“I might have fifteen years left of a good body. I’m working on something. I’m only telling you. It’s about the Bible.”

 His hands clenched each other behind his frame. He was a weak old man now. He squinted ahead but didn't see the bikinied ladies playing volleyball in the perfect sun.

 “I've been thinking about what success is. Money isn’t too important. I would have made more money if I hadn’t gone to church." 

Did I hear his teeth sulking?

“I went to church and that distracted me. And your mom didn’t want the business to grow.”

He squinted again, but this time his gaze lifted ten degrees upward, a little above the horizon.

“It’s a good thing. Church is better. But if I hadn't found church, I would have had more businesses.”

My head fell down as the rest of my body continued through the boardwalk. A line in the pavement a step ahead of me moved down a step behind. Was my dad a coward?

It wouldn't do him well for his daughter to remove his crutches with fifteen years left. I've been saving face for him for thirty years, and with many sighs, I will continue to so the rest of his life.

I begged for blood to mean nothing.

“Whatever you work on, it needs to be honest.”, I told him.

He didn’t hear me.

“I might have fifteen years left of a good body. I’m working on something. I’m only telling you. It’s about the Bible.”

 His hands clenched each other behind his frame. He was a weak old man now. He squinted ahead but didn't see the bikinied ladies playing volleyball in the perfect sun.

 “I've been thinking about what success is. Money isn’t too important. I would have made more money if I hadn’t gone to church." 

Did I hear his teeth sulking?

“I went to church and that distracted me. And your mom didn’t want the business to grow.”

He squinted again, but this time his gaze lifted ten degrees upward, a little above the horizon.

“It’s a good thing. Church is better. But if I hadn't found church, I would have had more businesses.”

My head fell down as the rest of my body continued through the boardwalk. A line in the pavement a step ahead of me moved down a step behind. Was my dad a coward?

It wouldn't do him well for his daughter to remove his crutches with fifteen years left. I've been saving face for him for thirty years, and with many sighs, I will continue to so the rest of his life.

I begged for blood to mean nothing.

“Whatever you work on, it needs to be honest.”, I told him.

He didn’t hear me.