Dad Is Here

Shawna had just awakened when the phone rang. "Hello?" "Good morning, Sunshine. You're up early for a Saturday." Shawna smiled at the voice and sat up in bed. "Hi, Dad," she responded. "Actually I'm not up yet. The phone woke me." "I'm sorry, honey.”

Shawna did not regret moving to North California with her mother, but she missed her father. She found it easy to talk to him. He was always so upbeat and positive. Sometimes Mom seemed more interested in what Shawna did—or did not do— than in who she was. Dad made her feel like a real person, not just a kid.

"So is it hot in the Valley this morning?" she asked. "It's already eighty degrees here, maybe ninety by now." There was a hint of mischief in her dad's voice as he answered, "I don't know. I'm at a gas station in Willows. I'll be in Redding in about an hour and a half. Where would you and Collin like to go for lunch?"

Shawna bolted upright in bed again. "Daddy! You're in North California?" "Just down the freeway honey," Jon said, chuckling at her excited response. "I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to come see you guys." Then he asked Shawna to put her mother on so he could clear the visit with her.