When It Falls

The leaves were falling from the trees and the air was getting cooler, autumn was here. Heather loved fall, not just because her birthday was in October but also because it meant she would get to see her father. Every year she would get to see her father once at Thanksgiving because he was in the army making it hard for him to come home often. Heather loved her father dearly but didn't know him as well as she wished. Ever since she was born this has been the arrangement she had with her dad. She envied the kids who had present fathers and would sometimes get angry at him for not being there when she needed him. This fall Heather will be turning thirteen and she asked her dad if he would come for her birthday and Thanksgiving this year. She hadn't heard back, and her birthday was approaching soon. Life had gotten harder for Heather recently because kids at school have been bullying her for her glasses and the gap in between her front teeth. Never had she cared so much about how she looked until she started middle school and now, she was obsessed with her appearance.

            Since Heather's dad wasn't around much her mother would step up for all the dad duties around the house. There once was a time when there was a spider attack on Heather's room and her mom was brave enough to kill all the spiders. It doesn't matter though because ever since that happened Heather sleeps in the bed with her mom. Heather and her mom are extremely close and look exactly alike. Everyone in their small town says that they are each other's mini-me's. Heather always wondered if her mom was telling the truth about why her dad was away or if her mom had something to do with it. A lot of troubled thoughts would come to Heather's mind, and she would get frustrated or anxious if these thoughts became too much. It was a pivotal time in Heather's life. She was changing faster than she could keep up with. She was becoming taller than all the boys in her grade and felt like an outcast compared to the other girls. Heather hadn't brought up the bullying in school to her mom yet because she didn't think it would last long. When her mom asked who she wanted to invite to her birthday party, she had no choice but to fess up.

"So, honey you are becoming a teenager on Friday, who would you like to invite?", her mom asked. Heather looked down at her feet when she said this because she couldn't stand to look her mother in the eyes.

            “Actually Mom, I don’t want to invite anyone from class", she said. Her mom looked puzzled and grabbed Heather's face to look up at her. Tears were filled in Heather's eyes and her mom just hugged her.

            "Okay well, that is okay. We will still have fun" Heather still hadn't heard back from the letter she sent her dad weeks ago in preparation. Heather hated to think about her father in the army, what he was doing, and if he was in danger. She feared the worst outcome which would be he got killed or he couldn't come.

            It was four days until Heather's thirteenth birthday, and she started to lose hope that her father was going to show up for her special day. Her mom was working extra hard to make sure this birthday was spectacular for her. Since Heather's birthday was on Halloween, her parties would always have a spooky theme. Her mom would go all out with the decorations and the costumes for her and Heather. Usually, Heather's grandparents and her aunt would come to her birthday party, so her mom made up goodie bags for all the guests. Heather loves her family and would much rather be with them than anyone else on her special day. Her mom was hard at work in the kitchen when she came home the day before her birthday. As she walked into the kitchen and looked at the counter, she saw a huge chocolate cake with orange and white icing all over.

            "Oh my god, Mom! It looks so good", Heather said.

            "In less than twenty hours it will be all yours", her mom answered.

            "Have you heard back from Dad yet?", her mom stopped icing the cake and walked over to the living room, she picked up a dark purple costume with black sequins outlining the trim.

            "Um not yet but look at the costume I made; I was thinking we could be witches," her mom said. She held up the costume and then grabbed a black witch's hat to add to the ensemble. The smile on her face was suspicious and Heather didn't know whether to be excited or not. She still wondered if her dad would be coming. Her mom did everything she could to try to avoid talking about her dad, but it didn't matter because it was all she cared about.

At first, Heather didn't care much about who her father was growing up. Kids at school would tease her about not having a dad so she has started wanting him around more. She had so many questions for her dad, like if he missed her or why he isn’t around more. She didn't know much about her father's job, but she knew it kept him away a lot and that his job was very important. Heather's mom explained to her that her dad was an officer in the army and that he had to be there to lead his soldiers.

            After dinner that night Heather's mom went back to sewing up costumes and let Heather have some T.V. time. For a while before Heather was born, her mom used to make costumes for plays in town and got very skilled at it. When Heather was born her mom would make all her costumes and sometimes nice dresses for special events. She would work so hard on the costumes for the birthday party that her fingers were visibly bleeding. Heather never noticed when her mom was in pain because she was so focused on herself and didn't see her mom as someone who could be hurt. Her mom is her superhero. She is invincible. She can do anything. Heather's mom is an amazing woman who can do about everything she sets her mind to. Growing up Heather thought it was normal to have a mom that did everything for her, and she idolized her mom for how great she was.

When Heather's show was over, she got off the couch and walked over to her mom who was still working on her witch costume.

            "Mom?", Heather said. "Yes, honey what is it?", she answered.

"Is Dad really in the army?". Her mom stopped what she was doing and looked at Heather. "Why would you ask something like that?"

"Well, a kid at school told me that people in the army can come home more than just once a year."

"That just isn't the case for your father, I'm sorry dear."

            "Why can't he come home for my birthday this year?" Heather's voice started to get whiny, and her mom stood up. She picked up the half-finished dress and put it in a box that was sitting on the chair next to the couch.

            "He must be busy. I know it’s not fair but there is nothing we can do”. Before her mom could finish the sentence Heather started to cry. She couldn't help it; it was like a reflex. She wanted her dad to come home and celebrate her turning thirteen more than anything she had ever wanted before. She could see that her mom was frustrated with her asking why her dad wasn't going to show up and that she was trying to keep her mind off it. It didn't matter though because she had her heart set on seeing her dad. She wondered if she could ask her mom to go visit him wherever he was stationed. It was weird how Heather knew her dad was in the army but nothing else, like what branch or where he was living. She always found it odd that her mom didn't like talking about her dad. There were no pictures in the house of the whole family together. There were pictures of Heather and her mom and pictures of Heather's mom and her dad but none with all three of them. There were only two pictures of her father in the entire house. Neither Heathers grandparents nor aunt ever talked about him. Heather started noticing these things about a few months ago when kids at school brought up her absent father.

