ROSES ARE RED

halloween night, my birthday. not a soul outside tricker teating. no gools no goblens. nothing. Everyone should have been out haveing fun running around getting scared. But all i saw was the neighbors pumkin's candle danceing as the wind streamed through the mouth and eyes.

My mother jil, had left for work about 2 hours ago. she gave me and sweet 16 card with 50$ in it. i said thanks like any normal 16 year old would say when given a card and money. she told me my dad would be comeing to get me around 7:00pm. so i sat there sitting, waiting, watching the clock. "tick, "tick".

It seemed like the longest half hour of my life. then finally 7:00 cam and of course my dad honked his horn loud for me to hear. I grabbed my stuff and headed for the truck. My dads truck was a light, fadded red and had rusted doors. the window of his pickup truck was smached a little bit on the side and he had to cover it up with ducktape, so all together my dads truck was a peice of crape!

"hey dad" i said slowly but happily as i hopped into the front seat of the truck. "hey darlin'" he repilied in and rather giggily voice "where are all the children who are suposed to be running around like luniticks"?

"i don't know dad its been like this all night that has been nothing its kinda weird usually we are the most popular street in the town"

"hmmmmm... well anyways what do you want to do tonight its your birthday you know"

"i want to go shopping"

"isn't there anything else you want to do other then shop"?

"no, not really"

"ha ha well i'll tell you what how about me and you go get something eat and then we will figur out what we would like to do ok"

"Alirght" i said in a sortof sing song voice

The next thing i knew me and my dad were walking into the front doors of olive garden."Table for two" my dad said. as we walked to our table i was looking at my dad. He was so tall about 6'4 - 6'5. he had black and blue eyes, just like me. My dad was fit and looked like he was 23 instead of 43.

when we got to the table i ordered and water with lemon. My dad ordered a beer and told the man to bring him a water on the side. He always did that to make me think he wasn't going to drink that beer but, i was smarter them that. he never fooled me. Atleast he didn't drink like my mother she was a alchohalic and was always high on something. That one of the main things i wanted to live with my dad.

She would always be shooting up drugs in the kitchen or smokeing a weed that she found in a ashtray. once she tried to sell me for drugs loveing mother hey. she had a boyfriend who was just a mess, drugs, and everything else. so add those up all together and what do you get, a horrible enviorment for me to be growing up around. I don't know how she ever got custity of me but somehow she did. My dad always said she slept with the judge. Wouldn't suprise me.

after me and my dad had finished our dinner, we headed off to his house. i guess we would be doing some major shopping tomorrow then i figured.

my dad had a small little apartment in the city it was nice but, small. when we walking into the apartment i did what i did everytime i ran over to the golden chair (thats what i had called the chair since i could talk so thats what it stayed called) it was so big and very confturble. that chair had been thourgh so much but still stood there in one peace.

My dad did what he did evertime went into the kitchen and grabbed the biggest bowl in the cobored and filled it with ice cream and peaches. Then walked over to the golded chair, put his ice cream on the coffe table picked me up and trough me down on the couch and laughed then sat down on the golden chair.

he did that evertime so i had to rush to that chair while he got his ice cream so i could enjoy my 3 minutes of heaven.

my dad grabbed the remote from that coffe table and tured swicthed to his channel. I didn't even have to guess what he was going to put on. CSI came to the screen and my dad while swimming in his little bowl of joy with his spoon watching CSI looked so peaceful, so relaxed, so happy.

finally after 3 episodes of CSI my dad went to sleep and i got to watch something that i wanted to. I tured through the channels and switched it onto this oldies show that always made me laugh. It was about 1 or 2 oclock in the morrning when i tured that TV off and streactched out on the golden chair. I was so tired , i could barly keep my eyes open. As soon as i layed down i and shut my eyes i was asleep.

it was now morrning and my dad did what he did evey morrning made coffe and got himself a big bowl of frosted flakes.

later on that day me and my dad decided we would go down to the beach for a little bit. "the Old fairy docks" i said to my dad as we sat down on the dock. It was so nice to see the sun out today it hadnent been out for a while. It was still pretty chilly out but i was bundeled up in out coats and sweat pants. I couldn't wait until summer it was going to be a good summer i hopped. I was sure it was going to be but, i didn't know forsure.

it would be a great summer if i was liveing with my dad i knew because me and him loved the beach and my mom, hated it. Never knew why but, she did.

"hunny" my dad said to me, "I love you so much"

"I know dad, i love you too"

"when your mother was preganet with you, i was hopeing it would be a boy..." he stopped for a moment but started up again while admireing the sun set "but now that your here and alive and healthy, you're all i ever could have hopped for"

"aww thanks dad, You are all i could have ever hopped for as a dad"

"well i sure hope so" he said in a laughing voice, then started to tear up,

"I love you a lot, you are my baby girl."

"i love you a lot dad"

For a while we sat there doew and the lake just talking and thinking ad watching the sun set. The sunset was amazing in westbank. You really have to have lived in Westbank for as long as i had to actully understand the true feelings of watching our sun sets. Life was good even the bad times, well i mean they are just lessons and mistakes but you have to learn for something.

"one more day with you dad, i hate not livieing with you"

"Well maybe someday you might ba able to"

"why can't i live with you right now" i agued back

"its just not that easy amanda"

"i know but....."

"amanda no its to complicated for you to understand your only now 16"

and that was it that was all that was said

CHAP. 2

"... and if you call now you will also recive this special offer free, wow what a deal, but wait theres more, well also throw in 2 free..." the TV played as i turned it off. There was never anything onat my mother house. She took off all the good shows just left the "gay" ones. I hated liveing with my mother she was just horrible to live with.

liveing with my dad would be so much easier and better