Lucas Stories: Final Goodbyes (January 2019)

     With tear-stained cheeks, the boy looked up at his father, interrupting the embrace. "When will you be back?"
     His father's eyes held the sorrow of a thousand lifetimes, and although his face held a roughness, the boy knew it was a shield against tears. "Perhaps next month," his father said. "I'll be back and we can have a party."
     The boy realized he would never see his father again. He wrapped his short arms around his father's big neck.
     Goodbye, Father.
     Goodbye, two-thousand-eighteen.
     Goodbye, sweet nights.
     Goodbye, laughter.
     Goodbye, songs.
     But please return to me. Please come back.
     "When you come back, can we go back to Florida?" the boy asked.
     His father smiled. "When I come back, we can go anywhere you like. If you want to go to China, we will go there. If you want to go to Russia, we'll go there. If you want to go to Florida, we'll go there."
     He'll come back. And when he does, we'll travel the world together!