Summer at the Airport

“Isn't this fun, Sweetie?” Jack asked. He looked down at Summer with genuine concern.

         “Oh yeah, Dad, I'm just oozing with excitement.” There was really no need for her to give such a sarcastic answer; the sour puss she wore on her face said plenty.

         “Aw, c'mon, Summer!” Jack said, “'Bring your kid to work day' can be loads of fun!” He did his best to sound excited, but Summer wouldn't even look at him, never mind jump up and down in anticipation. “Hey, look at this!” Jack shouted suddenly.

         “What is it now?” Summer groaned, heading off in the direction that Jack was running towards.

         “Well? What do you think? Cool, huh?”

         “Dad, its just the luggage carousel. There's nothing cool about it.” For an eight year old, she sure did lack imagination.

         “Nonsense!” Jack said. They watched peoples' luggage slide past on the long conveyer belt, then disappear into the wall, only to come back around again moments later. After observing the phenomenon for a few moments, Jack turned to see the look on Summer's face, only to be surprised by how wide her eyes had grown.

         “Dad!” She said (was that a smile on her face?), “I was wrong, this thing is neat!”

         “No need to thank your old man, Summer, for being so clever and all.”

         “Can I sit on it?”

         “What?”

         “I want to see where the luggage goes when it vanishes. Please?”

         “N-no Honey.”

         “Why not?” she whined. Her once eager expression was dissolving rapidly.

         “B-because.”

         “Because why?”

         “Because Mom would say no, that's why.” It was a stupid reason, but he thought it might persuade her. It didn't. Instead, Summer just scowled, visibly annoyed.

         “This sucks,” She said, “Talk about the worst day off from school ever. Dad, you're no fun at all!”

         Jack's heart sank. They weren't making any progress. At this rate he'd never get Summer to speak to him again, never mind bond with her. This was going to be much harder than he'd thought. There was a lot riding on today going well. He and Christina had gotten into a big fight over who would take which kids where for 'bring your kid to work day' this year. Jack knew that when it came to Summer, trying to persuade Christina to take her to work was a lost cause. As a teacher, the last thing Christina wanted was to deal with was Summer's poor behavior in the classroom. It was bad enough Summer gave her a hard time at home. So Jack figured that if we was going to be stuck with Summer, he might as well try to get to know her better.

         When Jack and Christina got married over fourteen years ago, Jack knew he was going to have to learn how to be a good father, and fast. She'd brought her two kids from a previous marriage into his life, and together they had already fantasized about creating a family of their own. Now in addition to his step-daughters, Jack now had daughters of his own, and got along with everyone in the house-everyone, that is, except for Summer. Summer always made things difficult.

         Christina's oldest daughter, Samantha, was supposed to come along with Jack to his job at th

e airport, but she came down with a bad case of the stomach flu (whether or not she was really sick, or merely trying to get out of spending the day with Summer, wasn't any of Jack's business). Regardless, Jack was determined to make the most of this one-on-one opportunity. The two of them had arrived at the airport three hours early in the hopes that Summer would want to explore, but so far Jack was having no such luck.

         “What is your job, anyway? Like, what do you even do here?” Summer asked suddenly. Was she genuinely interested?

         “Well, I have a very important job,” said Jack, “See, it's my duty to instruct the pilots, telling them where to go. You know, where to land and when to take off.”

         “Oh,” she said.

         “Don't you think that's cool, Summer?” He tried to force more of a response out of her than that.

         “No, not really.” She said. “Basically you tell the pilot stuff he should be able to see if he just looked out the window, big deal!” Jack sighed. How could one child possibly be so negative?

         “You know Summer, it's not as easy as it sounds. What I do is essential to keep things running smoothly!”

         She laughed. “Dad, are you kidding? You're job's not that important.”

         “Why sure it is!” Jack was offended. “I only make it look easy!”

         “That's because your job is easy, Dad! It's so easy that even I could do it.” By the time Jack had figured out the full meaning of that last statement, Summer already had an idea. She was smart for her age-and Jack knew that whatever she was thinking (hopefully it wasn't the same as what he was thinking!) could only lead to trouble. “Hey Dad,” She said.

         “No, Summer!”

         “I didn't say anything yet!” Summer cried. But she didn't have to. Jack already knew.

         “No, you absolutely cannot direct air traffic!”

         “But why not?”

         “Because...because...”

         “Don't tell me its because Mom said so,” She said. She'd caught on real fast.

         “Sorry Sweetie, but no is my final answer.”

