mocha # 4: 'get there safely'
Author: hi_falootin
Prompt: mocha 4. wish me luck
Word Count: 496
Rating: G
Summary: Dad's old Chevy is idling in the street and he's sitting there behind the wheel, leaning out the open window. This part of Jason's life is over.
Dad's old Chevy is idling in the street and he's sitting there behind the wheel, leaning out the open window. The truck seems so out of place here--so large and noisy in this lazy, dusty town--that I'm embarrassed for him, and then embarrassed for me because he's waving his arms and shouting my name.
"Hey, kid, get your butt over here and give your old man a hug!"
"Just a second!" I yell back, through the kitchen window screen.
He honks the horn.
Dee's calls from her room. "You heard him, Jason! Go!"
My family. Loud, loud, loud. I pull at my hair and step out onto the front porch. Dad waves again. I really don't want to go hug him. I really don't want to kiss him goodbye, cause that means he's leaving, leaving us here in this stupid desert town.
I keep my head down as I shuffle towards the truck, slowly as I can get away with. When I get close, he steps out of the cab and scoops me up in a bear hug. Dad's a big guy, and when he holds me like this, my feet don't touch the ground. I feel about eight again, crushed against his chest.
"I'm mad at you," I tell him. My voice sounds squeaky when he's crushing me like that, so it's not really the effect I was going for.
He lets me go and looks at me seriously. "You'll get over it," he says. "You'll see that this is the right thing."
"But why can't we go with you?" I told myself I wasn't going to cry, but my eyes start to feel all bleary. "We always did before!"
"Look, Jason, we've been over this." Dad sighs, and under the desert sun I can see all the little lines in his face. He seems suddenly over. "I'll be back to see you and your sister as often as I can. And you'll finally get a chance to make friends at your school who you won't have to leave behind every time we move...you'll see. You'll like it."
"I won't," I tell him, "And I'm still mad at you."
Dad nods. "I guess I'll have to live with that, then." He slides back behind the wheel of his pick-up, leaving me standing alone on the asphalt. "Just be good to Christine and your sister. Don't you take it out on them."
I wipe at my eyes, just in case. "Dad..." I don't want him to leave like this, not really. I start thinking that maybe he won't make it to California, maybe he'll run his truck off the road or get hit by an eighteen wheeler or shot in a convenience store robbery and the last thing I told him will be that I was mad at him.
"Be careful, okay?" I blurt.
He tips his trucker-cap at me. "Love you too, Sport."
Then he revs the engine, shifts into gear, and he's gone.
Hey, it's Dad! I've been writer's blocked lately, so I'm just pleased to have written something I could post >) Here's to hoping I can write some more...
Prompt: mocha 4. wish me luck
Word Count: 496
Rating: G
Summary: Dad's old Chevy is idling in the street and he's sitting there behind the wheel, leaning out the open window. This part of Jason's life is over.
Dad's old Chevy is idling in the street and he's sitting there behind the wheel, leaning out the open window. The truck seems so out of place here--so large and noisy in this lazy, dusty town--that I'm embarrassed for him, and then embarrassed for me because he's waving his arms and shouting my name.
"Hey, kid, get your butt over here and give your old man a hug!"
"Just a second!" I yell back, through the kitchen window screen.
He honks the horn.
Dee's calls from her room. "You heard him, Jason! Go!"
My family. Loud, loud, loud. I pull at my hair and step out onto the front porch. Dad waves again. I really don't want to go hug him. I really don't want to kiss him goodbye, cause that means he's leaving, leaving us here in this stupid desert town.
I keep my head down as I shuffle towards the truck, slowly as I can get away with. When I get close, he steps out of the cab and scoops me up in a bear hug. Dad's a big guy, and when he holds me like this, my feet don't touch the ground. I feel about eight again, crushed against his chest.
"I'm mad at you," I tell him. My voice sounds squeaky when he's crushing me like that, so it's not really the effect I was going for.
He lets me go and looks at me seriously. "You'll get over it," he says. "You'll see that this is the right thing."
"But why can't we go with you?" I told myself I wasn't going to cry, but my eyes start to feel all bleary. "We always did before!"
"Look, Jason, we've been over this." Dad sighs, and under the desert sun I can see all the little lines in his face. He seems suddenly over. "I'll be back to see you and your sister as often as I can. And you'll finally get a chance to make friends at your school who you won't have to leave behind every time we move...you'll see. You'll like it."
"I won't," I tell him, "And I'm still mad at you."
Dad nods. "I guess I'll have to live with that, then." He slides back behind the wheel of his pick-up, leaving me standing alone on the asphalt. "Just be good to Christine and your sister. Don't you take it out on them."
I wipe at my eyes, just in case. "Dad..." I don't want him to leave like this, not really. I start thinking that maybe he won't make it to California, maybe he'll run his truck off the road or get hit by an eighteen wheeler or shot in a convenience store robbery and the last thing I told him will be that I was mad at him.
"Be careful, okay?" I blurt.
He tips his trucker-cap at me. "Love you too, Sport."
Then he revs the engine, shifts into gear, and he's gone.
Hey, it's Dad! I've been writer's blocked lately, so I'm just pleased to have written something I could post >) Here's to hoping I can write some more...