They linger in front of their house next to her car. For the fiftieth time the Father reminds her not to drive more than 300 miles a day, take plenty of rest stops, don't pick up any hitchhikers, and to call them every night until she got to her destination. The daughter looks tenderly into his eyes, smiles at him lovingly, hugs him one last time, and settles into the driver's seat.
It seems to the Father such a short time ago when he and her mother went to Wuhan, China to bring her home to live with them. She was a beautiful, bright, sparkly infant, and that has not changed through the years. Seventeen years went by in a blur. Three months ago she graduated from high school, today she sets out on a solo cross country trip to attend college on the East Coast.
Peeking out the back window of her car is her beloved teddy bear, Bamboo. It was given to her by a family friend when she was just a year old and still living in their first home in the Concordia neighborhood. Ignored and dismissed for the first few months, but inexplicably one day, he was given a gender and a name, and became the Chosen One of her many toys. Through the years Bamboo has been her constant companion and confidant. He has soaked up an ocean of tears and rejoiced in countless breathless hugs as he shared the peaks and valleys of her childhood and teenage years. More than a few times, the tears were brought on by the invariable conflicts that occur between a father and his daughter. At those times, he was the outsider, standing on the other side of her bedroom door while she buried her tear stained face into her Bamboo. He had been envious of the bear then and of the bear's total access to his precious daughter. He knew it was silly to be jealous of an inanimate object, but he couldn't help it. And now, Bamboo is again going to be with her while he will be even further away.
The Father allows himself a smile when he notices that Bamboo and he have aged similarly through the years. The bear's once luxurious dark brown fur is now a dirt colored, matted mess. Gravity and wear have taken a toll as well. The full stuffing that once gave him form is now compressed and have settled into his mid section, giving him a pear shaped body with a hollow chest and a lumpy stomach. But, one thing that has not changed are the bear's eyes. They are still warm and accepting. For once, the Father is glad that she is taking her bear. Bamboo will be a tangible tie to her childhood when she's far away from her family and friends. The bear will be able to comfort her during those trying times in a strange city when the Father couldn't.
A short tap of the car horn, followed by her bare waving arm brought him back to the present. A few seconds later, a right turn, and she was gone. The Father turns to his wife, she hugs him tight, the dam breaks, and the tears flow freely.
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