            Everything Heather knew about her father came from their once-a-year visits. Her dad was a tall man with light brown hair and a reddish mustache. Whenever he comes to visit her, he always brings a Toblerone bar that he picked up from the airport. Heather loves chocolate but has grown tired of the same old gift and doesn't have the heart to tell him. She knew that her father played football in high school, and was a big fan of Harry Potter. They would bond over their favorite Harry Potter characters and which movie was the best. Her dad would only visit for the day of Thanksgiving and then leave that night to go back. Heather wondered if seeing her was even worth all the traveling he had to endure. Every time he would leave, Heather would  get depressed, she would cry and sleep for days. She started to think that her dad didn't love her and that is why he only comes to see her once a year. These are things she keeps to herself because fear of bringing it up to her mother would upset her.

Before bed, Heather was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when she heard her mom on the phone. She silently walked towards her mother's room to try to hear the conversation she was having. From what Heather could hear the phone call was more of an argument.

"I never ask you for anything, but this would mean so much to her", said her mom to the person on the phone. Heather peeked into the room and saw her mom pacing the floor with a glass of wine in her hand. She looked frustrated and tired. Heather worried that the argument on the phone was about her.

            "Fine don't come and disappoint your daughter once again", her mom yelled. Heather couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mom had to be speaking to her dad on the phone, but she didn't know that he was able to take calls. Heather had only communicated with her dad through letters because her mom said that there was no cell service where he was stationed. Nothing made sense anymore to Heather and she started to question everything. How much did she know about her dad? How much of what her mom says is a lie?

            It was finally the morning of Heather's thirteenth birthday and she had put her costume on for the day at school. The school would usually have a contest for the best costume and Heather was confident that she would win this year. She spent hours in the mirror doing her makeup and straightening her curly hair. For the first time, Heather was feeling good about herself, and she was excited to go to school. It made Heather uncomfortable when the school day started with everyone in her class being forced to sing Happy Birthday to her.

During recess, Heather was reading a book like usual by herself when three girls in her grade started to bother her. They teased her for her handmade costume and one of the girls pulled at Heather's sleeve. By the end of recess, the three girls had ripped apart most of Heathers costume which sent Heather crying to the principal’s office. She didn't tell the principal who it was exactly that destroyed her costume, but she asked if she could go home because of it. The principal pitied Heather and agreed to call home to let her mom know to come get her. Heather waited in the office for her mom and kept crying uncontrollably while the principal tried to console her.

            When her mom arrived, she got in the car and started explaining what had happened to her costume.

            "Mom I am sorry, but these mean girls pulled at it and ripped it apart", Heather explained.

            "Don't worry, I can fix it before the party tonight", said her mom. Heather didn't care about the dress as much as she did about finding out the truth about her dad. She just wasn’t sure how to bring up that she knew her mom was lying to her.

            "So, I guess Dad isn't coming?", Heather asked.

"I am sorry honey, but you will see him soon on Thanksgiving", her mom answered. Heather knew the answer already but thought she could get her mom to tell the truth by asking again. When her mom lied to her again, she got nervous about bringing it up, so Heather just changed the subject. Before Heather had the chance to say anything, a car crashed into the passenger side where she was sitting. Heather blacked out. The next thing she remembers is waking up in a hospital bed with a cast on her arm. Her mom was by her side with some noticeable stitches on her forehead. None of it felt real to Heather, she couldn't understand what had happened.

            She was in the hospital for a couple of hours when she noticed a young man in another room who was badly hurt. He had casts on each of his legs and a brace around his neck. There was an older woman and a little girl in the room with him, comforting him. Her mom saw that she was staring at them and told Heather to stop.

            "He is the kid that hit us, we shouldn't stare", she said. Heather didn't care, she kept starting because she was mad, she wanted yell at him for almost killing them on her birthday. A man walked into the room where the boy was, and she felt like she had seen him somewhere before.

            "Heather sweetie, it isn't polite to stare at people", her mom told her again. That is when it hit her, Heather had seen that man before, she had seen him every Thanksgiving for years.

            "Mom? Why is Dad over there?", she asked. Her mom quickly looked over to see Heather's dad talking to the family of the boy that caused the crash. The man hugged and kissed the woman and then hugged the little girl. He then started to hug the boy but as he did, he locked eyes with Heather.

            "Oh no!", Heather's mother gasps. The man's eyes grew big, he says something to the family and walks over to Heather's room. Heather's mom gets closer to her and held her hand as he approached them. They all look at each other in silence for a second before Heather speaks.

            "Dad, why are you here?"

            "This is hard to explain kiddo, but I know those people", he says. Heather looks confused and her mom was trembling.

            "Are you even in the army?", Heather asks.

            "No, I’m not. I’m actually an accountant", he answers. Heather breaks out in tears realizing that she never knew her dad. Everything she thought he was meant nothing anymore because it was all untrue. Her mom hugged her and patted her back to try to get her to calm down.

            "You should leave now and don't come to Thanksgiving this year", the mom said to the dad. Heather buried her face in her mom's stomach and waited until she heard her dad leave the room. Once he was gone, she looked up at her mom and smiled.

            "I love you, mom," she said.