Dying Wish

Chapter 4

Andrew gave Laura a nice, long hug after leaving her house from her birthday party.

"I hope you had a nice time, Sweetheart," he told her.

"I did," beamed Laura. "The best birthday yet. Thanks Daddy. I love you!"

"Love you too, Sweet Pea. I'll be over to visit tomorrow," he waved, "see you then!"

"Okay, bye!" She said.

Andrew walked out to his dark blue Chevy Silverado. It was getting to be a beater. Rust was forming around the tires and by the tailgate. He took it out to the woods frequently, so it had its fair share of scratches and dents. He gave his truck a good pat. "See how ya do today, ole Martha."

He named every vehicle he ever owned. He had a red Malibu when he was younger, which he named Shelly. He also had a gray dodge truck that he named Renee. He didn't know why he did it, other than because his old man used to and he did everything his old man did.

His old man worked in auto body, and Andrew worked right beside him until he turned nineteen. One day, while they were working on a car, his old man had a heart attack that killed him nearly instantly. There was no time to revive him.

Andrew was convinced that was the worst day of his life. Losing his daddy was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. He dad was his guiding hand and his fountain of advice. He told him things straight and predicted how things would be, 100% accurate each and every time. Andrew had no idea what he would've done if he grew up without a dad.

Andrew strongly believed every child needs a ma and a pa, which is why he never left Laura, although he and her mom divorced. Her biological father was too foolish, too much of a coward to have a daughter, so Andrew became her father. Legally, he wasn't, because he never adopted her. But in everyone else's mind, she was. She even looked a lot like him. Laura didn't even know Andrew wasn't her biological father.

Andrew really didn't want to explain it to her, though. He wanted to believe she was his little girl, not some other guy's. He was afraid she'd try to find the man who shared her DNA, and prefer him instead. In the back of his mind, he knew things probably wouldn't go like that, but he didn't want to chance it. We'll tell her someday...