This scene is what inspired the banner. It's a rare moment of simple enjoyment in Kevin's life, but you can see he's hesitant to burst the bubble. Why? What has taught this youth to be so thankful for a day with his dad? Well, that's explored before this scene and more comes after. Read on and see what you think!

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“Look at the sunrise, Kevin,” my dad said softly. “Isn’t t beautiful?”

I looked up at him and nodded with a smile as he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into him. As I looked back out onto the sunrise, I rested my head up against his body and took in the moment. Somehow, I knew that I was going to have to make every moment of that day count. I had one day with my dad before school was going to start and I wasn’t going to just let it pass me by.

When he opened the door, a cool breeze blew into the cab of his truck and finished waking me up. We got out and stretched, then we got our poles, the ice chest and walked down to the shoreline. The water was crashing against the slippery rocks, and the sounds of seagulls flying overhead blended in with the noise that the crashing waves made so perfectly.

My dad got our poles set up, then he cast both of them, and as we sat side by side, I couldn’t help but think that I was finally where I needed to be. I knew it was only for a day, but just for that day, I knew I could be content. I looked over at my dad and I saw a God. At that moment, he wasn’t the dad that had made accusations about what he thought I did to my stepbrother. He wasn’t the dad that hung the phone up on me when I called him for help. He wasn’t the dad that left me in Pittsburg with my grandparents, either.

For that brief moment, he was the dad that lived in my head. He was a super hero. He was the worlds strongest man. He was the one who was going to keep me safe from monsters and from villains. He could fly a plane. He could launch a rocket. He could go to space. He was wise. He was rich.

He was my idol.

On the way home, we stopped at a store called Tides Wharf, in of all places, Bodega Bay. The place smelled like fish and feet, and the bathrooms were filthy, but my dad swore they had good clam chowder. While we sat at our table, he looked across at me and smiled.

“Did you have a good day, pal?” he asked.

“Yes dad,” I answered. “Thank you for taking me today. I had so much fun.”

“Good,” he said with a satisfied grin. “I had fun today too.”

“Dad?” I started.

“Yeah buddy,” he answered.

“Do you have to go home tonight?” I asked, feeling like I already knew the answer. Before he had a chance to respond, though, our food was brought to our table and it was time to eat. I took his silence on the subject as yes, and I just decided not to ruin the day by breaking down.

When we walked back out to his truck, I looked around Bodega Bay and wondered to myself what I was thinking when I told Patricia that I lived there. I wouldn’t have known where to go once I was there or what to do. Most likely, I would have wound up sleeping outside somewhere. I just shrugged and got in the truck.

Once we were back on the road, I found myself yawning over and over again. It was getting late, and my dad was on the phone with my stepmom. It sounded like they were arguing, but that he didn’t want to carry on in front of me. I had no doubt that they were arguing over me. It didn’t take much to figure out that she was mad that he had spent all day with me and that he had slept over the night before. I didn’t give it a second thought, though. I decided that not even my stepmom was going to ruin this day for me.

 

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