TAKEN AWAY
by
Connie Webb
I am seven years old.
I am in a new room in Miami Beach, Florida.
Mom left my dad in Buffalo, NY.
She didn’t tell him that we left or where we were.
She put me and my 3 brothers in a car and drove us here.
I am wondering when my dad will come and find us,
even though mom told me he doesn’t care about us.
I remember my old house,
my dad coming home from work,
his shiny black shoes,
his suit and tie,
the smell of his cologne,
his big smile,
the way he made me giggle –
I miss him.
I miss having a family meal with him,
I miss how strong he was and how he joked around,
I miss the times we all had fun together.
I miss his strong arms as he picked me up
and put me on his shoulders.
He swore he wouldn’t drop me
so I wouldn’t be scared.
I wasn’t scared.
I don’t miss my mom yelling at dad all the time.
It seemed she screamed the loudest.
I was certain it was her fault for all the fights,
though she claims differently.
I am in my room alone,
only 7 years old,
I heard the voices of my new school friends today,
telling of the gifts they got from their Daddy for Christmas or Hanukkah.
There are no gifts from a Daddy for me.
Mom told me to stop crying.
She said I never have to see him again,
that he didn’t love me or my brothers or her.
One day I said,
I am not going to miss Daddy any more,
I am tired of crying.
I never got jealous of friends’ dads any more;
I never felt the pain any more.
I am age 27.
Something made me
pick up the phone and call him.
I got to talk to my Dad,
my Dad,
my Daddy,
Who I lost years ago;
and he said he loved me,
and he never knew where I was or my brothers.
We moved every year,
so he probably was telling the truth.
Nowadays they call that parental kidnapping.
The past is gone.
I never got all those final years with my dad,
but from age 27 to 28 and a half,
before he died of a heart attack at age 64,
I got to talk to my Dad.
I don’t have the card that said “Love your Dad”,
it got lost somehow,
but I will treasure the opportunity that I got
to know my dad by calls and letters,
and that I still can remember his voice,
his laugh,
his love,
and his kindness.
I was taken away from my dad,
but I am so grateful I found him again
before it was too late.