"Dad?" I was so shocked to see him... in front of me without his laptop in his hands. He was really here!

I let go of the door handle and ran into his arms. He quickly wrapped his arms around my small body and lifted me off the ground. "Dad! You are here!" I stated as if I was dreaming. It had been a while since I last saw him. I missed my dad so much. And for him to come to my birthday party was a plus. I already knew that this would be the best birthday ever.

"Hey, pumpkin. Of course, I'm here. I wouldn't miss your birthday!" he countered as he embraced me tightly, and I smiled widely. I was afraid that I would wake up at any second and this would all be a dream. But it was not a dream. I pinched myself.

"I missed you, dad. It's been a while," I whispered, and he let me go but kept his hands on my shoulders.

"I know. I'm sorry. Work killed my free time; that's if I had any. But, I'm here, and I have a gift for you, and I'd prefer to give it to you later today, not now. Let's go and greet everyone else." I turned around to see everyone staring at me with curious eyes. My brothers were smiling like freaks, and mom had tears in her eyes. Awe, I love this.

"Dad!" my brothers all said and hugged him in a group hug. The moment was so perfect that I feared something might ruin this happiness. I shrugged it off and side-hugged my mom.

"How are you, boys?" dad asked after he let go of them and stood inside the dorm.

"We are great, dad. Now, let's go to the party," Milo replied and grabbed dad's hand. He let go of it when he stood before his ex-wife, my mom.

"Rosy, how are you?" dad asked, then embraced mom tightly. Even though they were not together anymore, they respected and loved each other. It was that dad's job was not convenient for our family times. He traveled a lot, and we barely saw him: the average of us seeing him was three times a year. My parents decided to get divorced because dad knew he was holding mom down, as he could not be with her all the time to love her.

He let her go, yet we all know it did not turn out well. I knew that he regretted his decision but would not admit it. He loved her with all his might.

"I'm good, Hugh. How about you?" she asked with a bright smile. I knew that the smile was covering great sorrow. She regretted ever agreeing to the divorce. She loved him, but being away for so long played a big part in the loneliness that consumed her every night in the big bed. I felt sorry for her. We all did. My brothers and I tried to get them back together, but we could not do it. So, we accepted that and moved on.

"I haven't seen you guys for so long, and I feel old!" dad replied, and we all laughed. We walked to the living room, and I stood near dad in the middle.

"Guys, this is our dad, Hugh. Dad, these are our friends." I introduced him, and the girls greeted him with warm smiles, and the boys nodded in acknowledgment. The party continued until we got to the gifts. Everyone got me something, and I loved all of them. I was lucky to have them in my life. I was fortunate that my mom forced me to come here and stay with my brothers. I met wonderful people that I was proud to call family.

~~~

After three hours of partying and having a good time, everyone went home, and it was just us. My brothers and parents sat on the couches and caught up on the lost times. "Lexi," dad called, and I looked at him.

"Yes?" Mom had a knowing smile on her face, and my brothers were clueless as usual.

"I didn't forget your gift. So, because I know how much you want to skydive, and it is on your bucket list to do it on your seventeenth birthday, we will go right now." My eyes widened in shock, and my brothers all whined about how lucky I was. I ignored them and focused on my crazy dad. Was he serious?

"Don't joke around, please...." He rolled his eyes, grabbed my hands, and threw me over his shoulder. "Dad! I'm wearing a dress," I pointed out and tried to get down. He just held me tighter and walked to my room.

"Change into comfortable clothes because we are going. Come on, Lexi. I'm not joking." He threw me on Arlo's bed and left the room in seconds. I was dumbfounded by his action, but then I shook my head and changed to yoga pants and a hoodie, put on my Nikes, and went out of the room. When my dad saw me, he jumped from his seat, threw me again on his shoulder, and went out of the dorm without saying another word. I have a weird father, yet I'm proud to call him dad.

~~~

"So, you are the birthday girl and Hugh's only daughter?" the pilot asked as he was securing the parachute on me. It turned out that Dad had done it multiple times, and the pilot was his friend from Romania. He came with dad just to make me happy. I had a very cool dad.

"Yes, sir, I'm so excited." Dad chuckled and ruffled my hair. "Thank you, Dad. I love you," I hugged him after his friend finished his work and got into the pilot's seat.

"I love you too, pumpkin. Now, let's sit and wait for him to give us the green light to jump," dad explained, and I nodded as the pilot took off.

After like half an hour, the pilot turned to us and raised his thumb as an okay to jump. Dad smirked, and I suddenly felt numb and scared. I realized that this was real, and I was about to jump from the sky!

One can be brave and passionate about something until he or she actually does it. It was terrifying to look down, so I took a small step behind my dad and closed my eyes. "Lexi, it's okay to feel scared. It's your first time. I've been through that, but we've got to jump. Come on." He grabbed my hand, and we stood at the edge. "Are you ready?" he asked, and I looked at him with wide eyes.

"No!" I yelled.

"Good," he said, and we jumped. Dad tried to let go of my hand in the middle of the sky, but I did not let him. After a few seconds, I felt light and happy. It was refreshing, and my adrenaline kicked in. I was not scared anymore. Dad was right; this was awesome.

I slowly let go of his hand and stretched my arms and legs. Dad did the same, and we smiled. It was hard to open my mouth due to the air pressure, so I did not even try to laugh. I was dancing inside. That was the best experience of my life, and I will never forget it.

"Now!" dad shouted and pointed at the parachute, and we opened them together. As soon as my legs touched the ground, I jumped on dad and laughed. Our landing was so smooth.

"That was so cool! You are the best!" I declared in a loud, delighted tone, and he fell to the ground with me in his arms. We laughed and then I noticed that my mom and brothers were filming us. When did they get here?

"I know," dad said, and we got up off the ground. I looked at my family, and my smile grew wider.

"Best. Day. Ever!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.