DADDY
A story by Alicia

Robert had never seen a birth before. It was his first child. But it was his wife's first child, too. How could she be so calm when she seemed to be in such pain? Janie's usually rosy complexion was pale as she visibly focused on breathing steadily as another contraction hit. Robert wished he was the one on the bed but it wasn't possible to take his wife's place. So he stood by, watching and praying, and trying to do everything he could for his wife but ending up in the way. He stood still. Everything was a blur, one push-and-pause after another until he could see his newborn child through tear-filled eyes. Janie was crying.
"It's a girl," said the doctor. Janie held the child close to her. Robert leaned over the two of them. Janie looked up, caught between a sob and a smile. "You're a daddy!"


To a six-year-old little girl, the bicycle looked like an unleapable obstacle. Shae looked up at her daddy. "Do I have to?" she asked in a small voice.
Daddy looked down at her and smiled. "Don't you want to be able to ride without your training wheels?"
Shae hesitated. "You can't run away from things you want to do, or need to do, because you're scared," Daddy reminded her.
"But I might fall down and get hurt," Shae suggested. Surely Daddy wouldn't want her to be hurt!
"But I'll be right here to hold you up." Shae agreed to try.
She clung tightly to the handle bars and leaned forward, her body taut, when Daddy started to push her forward. "You've gotta peddle," he teased her. Daddy stayed right there by her as she started down the driveway, wobbling against his firm hold.
"Don't let me fall!" she begged him.
Daddy paused and looked down at her. "I won't," he promised. "You know what? I won't always be here to hold you up, but God will."
Shae blinked at him in amazement. "God knows how to ride a bike?"
Daddy smiled at her. "Sure, he knows how to do everything. But that's not what I meant. Even though you can't see Him, God will always be right there by your side. After you learn how to ride this bike, when you can ride without me to hold you up, you'll still have God there to make sure you don't fall. Life can be hard, Little One, but you're God's child and your Heavenly Father will help you even when I can't."
Shae may not have understood everything her daddy said that day, but she would always remember -at least, she'd remember that God knew how to ride a bicycle.
And Robert, as he considered the future, and time drawing his little girl away to places where she couldn't run to him in times of need, was comforted as well. God was looking out for both of them.
Shae had never bothered much with Kaitlin Lanor. Kaitlin was the worst bully in the school. She hated going to a Christian school because she didn't want to learn about God. Shae could never understand that. How could anyone not want to hear about God, and all the good things he'd done? But when Kaitlin called her a snob, she was forced to consider the options. "I'm not a snob," Shae retorted, a little confused. Some kids thought Kaitlin was a snob, too.
The eleven-year-olds stood face to face. They hadn't attracted the attention of the playground supervisors yet, and Shae hoped they wouldn't. She hated to get in trouble.
"Yes you are!" Kaitlin threw back. "You think you're better than every one else and that God loves you 'cause you're never naughty."
Shae blinked in astonishment. "That's not true! God loves everybody!"
Kaitlin frowned. "He doesn't love me! I hate God! I can't do everything right!"
"But God doesn't want you to!" Shae shook her head vigorously. "My mom and daddy said that God knows everybody is bad sometimes, but he forgives them. How come you don't think God loves you? Haven't you heard how he died for you?"
Kaitlin nodded slowly. "He has too many rules," she said obstinately.
"Don't you want to be good? God loves you all the time, even if you're bad! My daddy says He wants to help us be good people."
"Really?" Kaitlin said slowly. "My mom says when I'm bad so much, I make God sad."
Shae nodded. "But if you ask him, he'll forgive you."
There was a long pause. The other kids standing close around the two looked from Shae's innocently honest face to Kaitlin's hesitant, debating one. But then Kaitlin decided. The word made Shae's heart glad and she longed to tell her parents at the end of the day.
"Okay."


