"Honey, let me see. Let me see!"
John couldn't let go of her. She was beautiful, mystical, and enchanting. She had her mother's eyes, but his own smile.
"Okay, here, but be quick," John replied, handing over their newborn baby girl reluctantly.
"Be quick? I carried this little booger for nine months, and pushed her out for a good two hours so I can be quick?" Jennifer glared at him for what seemed like an eternity, even after he handed her the bundle of joy.
"No, no, no, take your time!" John quickly replied. "But... What should we name her?" He looked at her and thought for a while, squinting his eyes like he usually did whenever he focused too hard on something.
"Sarah."
"What?"
"With an 'H', like your mother. Sarah." She smiled at little Sarah.
"Sarah..." John muttered under his breath. "I love it." A tear ran down his left cheek.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I love it." He took Sarah back into his arms. "Sarah," he whispered into her ear. "You're going to hurt a lot of boys, but you're going to break my heart first." He smiled. "I might even have to register for a gun license."
"John," Jennifer said quietly. "You worry too much." She smiled again. "She'll be okay!"
***
"Where do you think you're going, Princess?"
Little Sarah was about to open the door before her father caught her while he was reading the news.
"Don't worry, Daddy! Isabel and Christina want me to come to the playground and play!" she said with a big grin on her face.
"Did you ask Mommy?" John inquired cautiously.
"Yes, Daddy, Mommy said it was okay!" Sarah replied enthusiastically.
"Do you have your jacket?"
"Daddy, don't worry about me too much! Mommy said it'll give you wrinkles!"
"Okay, have fun, sweetie. And be safe!"
"Don't worry, I'll be okay!"
***
"Honey," Jennifer nudged gently, "Honey, get up! Our daughter has her dance recital in twenty minutes, and you look like the neighbor's hedgehog on a bad hair day. Get ready!"
John looked at the his daughter's very first yearbook picture that was framed and placed on his nightstand next to his pillow. The frame was silver and had a flowery pattern bordering the toothless portrait of the angel that fell from heaven. A tear ran down John's left cheek. Where has the time gone? One minute she was as small as his hands, and now she's big enough to push herself on the swing set on the playground.
"Daddy!" Sarah called as she was running into her parents' bedroom. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! Hurry up or Ms. Stevens won't give me a sticker next to my name! Daddy, let's go!"
"I'm hurrying, Princess, I'm hurrying!" John replied as he was getting up. He wiped the tear and got dressed.
"Are you sure you want to do this? Will you be fine?" John asked cautiously.
"You worry too much, Daddy!" Sarah exclaimed. "I'll be okay!"
***
"Y-Yes, sir."
"And you'll have her back by 10:00 PM sharp?"
"Yes, sir, n-no problem at all!" Eric said sheepishly.
"I don't want any funny business going on." John threatened.
"Dad!" Sarah groaned. She glared at him with the same eyes her mother has.
"Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry." John looked down. "But seriously, I have a gun license that I've signed up for a while back, and-"
"Dad!"
"Sorry, Princess, just making sure." He conjured up a silly smile at her, but she rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Eric. Can you wait outside?" Sarah asked her boyfriend.
"You know I worry about you, right, Princess?"
"Yeah," she responded quietly. "But you don't have to worry all the time!"
"I know." He winked. "But just be careful out there. I was a boy, too, you know..."
"I love you, Daddy." She gave him a big hug. "Seriously, nothing bad is gonna happen."
He held her for as long as he could. He knew that time was running out for him, so he held her even tighter.
"I love you, too, Princess. Be safe, for me," he choked with tears raining down his face. Sarah wiped his tears and kissed him on the cheek.
"Don't worry, Daddy," she smiled. "I'll be okay!"
***
"Sweetie?" John knocked on his daughter's door.
"Go away!" she cried.
"Sweetie, I just want to talk."
"I said go away!" she screamed louder.
"You know, I broke your mother's heart more times than I can count." The crying got quieter. "And every time, she's forgiven me. I remember one time I forgot our anniversary, and she made me sleep on the couch for a week! You know how I got her to forgive me? I had to make her breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day for the next month. Do you know how hard it is to make lunch for her when I have work at 10:00 AM every morning, and at the same time I have to make a full course breakfast? Let's just say your mother didn't like eating eggs and cereal for two meals a day. But it was all worth it."
The doorknob clicked quietly, and the door opened slightly. John turned around and looked up. Sarah sat down next to him and put her face into his chest and sobbed.
"You know that gun license I got a long time ago?"
"Dad, no, stop," she giggled. "It's fine."
"No daughter of mine is going to get her heart stomped on by a no-good punk who's got nothing better to do but cheat on my little princess!"
Sarah laughed and rested her face on her father's chest. John wiped her face with his sleeve and cradled her in his arm.
"I know a good place to hide a body."
"Dad, seriously, I'm fine."
He looked at her and smiled, and she looked back with the same eyes her mother has.
"I'm here for you, even when you're sad and heartbroken."
"Thanks, Daddy. I love you," she smiled.
"Seriously, I have that old gun next to my bed!"
"With you, Dad," Sarah said cheerfully, "I'll be okay!"
***
"A little help?"
