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One year later
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“Mom! I’m home!”
“Hi, hon,” she said. “I’ve got dinner on the stove and a surprise for you.”
I walked into the kitchen and there was my dad. He had been in Hawaii on a business trip for two years. He emailed me a lot while he was gone, but we had never really had a conversation in a long time. I missed him a lot.
“Dad!” I exclaimed. I ran into his open arms.
“I’m so proud of you, son,” he said.
I had won the Student of the Year award my sixth grade year and I had just won the soccer championship game as the MVP the day before.
“Thank you!” I said. He looked at me up and down.
“Where’s my little fifth grade boy?” he asked, slightly tearful.
“How long are you staying?” I asked.
My dad smiled at me. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“YES!!” I exclaimed. I hugged him again.
“I also brought you something . . . ” he said. “Go to your room.”
“What?” And so I did.
I opened my door to reveal the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. Long, auburn hair and dark blue eyes. I just stood there and stared at her.
“Hi, Harley,” she said.
“Kira!!” I shouted. I ran up to her and hugged her. We hugged so hard I picked her up off the ground. We hugged so hard we spun around. I heard her squeals muffled in my jacket.
I set her down and saw her beautiful smiling face. “How are you here?”
“With my dad gone, I didn’t have anywhere to go, so your dad flew me here with him,” she said. “I’m here to stay, Harley!”
“You are?”
“Yeah!”
“Yes!!”
She giggled and kissed me for the first time in a long time.
This was going to be a summer like no other.39Please respect copyright.PENANAZdiDd0sEsB