Dear Dad: Part Two
Dear Dad,
Well, I didn’t think I’d be writing one of these again, especially so soon after the last one. But then, you ran into my mother at her job, looking for some truck parts. I’m not sure if you got your truck parts, but what I do know is that you got a lot more — something a lot more meaningful.
You finally got into contact with me and my sister.
At first, I wasn’t sure if what my mother had told me was true. Then you texted me. I almost teared up seeing your text on my phone. We texted each other for a little while, and then you said something that made my heart beat faster than lightning.
You said you were going to see me that weekend.
I was SO excited to see you visit me and my sister that I couldn’t really sleep very well. I prepared to Hell and back just to see you; I even dressed my very best. But you never came. I was sad when you didn’t come visit; did you forget? Were you busy with something? You texted me later on apologizing for not visiting during the weekend, and you said you’d visit me the next day.
So, I waited for you the next day…and the next day…and the next. But you didn’t show up. At that point, my heart was pretty much broken. I thought you had just lied to me and that you were never going to show up.
And then you did.
I saw your white truck in our driveway, and I was so ecstatic that I ran out and jumped on top of you. It felt so nice to hug you, even if you were covered in grease. And I was happy that you noticed my weight loss. I was a real butterball when you last saw me in person.
We talked about what had been going on with each other since the last time we had seen each other, like, five years ago. I was very sad to hear about my little half-sister having problems that my sister had gone through, although I am thankful that you’ve at least tried to check up on her after you and her mother (my ex-stepmother) divorced. I just wish you would tell us some of this stuff more often.
Like when your mother (my grandmother) died a little over a month ago as of this article’s publication. I didn’t even know she had died of cancer until a month after she had died, and I didn’t hear it from you. My sister had a dream about our little half-sister going missing, and she searched up her name to see if she was safe. And that’s how we found out our grandmother had died. Although we’re thankful that you’ve included our names in her obituary (which is more than what we can say for our cousin’s obituary), I still wish you had told us this sooner.
Still, I am happy to finally hear from you again. I don’t know if it was because of this last open letter I’ve posted here or because of God, but either way, I am happy — happy and thankful. You’ve said you’d try to contact us at least once a day and see us once a week, which made me glow like a lightbulb. I hope you follow up on that promise. I’ll be rooting for you.
Thank you,
Emily Alexandra, your loving daughter