         Summer sulked for the rest of the morning. Christina had warned Jack about Summer's highly manipulative behavior. He had to try to remember that it wasn't so much that she wanted to direct air traffic, but rather, that she wanted something she couldn't have.

         “She's fooled me before,” Christina had warned him this morning, “Don't fall for her antics.”

         “But Honey, I'm not that naïve!” He'd said in protest. But now he had to watch himself.

         It wasn't long until it was time for Jack's shift to start. Summer still continued to give him the silent treatment. Not even  fast food had been enough to coax her out of it; she didn't even care that it came with a small toy. There was only one thing that would pacify her, and Jack knew Christina would kill him if he gave it to her. But then, if Jack let Summer have her way, he'd look like a hero. She'd want to talk to him again, to bond with him. Just think! They could engage in all sorts of fun father-daughter activities! Christina might even be jealous when they spent time together; scratching her head trying to figure out how the two of them got so close. Maybe it was worth it after all. Sure, it was risky, but Summer always loved to live on the wild side. Perhaps it was time for Jack to give it a go.

         “Hey Summer, I've been thinking.”

         “What now, Dad?”

         “Maybe you're right; maybe 'because' isn't a very good reason after all...”

         That was how it all began. Jack quickly began showing Summer what to do; he showed her how to use the microphone, what to say and when to say it, and how everything works “behind the scenes.” It turned out that Summer really was fascinated after all. In addition, she had a very good speaking voice for a girl her age; it was strong and fluid enough to hold its own weight, but still high enough that it was obviously the voice of a child.

         “Good job, Kid!” One of the pilots buzzed in after Summer successfully talked him through the lift-off.

         “Why thank you!” Summer said. At last, Jack had finally gotten her to smile!

         “What's this all about, anyway?” Asked another pilot later that afternoon.

         “Well,” Jack said confidently, “This is what happens when the kids are out of school.”

         “You know Dad,” Summer had even said to him, “I guess you're a lot cooler than I gave you credit for.” And to Jacks delight, Summer wasn't the only one who thought so. While some of his coworkers thought letting Summer help out was a stupid thing to do, others felt that what Jack was doing was ingeniously clever. It had been a long time since Jack had felt this proud; who knew that taking a big risk like this could have such a tremendous payoff?

         By the end of the day, Jack and Summer had bonded in a way Jack would have never thought possible. They talked and laughed about the day's adventures, and Summer had even admitted to having a little fun. More than anything else, Jack was glad to have made his youngest daughter's day. No matter what Christina might say, this had made it all worth it.

         “Oh!” Jack gasped. He'd forgotten all about Christina! “Summer, you can't tell Mom about this, got it?”

         “Dad,” Summer said, chuckling, “Do you really think I'd be that stupid? I'd never tell Mom we did something illegal!”

         “Illegal?”

         “Well sure, I mean, there's got to be some sort of law against this. I'll be sure to look it up on the internet later.” She walked with her hands resting casually in her pockets, talking about the whole thing like it was nothing.

         “Against the law?” Jack said. How horrifying! He wasn't trying to do anybody any harm; all he wanted was for Summer to let loose a little!

         “Yeah, but don't sweat it, Dad. I mean, who's gonna know?”

         “Hey Jack!” one of his coworkers called as he walked past, “Way to keep it real!”

         Jack only nodded his nervous reply. Illegal? Had Summer known this right from the start? She'd played him for a fool!

         “Yeah, right, who's gonna know?” He'd meant to say it confidently, but it sounded half-hearted.

         What had he done? He could be fired! Or worse-if this was illegal, he could go to jail! No matter what the outcome, Christina would still kill him if she ever found out about this.

         But as Jack drove home, he watched Summer as she gazed out the backseat window, kicking her feet in time to the music of the radio. Legal or not, he'd done this for her, and to show her that he really did care. But how could she be so casual about the whole thing? He tried to see the world the way she saw it.

         What was the worst that could happen? Jack figured it came down to either being fired and disgraced by his coworkers, fleeing the country and hiding out in either Canada or Switzerland, or having Christina divorce him and being left with no other choice but to move back in with his mother and never see his daughters again. While he couldn't prevent that last option, Jack could quit his job before getting axed. So he'd be unemployed for a couple of weeks; it wouldn't be the end of the world. The time off might even be nice. Besides, as a child, he'd always wanted to be a police officer. Jack chuckled too at the thought of becoming a wanted man. Traveling the world might even be fun. In fact, maybe this whole fiasco was his golden opportunity to instigate a big change in his life that was probably long overdue.

         Jack smiled. He'd actually made Summer happy. Wasn't that enough?