‘Happy Father’s Day!’

“Happy Father’s Day, Dad!” yelled Corey and Erin. The baby, Teddy just said, “Da, Da.”

Their father stretched in the bed. “So you’re not going to let me get any sleep, my first morning home in a long, long time.”

“Nah,” said Erin.

“Do you want us to leave you alone?” asked Corey. As the oldest son, Corey had been used to taking care of things while their father was on a tour of duty with the armed forces.

“No. I’ll get up. I guess I’ll read these wonderful cards you kids made,” he said. First he chuckled at the painting peppered with different colored cereal the baby had created. He studied Erin’s drawing of flowers and trees as if Picasso had drawn it. And just as he was just about to look at Corey’s painting of a smiling man and his son, the telephone rang. Their dad grabbed the receiver.

“Dad!” insisted Erin. She tugged on his arm as he talked on the phone.

“Wait, Baby,” he said to her. “This is important.”

“Dad,” said Corey, as he held his own drawing up high. “This is important to us.” But their father barely noticed as he got involved in his phone conversation. Corey picked up his little brother, Teddy, and then started to walk toward the door.

But Erin wouldn’t leave. “C’mon Dad. We’ve been waiting to share Father’s Day with you for too long!” she yelled.

Their dad said into the telephone, “I’ll have to call you back later.” Then he hung up. “Of course, you’ve been waiting for me. I’ve been waiting to spend this Father’s Day with you too. What shall we do today?”

“We’ve got it all planned out!” said Erin.

Corey said, “Look outside!”

Their father got up from the bed and peered down into the yard. “What on earth is all that?” he asked.

“Get dressed!” yelled Corey. “We’ll show you.”

Within minutes, the three children and their father were charging into the backyard. There their mother waited, a big smile on her face and a tray overflowing with breakfast in her arms. She kissed her husband. “Happy Father’s Day, dear.”

He was amazed. “What is this over here?” he asked. “It looks like a golf course.”

“It is, Dad!” said Corey. “Since I was five years old, I’ve always wanted to play golf with my dad on Father’s Day.”

“So you made your own course,” said his father, laughing.

“And after, we can jump rope together over here,” said Erin. “I’ve been waiting since I was four.”

“And it will be special because it’s Father’s Day,” said her father.

“And over here, you can take Teddy on a piggy-back ride,” said their mother. “He’s been waiting to do that with you since he was three months old.”

“I can hardly wait,” said his father. “And what on earth is all that over there?”

All the kids talked at once.

“A trampoline.”

“An arm wrestling pit.”

“A wading pool.”

“Is that snorkeling equipment I see?”

“Yes, Dad. And there is a petting zoo and a skateboard ramp too.”

“Happy Father’s Day, Dad!”

“I can see this is going to be the best Father’s Day ever,” Dad murmured in a low voice.

Mom took his hand and looked into his eyes, “Welcome home, darling.”

“Welcome home, Dad!” and all the kids piled on top of their father and hugged him for all they were worth.

After the hugging was over, Dad had to turn his face away. Because even though they were tears of happiness, he didn’t want the kids to see.

Special thanks to the author for her illustration.