"What are your dreams?" Kaitlin asked in her usual quiet way. She'd changed alot since her days as a bully in elementary school. "I want to become a teacher."
Sheena sat up with her Snickers ice cream and said, "Kait, grow up! Alls I want is a steady boyfriend." She scooped another full scoop into her mouth.
"I want lots of boyfriends," put in Rachel, Sheena's younger sister. "All of them cute and athletic."
"Of course," Sheena rolled her eyes.
"All of them at the same time?" Shae asked. Rachel nodded. "What about you, Shae?" asked Sheena.
"Mm.... I want to get married, eventually, after college I guess. And I want to travel all over the world!" The others laughed with her.
"Will he be rich and famous? So you can go on a cruise every year?" teased Kaitlin.
"Hmm..." Shae grinned. "No, I don't care if he's a rich or not! Maybe I'll become a travel agent like my dad, so I can travel for free. Every once in awhile."
"I want to become a model," Delisa cut in. Delisa was pretty enough to become a model, anyway. She was partly Hispanic, so she had darker skin and black hair and eyes. "I've always wanted to be a model."
"You and every other girl," Sheena retorted.
"Maybe you'll be on the cover of Vogue one day -we'll be walking by, and there youll be, our old friend Delisa Martin!"
"That would be so neat!" said Rachel. She sighed dreamily. Rachel was only 14, and she loved to hang out with her sister and her sister's older friends. At 15-almost-16, the four were Rachel's idols. Something about Rachel bothered Shae because she wanted so much to look and act older than she was. Rachel's clothes reflected that desire in a way that was, at least to Shae, very immodest.
"So, who are you going to the dance with this Friday?" Sheena changed the subject and Rachel perked up. It was Rachel's first Senior High dance. Flicking back a long strand of streaky blond hair, Sheena added, "I'm going with Roger. I've been trying to get him to ask me out for ages!"
"Why didn't you just ask him?" Delisa said vaguely. Delisa had no trouble getting dates, since she was one of the prettiest girls in school.
"I don't know if I'm going to be allowed to go with a date yet," Shae replied.
"Good gosh! Shae, you have got to be kidding. That is so juvenile! Even Rachel is going with a date. You're fifteen! You're driving!" Sheena and Delisa stared at their friend.
Shae shrugged, embarrassed. "I don't know. I have to ask my parents."
"I bet Max Steele will ask you," Rachel said.
"What about you, Kait?" asked Delisa.
Kait shrugged. "I'll probably go alone." Kaitlin only occasionally dated, and then only on double dates.
Shae wasn't listening to the rest of the conversation. Most of it was about boys, anyway. She was wondering if her parents would agree to let her go to the dance. It would be so cool to go with Max! Most of her friends had been dating for at least 2 years, while Shae had gone with a group or not at all. She didn't really mind that, but she felt like she was old enough now to be a part of the High School social activities.


Her father didn't agree. The next evening when she asked her parents about it, they exchanged that 'here comes a life decision talk' look and Daddy got out the Bible. He read her Proverbs 31 and I Peter 3:3-4. "Do you think this is what the dating scene is striving towards?" he asked her seriously.
"No," she had to admit. "But I don't have to be that way!"
"Okay," Daddy continued, "What do you think is the purpose of dating?" He and Mom watched her, waiting for her answer.
"Well," Shae began cautiously, "I guess to have fun! What's wrong with that?"
"There's nothing wrong with good, clean fun," Mom said.
"But 'fun' that toys with each other's affections?" Daddy added. "First of all, you agree that when you're dating someone, you have a 'relationship'?" Shae nodded, and he proceeded, "Well, shouldn't a relationship like that lead to marriage? I mean, what else can it lead to?" He left her to contemplate that. "And at fifteen, do you really think you are ready for marriage?"
Shae raised her eyebrows. "No!"
Shae ended up deciding not to go to the dance with Max herself. She told him she'd save him a dance and planned to go with Kaitlin. Then she asked Rachel if she would like to go with the them.
"Didn't Max ask you?" she asked sympathetically, surprised that the pretty Shae didn't have a date. Shae tried to explain, but Rachel didn't get the idea. Shae was surprised that Rachel's family, who considered themselves Christians, could make decisions so totally opposite from her own family's. She asked her father about it the next day when they were out in the country and she was practicing her driving.
Daddy considered the question for a moment. "God isn't as important to some people as He should be. It's like this: if God was a part of this car, which part, to you, do you think he would be? The engine, the steering wheel, the ... brake, ... or the bumper?"
"Well," Shae said slowly, "I guess He'd be the engine -He motivates me? The steering wheel -He should guide me, too."
"See, to some, God is only the bumper -sort of shielding you from a little of the world, something to hold up and say 'I am righteous'. To others, he's a brake to control what they do. To me, he's the whole car. My entire life, He's there in every part." Daddy smiled at her. "You just make sure you always listen to Him, honey. He wants to be there for you, always."


