Page 105 of It Should Have Been Me

I’ve read a lot of dad books, so I’m very aware of the manipulation tactics kids use. From the moment I found out Cat was pregnant, I swore to myself that I would never be the type of dad that becomes a victim of such trickery. “Iamthe boss, and I’m saying no cookies before ten a.m.”

“Please, Daddy.” The puppy-dog face makes an appearance and the way she says Daddy is a known weakness of mine. “I’ll give you three kisses and a hug.”

How insulting. “Are you really trying to bribe me? And with three kisses and a hug? Like I’m going to fall for that. What do you take me for?”

She thinks about it for a second, then starts counting on her fingers. “How about...fourkisses and a hug?”

“Okay. Deal.”

“Scott!” Cat yells from the bathroom.

“What?” I yell back. “She made a solid counteroffer.”

Cat walks to the kitchen and kisses Anji on the forehead. “Cookies after breakfast,” she says firmly.

Today is our last day in Vietnam. In the six weeks we’ve been here, we’ve been nomadic, moving from place to place to see as many sights as possible. From the Ban Gioc Waterfall to the cave in Phong Nha National Park. Today we’re closing off with a trip to the Golden Hands Bridge in Da Nang. Buying a special backpack with a baby carrier was probably the best investment I’ve ever made because seeing all these amazing things with my daughter literally attached to me is an experience I can’t put a price on.

“Can we have wasunya for dinner tonight?” Anjanique asks.

“Wasunya?” She’s in a phase where we don’t understand what she’s saying half the time. I look over at Cat to see if she could decipher that. “What’s wasunya?”

“Lasagna.”

Well, that makes more sense. “Sure. We can have lasagna, cupcake.”

“And after dinner, maybe we can build a fort and?”

“Tell ghost stories?” I suggest.

“No, silly. Prisiss sories.”

“Princess stories?” Cat gasps as if she’s so excited. “Daddylovesprincess stories. EspeciallySleeping Beautybecause he does the voice of Maleficent so well. You love doing that high-pitched evil laugh, don’t you, Scott?”

I give this traitor a death stare because she knows that it’s the most unmanly sound that has ever left my lips, but I only do it to get a laugh out of my daughter. “Of course, I love princess stories. Yay!” I am dying inside. “Those are...just as good as ghost stories. Who doesn’t love a good princess story?” I glance at Cat, and the look on my face causes laughter to bubble out of her.

“The only thing that will be missing is Rocky,” Anji says. “I miss him.”

“Me, too,” Cat concurs. “But we’ll be back home tomorrow. And then you and Rocky and your cousins can get right back to terrorizing uncle Dylan.” She smiles at me. “I’m actually so homesick. I can’t wait to get back and see my parents...and sleep in our bed.”

She always gets like this close to the end of each trip. She used to say she wanted more than Pasadena. She didn’t want the mediocre suburban life and carpooling the kids to school. To an extent, she stayed true to her word. We now live the beach life in Santa Monica, I take care of carpooling our kid to school, and our lives are anything but mediocre, which is why she can’t wait to get back home. But home is still a day away. Right now, we still have one more stop left on our bucket list.

I’m glad we saved our trip to the Golden Hands Bridge for last. The bridge appears to be held up by two giant hands. That in itself is a spectacular sight, but the greenery of the endless Ba Na Hills makes being there feel like I’m a witness to the workings of a higher being. It’s that majestic.

Cat unstraps Anji from my backpack and takes her to the edge of the railing, pointing to the glorious expanse stretching out in front of us. I move to stand behind them, wrapping my arms around my wife to kiss her on the cheek.

Cat was right. Life together has been a series of adventures, big ones and little ones alike. Time moved forward into the future at a steady rate of one second per second and in those seconds I have:

Become a permanent member of the academic committee.

Struggled to make ends meet.

Won teacher of the year award four times.

Fixed leaking pipes.

Fought with my wife.

Made up with my wife (that part is always more fun).

---