A father and daughter cope after she sustains injuries..
(Enjoy)..
***
My life turned upside down a few days after my daughter turned 18. I’ll never forget that day. It was a Saturday afternoon and I was laying on the bed reading my tablet. Zoe came in and sat down on the bed beside me. She wore an oversized t-shirt and cotton pajama pants. It was her normal morning/weekend ware.
Her dark brown hair was tied up in a ponytail, and her equally dark brown eyes looked into mine. Her slight frame hid her ferocious personality. Even at 5’2″ I’ve watched her stare down bullies twice her size. On more than one occasion she had to defend one of her older brothers from their tormentors. While this caused them some embarrassment, in the end they were grateful for not getting their asses kicked.
“Dad? You got a minute?”
“Sure honey.” I set the tablet down. “What’s up?”
“There’s something I need to talk to you about.” she said nervously. Her hands were in her lap, clutching at the thin fabric of her pajama pants. She wasn’t usually this nervous or anxious unless it was something major.
“Okay. I’m listening.”
“Okay.” she took a deep breath. “Just, please, let me get through this without interrupting me, okay?”
I nodded.
“See, here’s the thing. There’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time now. I’ve tried putting it out of my mind, but it just keeps coming back stronger. I’ve tried to fight it, telling myself that I shouldn’t be feeling this way, but I just can’t any resist it any more. And I know you’ll probably freak out when I tell you, but if you think about it you probably already know; I’ve tried dropping hints for a while now. Maybe you do, maybe not, I don’t know. Thing is, if I don’t say something now I’m gonna explode or regret it for the rest of my life. Just promise me that you won’t get mad or hate me or anything like that?”
“I promise.” I said, my concern now at an extreme level.
“See, dad, the thing is…” she paused, then said the five words that I’ll never forget her saying.
“I’m joining the marines, dad.”
I just sat there for a minute, absorbing what she just said. My little girl, my youngest, was going into the military. I guess I shouldn’t have been all that surprised. Looking back I could suddenly see all the hints she spoke of. Loving marine movies, saying “Hoo rah” when she was excited, and a hundred other little things that now fit into place.
Zoe was our third child. Adam and Michael were her two older brothers, and growing up she was just one of the boys. She was the stereotypical tomboy and she had to toughen up in order to play with two older boys. Even when she moved into high school and cliques formed, she stayed her usual tough self, not falling into the social traps many teenage girls do. Still, when it was just the two of us, her sweeter side would come out and she’d be my little girl again.
Yet now she was going into the military, doubling down on the tougher side, and I was scared out of my mind.
“Dad?” she said, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“Yeah. Just processing.”
“Are you upset with me?”
“Upset? Never! Terrified shitless? Hell yes! Are you sure about this, baby?”
“More sure than anything else I’ve ever done or wanted to do.” She said, almost as if she had rehearsed it.
“If this is about tuition-”
“It’s not, dad.” she interrupted. “It’s about doing what I… need to do.”
Adam had recently graduated with an accounting degree. Michael was still in college working towards the bar exam. In hindsight, their career paths were identifiable years before college. Zoe’s path, however, was never clear. We were always curious what she was going to do, though I admit this was the last thing on my list.
“You know mom will freak out.” I said.
“That’s why I was hoping you’d be there when I told her?” she looked hopefully at me.
“Of course.” I said, even though being around Kathy when we told her was the last thing I wanted. Oh, the sacrifices we make for our children.
Later that evening, the three of us sat around the kitchen table as Zoe went through her spiel one more time. Kathy was stunned, as expected. Then she blew up, also as expected. She bargained, pleaded, threatened, but in the end Zoe stood her ground and countered every argument. I was proud of her for that. Maybe this really is what she truly wants.
When we went to bed that night, Kathy directed her anger over Zoe towards me. Again, as expected.
“You’re okay with this?!” She growled at me.
“Not really. I’m terrified for her.”
“Then why are you just sitting there letting her throw her life away?”
“Woah, hold on a second. She’s not throwing her life away.” I paused, considering my next words carefully. “She’s just taking a different road than we expected. Or wanted really, but that doesn’t mean she’s throwing anything away.”
“So you’re not going to talk her out of it?”
“When have we, EITHER of us, EVER been able to talk her out of anything she’s wanted to do when her mind is set?” I asked, waving my arms for emphasis.
“She gets that from you, you know?” she said, shaking her head.
“Yep.” I nodded.
“I cannot believe this.” Kathy sighed as she fell back onto the pillows.
“Could be worse.” I said as I turned off the lights.
“How?”
“Well, she could be going into porn.”
Kathy just made a disgusted sound, rolled over and went to bed. As expected.