I launch my things onto the guest bedroom. I say my greetings to everyone and sit on the couch. Everyone makes small talk, like the usual. It's always, "How've you been?" and, "How's school going?" I mean, I've been doing well if you take the fact that this may be the last week I'll ever see my father.
"How was the FCAT?" Dad asks.
"The writing portion? It was good I guess. Apparently, the people scoring the essays are grading on a much stricter scale this year," I reply.
"So I've heard," Dad says. "Are your grades keeping up?"
"Yeah, they've been good as usual. There's always that one little 'B' that slips its way into my report card," I sigh.
"Have you thought of anything that you want to do over the week?" Dad asks.
I really haven't, to be honest. I was so worried about the events that'll take place after the week that I haven't even thought to make plans.
"Er," I begin, "not really."
"I understand. Can you think of anything that you'd want to do this week?" He asks.
"Well, I wouldn't mind taking a short trip to Auburn and go to the water park," I wink as I finish the joke.
"That sounds pretty good. I think that we could do that one day this week."
He looks up the times and dates of the park. He tells me that we'll be expecting to go out on Monday. I tell my father that I want to have a night where Uncle Brent and his crew come down and we could play games and hang out like we usually do. Dad tells me that he'll call his friend later. Granny, Papa Byron, Uncle Stephen, Tammy, Dad, and I gather in the living room to chat and watch television. It was getting later in the night.
"What are the sleeping arrangements?" I ask
"You'll be in the room across ours, upstairs," Dad says.
"Alright. So when do I have to be in bed by?" I ask.
"Midnight," he begins, "but you can watch television until one."
"Sounds like a deal," I tell him.
Soon after, everyone begins to reside to their sleeping quarters. It's finally midnight, so I go to my bed and watch television until I fall asleep. I awake to the smell of ham and cheese biscuits. I hike downstairs to eat my breakfast. It was indescribably delicious. I swish it all down with a glass of milk. I walk over to the living room and sit on the leather couch. Dad tells me that I need to get ready for church, and that we'll be leaving in an hour.
I jog back upstairs to take a shower. I hop out of the shower and slip on khaki pants and a blue button-up top. I lace up my brown dress shoes that reside over my black socks. I walk down the stairs to find everyone making a mad dash to get ready for the service. After everyone gets situated, we pile into our cars and head to church.
After service, we all enjoy Sunday lunch at "Olive Garden". We munch and devour our meals and go back home to hang out around the house like usual. I go to bed early because the day seemed longer than usual. Another reason why I went to bed early was because we're going to the water park tomorrow.
I wake up at six o'clock and get ready quickly. I pack a towel and sunscreen. I slip on my flip-flops and walk down to the living room.
"The park closes at six," Dad tells me.
"Will that be the time that we leave?" I ask him.
"Of course!" He replies.
We pile into two cars for a two hour trip to Auburn. We arrive in the water park and enjoy our time all day long. It is 5:30 and we decide to eat dinner there real quick. We chow down on hamburgers until six o'clock, when the park announced its closing.
We get home and play a few hands of the card game, "Skip-Bo". Soon after, people went to bed, one by one. I notice my eyelids getting heavier and heavier as each round is played. I call it a night and go to bed.
The next few days were just hanging around the house, playing games, and chatting. I like it like this. I like being able to enjoy family time with everyone. In Florida, we never get along. I seem to like it so much more with my dad. Saturday speeds by and I realize that it's the last night of the week. It's the last night of my visitation with Dad. Everyone comes down to visit us. Uncle Brent and his family come, along with the household I've been living with in the past few days. We all enjoy card games, jokes, and chatting until the early hours of Sunday break through.
Uncle Brent and his family decide to go back to their homes and sleep. Everyone else decides to play a couple more rounds of "Spoons" before they turn the lights out.
I wake up at six o'clock to find that everyone else is starting to arouse from their slumbers. Dad is to leave at nine o'clock. We gobble down fast food breakfast and talk about how the week was and what plans we'll have later. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do, especially over the summer. We get together and play our last few games before dad leaves. It is thirty minutes after nine, and Dad realizes that he's running late. He has to get home so that he can get to work with ease the next day.
He gets his and Tammy's belongings and loads them up into the tan Tahoe. It finally hits me. I finally processed fully that I won't be seeing my father for a while, if at all. I squelch tears as long as I could. I finally give my hugs to Tammy, and then my own father. I see tears stream down his eyes. He gets into the car. I hold my grandmother's hand tight, trying hard not to cry. They wave at me. I still see that my father is crying as they make a roundabout of the cul-de-sac. I watch the car until it makes a right turn out of the neighborhood. I look back at the house and lose control of my emotions.
