The Summer I Learned to Dive - By Shannon McCrimmon Page 0,73

you,” I said. It melted my heart. I could see why my mother had fallen in love with him. It was a kind gesture; his way of saying he loved me. This is what I imagined a father would be like with his daughter. At that moment, I wanted that feeling to last forever. It was a feeling of warmth and protection. It must be what most girls feel like when growing up with a dad.

We walked in his yard admiring the flowers. He told me about each and every plant and flower, giving me intricate details, more than I could ever know, but I enjoyed listening to him. He was excited to share what he knew with me, to talk to me. I listened patiently, intently, eagerly. Hearing his voice, standing next to him, it felt surreal. I couldn’t believe that I was in this close proximity to my father, the man I thought was dead for more than sixteen years. I wanted to relish every second of the day and remember it detail for detail. I had a father and I was not willing to let him go, not when I finally had him again.

“You’ll come back, won’t you?” he asked as we stood in front of Nana’s truck.

“Definitely. How about this weekend?” I asked.

“I’d like that,” he said and smiled.

“I’ll see you then,” I said. I didn’t know if I should hug him. I moved toward him. He hugged me gently.

He looked at me and patted me gently on the shoulder, “I’m glad you came, Finn.”

“Me, too,” I added. “I’ll see you real soon.” I opened the door to the truck and sat down putting the key in the ignition. I turned the car on and rolled the window down.

“Drive safely,” he said. I drove away and looked in the rearview mirror. He was standing outside, watching me as I drove off.

Chapter 22

The next destination: the hospital. I wanted to see my grandparents and tell them how it went with my dad. I felt like I was on top of the world. I finally had a father and he was staying in my life for a very long time. All of those years I went to award ceremonies and other school functions, I felt a pain in my heart seeing that he was missing from the audience. When other dad’s stood and cheered for their daughters, I wanted what they had, a person in my life that I could call my dad. Knowing that I finally had that healed some of that open wound.

I pulled into the parking garage and parked my car. I walked quickly, in haste, toward the entrance. When I saw the amount of people waiting to get on the elevator, I decided to take the stairs instead. I was bursting with energy, in anticipation, wanting to tell them every detail and share with them what I had discovered about my dad.

Nearly out of breath, I walked into my grandfather’s room. He looked better than the day before, already having more color on his face. It was no longer pale, even a little rosy, like before the heart attack. Nana smiled at me and stood up. I hugged her and reached over to kiss Grandpa on his cheek. His face had not been shaven in a day or so, the stubble was rough against my lips.

“I just got back from Dad’s,” I said. Saying the word “dad” out loud was strange but exhilarating at the same time. “It went well,” I added.

They both smiled, eager to hear more. “I’m glad it went well. He was so nervous to meet you,” Nana said.

“I was nervous to meet him, too,” I admitted. “He’s so talented and we have a lot in common,” I replied enthusiastically, anxious to talk about him as much as I could.

Grandpa nodded his head and smiled. He motioned for me to sit down on the bed. I sat down, he patted my hand. “You remind us a lot of him before he got sick,” he said. I frowned which he must of read incorrectly. “He’s not so sick anymore, Finn,” he said trying to reassure me.

“Oh, I know,” I said and then took a deep breath. “The medication seems to help him, though.” It appeared that way to me and it was what I hoped for.

“It is,” he said. “Things were rough, actually, they were really bad there for a while. We didn’t know if he would ever get better. He had