"Wow, it just hit me -this is the year we've always looked forward to! Shae, we are going to graduate!"
"Didn't you think you'd make it?" Shae teased her back.
She and Kaitlin were walking down the hall of their school as Delisa raced up to them. "Did you guys hear about Rachel St. John?"
"No, what's up?" Shae asked.
"She's pregnant!" Delisa hissed.
Shae's head jerked up. "What!" she gasped, horrified.
"Who-?"
"Her boyfriend. Josh. The jerk is ignoring her now."
"What's she going to do?" asked Kaitlin.
"I don't know; let's go find Sheena!"
Sheena wasn't extremely sympathetic to her sister's plight. "She should have been more careful," was her response. Since Rachel wasn't at school, there wasn't much else they could do or say. Shae could hardly believe what had happened. Rachel was only 16. What might have happened to Shae if she, too, had taken on the 'dating is just for fun' attitude?
The next day she had study hall with Delisa and Kaitlin. "I've never really thought about it before," Shae said quietly to her friends, "But with what happened to Rachel..." her voice trailed off. "I've decided to make a commitment to abstinence before marriage."
Kaitlin looked up. "What are you going to do? Fill out a card or something?"
"My dad gave me a commitment ring." Shae held up her hand. "But you don't have to have something like that. It's just an outward symbol of what you've decided."
"I'm going to do that, too. Does the ring have to be something special?" asked Kaitlin.
"You can pick whatever one you want," Shae replied. She glanced at Delisa, who hesitated. "What happened to Rachels pretty scary," she admitted. "But I'm not going to let it happen to me!"
"I doubt if Rachel decided she was going to get into a situation like this, either," Shae said softly. Study Hall was over. Delisa got up and hurried out.

"Shae? This is Rachel. Can I come over? I really need to talk to you." It was Thursday. Rachel hadn't been in school for 4 days. Shae agreed that the younger girl could come right over. She was expecting Delisa, but that was alright. Delisa remained silent during Rachel and Shae's talk. Rachel was a wreck. Frightened and unsure, she was contemplating an abortion. Her parents were angry and illogical at the moment. She told Shae that she had always looked up to her for standing strong in God. She wanted her advice. Shae said what she thought, that Rachel's past lifestyle was what had gotten her into trouble in the first place. "I think murder's wrong, whatever the circumstances. You know? And God says so, too. They say it's just a 'fetus', just tissue, but, Rachel, did you know that after just eight weeks in the womb, the baby's organs and external features are already formed?"
"What am I going to do?" Rachel choked. "I'm too young to have a baby!"
"There are lots of people out there who want a baby. You can have the baby and give him up for adoption," Shae was crying as well. Rachel managed to nod.
Delisa waited until Rachel left before telling Shae of her decision for abstinence, as well. "I don't want something like that to happen to me," she said. "Besides, it's wrong." She also decided to give up her boyfriend. "He won't understand. It's too great a temptation with him."


The phone call was unexpected. It caught Kaitlin totally off guard. And it was a shock to Shae, too -for her best friend's sake. Death was so permanent. Shae made the arrangements to fly straight home. She decided to go with her friend. She would need help supporting her mother. Car accidents were such a tragic way to die. And to lose your father... The funeral took place soon after they got there. College seemed far off as Shae stood quietly under a disrespect- fully bright sky with her parents. She tried to imagine what it would be like to lose her own dad, but it was too awful. Where would she be without her parents? Kaitlin was racked with the fear that she didn't appreciate her father enough while he was alive. Did Shae appreciate her parents? She recalled her graduation immediately. Her parents had been so proud of her grades and of her scholarship to the college in upper Michigan! The car they'd bought her served her well even now. One year ago. Had she said thank you enough? Had she told them how much she appreciated them for everything? How glad she was God had given them to her?
The funeral was over. People were leaving. Kaitlin and her mother stood still. Shae turned around and hugged her parents tightly.


