of the Santa Maria Police Department.

They had a helicopter landing in the back yard.

10 SWAT officers where shouting at us but I couldn't hear them and it didn't really matter to me.

My dad was back.

He asked me if I had kept the money that I had received from my inheritance because now that he was alive, he was going to need it.

I still have almost all of it but I felt bad because we had used some to buy new cars and some to buy our new house.

How was I going to pay him back?

I didn't have to worry long about that answer.

Because I woke up.

And as the turtle doves sang to each other outside of my bedroom window, I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep even though I had tears streaming into my pillow.

My dad was back.

And now he's gone again.

I lost him all over.

VW