She was walking down the stairs, with her hair all done and make-up majestically applied. She was wearing that beautiful teal blue dress, and it perfectly slimmed around her top, but danced around pleasantly around her ankles. It was the dress she bugged and pleaded her father for, or else she would die if she didn't wear it to prom. Around her neck was her mother's necklace, the very same blue necklace that brought out her mother's eyes, just as it did her own. The very same blue necklace John gave to her mother the night they went on their fourth anniversary during the last semester of their senior year. They were troublemakers then, but not Sarah. She was the perfect angel; the perfect princess.
She pointed to her back where the zipper wasn't completely zipped up.
"Of course, Princess," John croaked. "Just stay still for a bit."
She twirled around so her back was facing him. "Thanks for buying me this dress, Daddy!"
"No problem. Anything for my little Princess." John was fighting back tears as to not ruin his baby girl's dress. "You know, you look stunning, m'dear." He zipped up her dress and turned her around.
"Why, thank you, Father, 'tis a pleasure to be accompanied by a gentleman such as yourself," Sarah chortled. They both laughed and embraced each other.
"Don't be late," her father ordered playfully. "And don't be hanging around with the wrong crowd. And don't drink, you know that. And do not, under any circumstances, ruin that dress; it was expensive."
"Whatever, Dad," she said, rolling her eyes. "And don't worry, I won't be late. Or drink."
"I love you, sweetie," her father whispered.
"I love you, too, Daddy," she replied gently. "I'll be okay!"
***
"Socks?"
"Yeah, Dad."
"Shirts?"
"Uh huh."
"Pants?"
"Yeah, Dad."
"Underwear?"
"Dad!" Sarah said with disgust.
"Just making sure! Bras?"
"Yes, Dad, I have everything!" Sarah exclaimed.
Her dad looked at her with a big smile and sighed. Tears were filling up his eyes.
"Oh, Daddy," Sarah muttered, "Come here, you big oaf." She put her arms around her father's waist and placed her head on his stomach. "You know I love you, right, Daddy?"
John wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I love you even more, Princess. But you should finish your packing if you want to get to the airport on time. The university is pretty far from here, and if you leave now you can still make it, but then again there's traffic, so maybe you should just stay another day, unless you think-"
"Dad, Dad, calm down," Sarah reassured him, "I can still make it. But I can also stay another day. Orientation's not for another two weeks. Just relax." She kissed him on the cheek.
Her father smiled at his princess. "Did you know that just eighteen years ago..."
"Oh boy," Sarah sighed.
"Did you know that just eighteen years ago, you fit perfectly in my palms? Now, you're all grown up and going to college?" He gazed into her eyes, tears coming back to him. "My baby girl, finally an adult, and it all happened so fast..."
Sarah looked at her dad. "Daddy, these past eighteen years, you and Mom did the best job of raising me and making me who I am today, and you will continue to be a big part of my life even after today. I will always love you, no matter what." As she wiped a tear from her dad's face, her own eyes started to tear up.
Her father chuckled. "You'll be fine on your own, right?"
She smiled. "I'll be okay!"
***
"Honey?"
"Yes, dear?" John replied.
"She wants to see you."
"I'll be right there." John walked up to the room where his daughter was getting ready. He knocked on the door. "Sweetie? You wanted to see me?"
"Come in!" a voice called.
John opened the door. "Sweetie?" He froze and just stared. His jaw fell and he fell to the ground as he saw his daughter, dressed in white, standing in front of a mirror. Tears were welling up in his eyes.
"Oh, Dad!" Sarah ran to her father and helped him up. "What's wrong? Is it my hair? Is it the make-up? Ooh, I knew Mom put on too much blush, but she wouldn't listen!"
"No, no, no, you- you look fine. In fact, you look gorgeous." Her father gazed at her and smiled. "You know, twenty-five years ago..."
"Oh, boy," Sarah sighed.
"Twenty-five years ago, you were just a teeny-tiny baby that would cry every time something bad happened. Eighteen years ago, you were in kindergarten, and you lost your teeth right before the yearbook pictures, and you cried and cried, but I told you how beautiful you looked, so you wiped your tears, and you smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen. Ten years ago, you went on your first date, and you even had your first kiss. I almost killed the punk who broke your heart a year later. But seven years ago, you left for college, and your mother had to comfort me the entire time you were gone. She even complained that I spent too much time staring at your kindergarten picture." Tears flowed down Sarah's cheeks. "The days you were sick, I felt so helpless. The days you were out with your friends, having a great time, I felt so lonely. The days you were excited about a new boy, I felt so jealous. The days you were heartbroken, I felt so angry and disgusted. But now, I don't know what I feel besides queasy." John looked down then back at his daughter and chuckled.
"Dad..." Sarah said, bawling.
"Princess, don't cry! It'll ruin your make-up!" Her father proclaimed.
"Don't worry about that, Mom can fix it," she choked.
"I have always dreaded this day, the day when you officially give your heart to another boy. For years it belonged to me, but now, another boy is going to have to take care of you now."
"Daddy, I love you."
"I love you, too."
"I will always be there for you, Daddy."
"And I will always be here, waiting."
"Will you be fine with me gone?"
John smiled at his baby princess. "I'll be okay!"
