"Dad's Home!" ~ A Short Story

The late afternoon sun warmed me up as I followed Kinley around the house and into the backyard. Even though it was 6:00 PM, the sun was not letting up and I felt hot and sticky with sweat. Kinley turned his head around once to make sure I was coming, and then took off towards Erica.

"I'm coming, Kinley!" I picked up my pace.

I soon came upon Erica. She had her headphones in, and was picking blackberries. It was still early in the year for them, but I'm sure we could find some sweet ones somewhere along the fence.

The blackberry bush stretched all along the fence dividing our neighbor and us. Every summer, we would come down and pick them. There were never enough to make blackberry jam or pie, so we collected them for dinner or just ate them on the spot. They tasted so good when they were ripe!

Kinley, Erica and I began our search. I went down the line, slowly, looking for black. There were some black berries, but most of them weren't ripe enough and still had a red tint to them.

The first couple of berries I bit into were too sour. Kinley pricked his nose on a thorn. Erica gave up and wandered off, nodding her head to her music. But I kept looking. I touched each blackberry I came upon, testing to see if it was big and squishy enough. I dropped a couple for Kinley so he wouldn't feel left out.

I eventually came to the end of the line. There were only a couple more to check. I felt the first one. Too hard. The second one was too small. But the third one was just right. I popped it in my mouth and the flavor exploded in my mouth. It was one of the best berries I had ever tasted! It was so sweet, I could almost taste the sun rays that had ripened it.

"Mmm, mmm! Now that's a good berry!"

Kinley wagged his tail and I let him lick my berry stained fingers. Then, I heard a car. No, not a car, a truck. My dad's truck! I turned to see my dad drive up our lane after a day at work. Kinley immediately chased after him, barking happily, and I followed. Dad was home!

When my dad comes home, it's one of the best feelings in the world. I don't know how to explain it, but seeing him just feels me with joy. I felt like a little girl again when he opened the car door and I threw my arms around him.

"Welcome home, Dad! Happy Father's Day! I love you!"

And with Kinley by our side, we walked inside together to get ready for dinner.

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This is a (mostly) true story that happened last June. I hope you enjoyed it. :)