Free Daddy Dearest by Heather Hydrick Page A

don’t really understand religion, or the
bible. My brother and I share stuff with each other when we can’t
tell mom, or don’t think she will understand. My brother is like
me. He believes in God, he just doesn’t think or say much about
religious stuff. I sit through prayers and church services for the
sake of my mom. She is so worried about daddy, and God is the best
way to make things happen. I know that God keeps my family and my
daddy safe. I pray every night and ask God to keep my daddy safe.
My dad has been safe for the past 7 years since he joined the army.
I believe in the power of prayer, but I just don’t quite understand
everything else.
    After eating breakfast, here came Anthony
trotting down the stairs with his pajamas wrinkled and his hair
messed up. I went over to him to try to fix his hair but he pulled
his head back and looked at me and smiled. “I like it this way” he
said with a grin that made him look like he smelled something
horrible. He has always been the smart butt of the family. Anthony
and I have a history. Even though we are twins, and people think
that siblings are supposed to fight, Anthony and I are not like
that. We are actually like best friends.

Chapter 3: Me and Anthony
    My brother and I are almost exactly alike,
although we are twins. We don’t look a lot alike, but we think a
lot alike. We usually have the same opinion on stuff, we both love
baseball, like our dad (the South Carolina Gamecocks and the New
York Yankees are our teams), and we love each other. I know I can
tell him anything, and he knows he can tell me anything. We may
fight sometimes, but it is just because we love each other so much.
Sometimes we pick on mom for the outfits she wears. She still has
some of her old clothes from the eighty’s. When she wears them
around the house, Anthony and I will get together and go up to her
and say “Oh My Gosh, It’s Madonna! “Ha Ha very funny you two” she
would say to us as she rolled her eyes. Anthony and I are very
close. We take the same classes in school so we sometimes help each
other with homework. Anthony usually has trouble in history and I
usually have trouble in math. I am pretty good at history and
Anthony is great at math, so we always help each other out.
    Every time we go out to town, Anthony and I
always ask mom to stop by Mcdonalds and get us a strawberry
lemonade. To me and Anthony, that is about the greatest thing on
earth, next to daddy coming home. We both miss our dad very much.
Every week, Anthony and I will sit down together and write daddy a
letter. When we are done writing the letter, mom takes us to the
post office to mail it to daddy. We have the biggest smiles when we
check the mail and there is a new letter from daddy. When daddy
isn’t home, that’s one thing that makes life worth living is to get
a heartfelt letter from him.

Chapter 4: The Letter
    It had been about a week, and there was still
no call from dad. Mama told me and Anthony that we could write a
letter to him. I went to my room and got some paper and my special
pen that he had given me before he left for his last assignment. I
went downstairs and Anthony was sitting at the table, waiting for
me. We always write our letters together. Anthony always makes me
do the writing though. I started to write: “Daddy Dearest, (That’s
how I start every letter to my dad) I hope you are doing okay.
Anthony, Mom, and I miss you very much. We can’t wait to see you
when you get home. (But I want to give you the first hug, I’ll
fight Anthony for it okay daddy?) Anthony and I just got our report
cards in and we made all A’s! Mom hung them on the refrigerator for
you to see when you get home. I hope you have a safe trip home.”
“Tell him I’ve been keeping up with our team’s baseball scores!”
Anthony says much too loud, considering that I’m sitting right next
to him. “Daddy, Anthony said that he has been keeping up with our
team’s baseball scores. I hope that you will