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I stand there, watching her, my arms crossed. “Lightning fast. Heck, I couldn’t even catch you.”
She laughs and continues running around the bases.
“I’m going to start dinner in a few,” Tina yells out the front door, using her feet to keep Darcy inside. She is just dying to come play with us.
“How about I cook tonight? I can make Alfredo with some chicken and sauteed vegetables.”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I won’t complain. Have at it.”
Tina is an amazing mother, and without her, our house wouldn’t function. My factory job keeps me away for twelve hours a day, sometimes longer if we are behind on production.
“And she’s off. Kennedy, number 34, no one can catch up to her, and there she goes, almost made it home. And the crowd goes wild!”
She stops and puts her hands on her knees. I don’t how she has so much energy. After two times around, I would be struggling to breathe, and she’s been at it for almost an hour.
I throw her a bottle of water and she chugs it down. She doesn’t pay attention and I sneak attack her, and pick her up in my arms, throwing her over my shoulder.
“Weren’t too fast for me that time, sweetie. Better watch out.”
I put her feet back on the ground and she laughs. “You cheated. Try to catch me now.”
Kennedy takes off in full speed and there is no way I’m going to catch her. Something about that little girl. She is going to be a track star one day. Even at only seven years old, she has long legs. If she keeps it up, maybe one day, she can run in the Olympics for the USA. It wouldn’t surprise me. She is driven like no other already.
Tina sits on the porch, drinking some tea, watching us run around like crazy people. Other dads might not be silly and run around in crazy costumes with their daughter, but as long as we are having fun, I could care less what anyone else thinks about me. I miss so much time with my daughter while I’m working that I just want to see her smile and enjoy her time.
“Work up an appetite, darlin’. Run your little heart out.”
Tina and I have been together for almost ten years, and for a while, we didn’t know if we were going to be blessed with children, four years later, we found out Kennedy was growing inside her mama, and it changed the course of our lives forever.
She wants me to continue to chase her, but I can’t. My energy is gone, and I need to replenish. Food sounds great right about now. I look at my watch.
“Daddy didn’t realize it’s already almost six. Let’s go inside so I can cook. I’m starving,” I say, double stepping to fake her out and then scooping her up. She kicks and screams until we are inside. Darcy runs circles around my feet until Kennedy sits down crisscross applesauce in the middle of the living room.
“What are you making daddy?” she asks, tugging on my shirt.
“Chicken Alfredo with vegetables to make you big and strong. Might even make you faster.”
I go into the kitchen and start pulling out everything I need and notice we are out of butter.
“Hey babe. Any chance you could run to the store and grab some butter? I’ll need it for the vegetables.”
Tina comes around the corner, and smiles. “Go to the store or cook dinner? Hard choice. Let me think about it.” She taps her finger on her chin. “Be back in fifteen.”
“Oh, mommy. Can I go to?” Kennedy asks, jumping up and down.
“I guess, sweetie. We are only going to grab that and come right back.”
The front door opens and closes, and Darcy starts to bark. She gets upset when they leave, and she can’t go to. So, she just lays in front of the door, waiting for their return.
I pull out the large saucepan and fill it with water to bring to a boil before I can put the noodles in. The sun is starting to set a bit, and I turn the television to the history channel. I can’t stand the house being quiet unless I am trying to get some rest. Otherwise, I need noise.
I take out a small saucepan and pour the jar of alfredo sauce inside, but don’t turn the stove on because it’ll be the last thing I’ll need. The vegetables can’t be cooked right without butter, they will just burn.
The sky is getting darker and can’t wait until summer when it stays light outside until around nine. Those were the days as kids. We couldn’t wait for summer break and being able to stay out until the streetlights came on. Today kids will never understand. They just sit in front of tv’s or become mindless drones on their phones. In my day, we rode our bicycles and went outside after watching Saturday cartoons with our breakfast. Kennedy knows better. We allow an hour of tv after dinner before bed. We make her go outside and play. Call us old fashioned or whatever.
When the water starts to boil, I pop the noodles in and set a timer for twenty minutes. They should be back before the noodles are done and it’ll only take about five minutes to sauté the vegetables.
I go to the couch, and sit down, watching the episode on World War II when I hear a loud screech outside. People go too fast on these country roads all the time. I get sucked into television and when the timer goes off, I’m stuck wondering where Tina and Kennedy are. The store is only half a mile or so down the road. Who am I kidding? Kennedy is probably trying to talk her mom into buying something else. When they go to the store together, they always take longer than I expect. I take the strainer out and drain the water from the noodles.