"Please remember that there is a fine for picking any flowers on Mackinac Island," Shae called back for the benefit of a mother whose little girl was asking if she could pick a flower. Shae was 21. She'd been working as a tour guide for almost 2 years now. She'd fallen in love with the nearby Mackinac Island the first time she'd visited it from college campus. Strangely enough, her family had never visited it before in all the years they'd lived in Michigan. Mackinac Island was caught in a time warp. They went so far as to outlaw any vehicles -except the necessary fire engines. The transportation was horses and bicycles. And Shae loved it. She worked on carriage tour that went part-way around the island, but every once in awhile she had other routes. It was kind of fun, for a part time job. It gave her just enough money to not have to worry about anything. Not that she needed much. And it was a romantic job. Her friends, Delisa and Kaitlin, thought it was dreamy because of all the 'rich and famous' people that vacationed at the Grand Hotel. Shae probably came in contact with them all the time and never knew it. Until then.
He was fairly ordinary at first glance, except that he wore his baseball cap like a shield. Blonde hair, a Christian T-shirt ...who could he be? Delisa would probably know at first glance. Too bad she wasn't here.
It was time to call the tourists back to their seats. The guy slid in and caught Shae's eye. Blue eyes. Shae turned around and started talking on the intercom as the driver pulled away from the stop. The stories were routine and a little boring by now and Shae found herself thinking about the end of college drawing near. What after that? She'd thought about it some, of course, but hadn't made any definite decision. Her majors were in History and Business. She was almost 22, and pretty. Her dark hair, worn short now, was curled around her face. And her tawny eyes showed more expression than her face usually did. What she really wanted was to be a homemaker. But there didn't seem to be any prospects there. "...So, if you ever see that movie, you might recognize some of the Mackinac Island landmarks you've seen today," she was saying. She wondered how she'd ever managed to say everything she was supposed to relate without hearing a word of what she was saying. They were back to the starting point. She'd been on the second half of the tour today. As everyone crawled out of the tour carriage, she ran into the mystery man again.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she laughed at herself. When she heard his voice, she suddenly knew who he was. "Sky Masterson! Right? Oh- I'm sorry; I bet you don't like it when people do that."
He smiled. "That's okay. Just keep it under your hat," he winked. And that was it. But it would still be an exciting story to tell Delisa and Kait!
And they loved it. "Sky Masterson! I have his album 'The Master's Son!'" said Delisa. "That is so cool!"
"He's great Christian rock singer," agreed Kaitlin. "I can't believe you met him!"
"Well, I didn't exactly meet him," Shae reminded them. "He was on my tour."
"Oo, she's being modest!" her friends giggled. "She likes him, she likes him...!" Shae blushed.
Shae was surprised to see Sky Masterson again the next day. He came right up to her and started asking her about Mackinac Island. "I've always wanted to visit here," he explained. "So, since I was nearby on tour I decided to spend a week resting here at the Grand Hotel. Can you tell me about the weird pronunciation thing going on with all these M-words?" They both laughed.
"Okay, well, M-a-c-k-i-n-a-c is said the same way the town Mackinaw is spelled. And the other one, the long one with all the 'c's and 'a's is pronounced simply Mackinaw, too. It makes it easier to say and remember, but it is kind of weird!"


It took that one talk to make them friends. Sky visited Mackinac Island and the nearby college town as often as he could, and wrote letters when he was on tour. Eventually, Shae was able to introduce him to her parents. They loved him. He passed the Mother's Test and Daddy got his turn when Sky requested permission to ask Shae to marry him.
Robert had always wondered if his daughter's choice would be the type to go to the father first. He now thought that this was his greatest reward, as a father. Shae had chosen well and Sky truly loved her.
Shae gripped her father's arm tightly as he guided her down the aisle. Sky waited at the other end of the long red carpet. She could see Delisa, Kaitlin, and Rachel out of the corner of her eye as they took their places on the side across from the groom. Shae gazed into sky-blue eyes and was never happier. It was like a dream. Her beautiful white dress and the steady, familiar arm leading her, and the enthusiastic face of her husband-to-be.


Shae had always heard that your wedding was supposed to be a big blur, but every moment was etched into Shae's mind that day. She would certainly always remember it as the happiest day of her life. Later, after Shae and Sky had left in a bustle of good-wishes and excited tears, Shae found a letter her father had stuck into her small purse.
Dear Shae,

I hope you know how much I love you and how proud you have always made me, through your whole life, as I watched you meet up with all sorts of circumstances and confront fears and troubles. You've constantly surprised and gladdened me with your good sense and perception of what's right and wrong (you must have gotten that from your mother). Now as you go out to make your own home with this young man who we have come to love as a son, I trust that you will always turn to God in times of need and rejoice in Him in times of gladness, like this one. Remember that your mother and I love you very much and we will continue to pray for you. Both of you are always welcome in our home. In God's love, Daddy


I wanted to do a story for my newsletter concerning either Mother's Day or Father's Day. It's more my style to do a mother/daughter thing (my mom and I are really close) but I ended up deciding on a father/daughter story. God made the relationship between a father and daughter to be so incredible, and I wanted to show that in this story. My own stories never make me cry, but this one came surprisingly close. I hope you understood the meaning I was trying to get across and will gain a new appreciation for your parents from it. I would like to dedicate this story to all Godly mothers and [especially] fathers out there. But particularly to my own mom for her support (as always) and help with the storyline and to both my dads': neither of you is more 'real' than the other. Copyright 1998 by AMCG

Note from 2002
I'm working on novel now that started as an extended version (loosely based) of this story. You can preview it here soon.


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