Chapter 9: Ruben

He called last night! I heard the phone ring and I knew it had to be him! He was here; in Groveport! And he had come to see me. After all this time, my dad was here and he was coming to see me. I wanted to answer the phone myself but I knew mom would have a fit if I did. She made me promise to wait and do it dad's way. She told me that if I didn't do it that way, that dad might just stay away. I thought she was crazy, but she did know him better than I did. So, I heard the phone ring and I just knew. I fell asleep thinking about what was going to happen tomorrow.

The next day was one of the longest in my life! I told Eddie that dad would pick us up after school and then I was going to have some time alone with him, just the two of us, until mom got home. Then we would all be together again, just like I remember from before. I did remember: I remembered dad coming home all smelling like chemicals, his face all gray and tired and then, once he had changed and had a shower, he was my dad again. I remembered we all laughed a lot, and mom hardly ever got angry or cried like she does now a lot. And then it all changed. Dad went away, mom cried all the time and things were not so good anymore. Oh yes, I remembered.

But finally it was three thirty and the bell rang for the last class of the day. I grabbed my books, slammed them in my locker and spun the combination lock before heading to the huge double doors in the front of the school. They would be open now, and kids would be pouring out, heading home. I stopped by the display case just inside the doors to wait for Eddie. He finally came down the hall and, together, we ran out the front doors and down the sixteen steps to the ground. Eddie and I ran out to the front of the school and stopped, looking around. Then I saw him!

He was standing in front of an old red Ford pickup truck, one that looked to be a whole bunch of years old. But that was not important: what was important to me was that he was there! I knew him right away. I remembered him and I knew him right then!

"Come on, Eddie. There he is! There's my dad. Come on!" I grabbed Eddie by the arm and started pulling him toward my dad. Dad watched us, then stepped away from the truck to wait for me to get there. When I did, I just stopped in front of him and stared at this man I hadn't seen in six years. He looked at me and smiled. Then, without warning, he grabbed me and wrapped his strong arms around me and lifted me right off the ground. He held me so tight I was having trouble breathing.

"Dad! Come on, dad! You're suffocating me! Put me down!" I was laughing and crying at the same time and I wasn't the least bit ashamed. This was my dad!