Tesia Lenore McLean sat at her desk in the classroom she was currently in. It was Friday June 15th, just five days after her eleventh birthday. Today her class was making Father’s Day cards for someone special in their families – whether it be their father, or grandfather - or in Tesia’s case, her brother.

Tesia had been unsure about whether or not to make him a card, as he wasn’t a father, but in a way he was. Sure she’d had a Daddy to love and call her own, but he passed away right before Christmas – also not too long after they’d started to actually get along. It’d been a devastating blow, and if it hadn’t been for her brother she’d be stuck in foster care – it also helped that their father had listed A.J. as her guardian in his will.

“I hope J. don’t mind I made him a card,” Tesia thought quietly, her doubts catching up to her once more. She bit her lip as she added the sparkles to it – she loved for things to sparkle. “I hope he likes it….”

Soon enough her card was done and it was time for school to let out. She quickly packed up her things, and hurried on out the front of the school with her best friend, Kara – who was in a different classroom, seeing as she was two years younger.

“Hiya J.!” Tesia chirped, hopping into the back of his convertible after Kara had gotten in and moved over to the other side. She then greeted the man in the passenger’s seat. “Hiya Marcus!”

“Hey T.,” A.J. smiled, as he watched the two girls settle into the backseats. ”How was school?”

“Okay,” Tesia shrugged. “Kara an’ I played Barbies at recess! It was fun!”

“Yeah!” Kara agreed, nodding her head like crazy. “Sonya an’ Valerie played too! We’d a Barbie party!”

“Sounds like fun,” A.J. chuckled as he pulled out of the school parking lot, soon as everyone was safely buckled up. “Do anything else that was exciting today?”

“My class is going on a field trip next week!” Kara exclaimed excitedly. “We’re goin’ to Sea World!”

“Ah, haven’t you had enough of that place yet?” A.J. asked, eyebrows raised. The two girls in back, as well as Kara’s older sister, Tonya, had made him take them there almost every day for a week straight not too long ago. It’d been fun, but kind of boring after a while for him – though, the excitement seemed to perk when he was recognized by fans.

Kara giggled. “Nah,” she smiled. “I love Shamu an’ the sea lions!”

“I like the giant sea turtles,” Tesia piped up. “What do you like Marcus?”

Marcus glanced back at her. “I like the sea lions – they’re father amusing.”

Tesia made a face. “They’re okay. But the sea turtles and orcas are the best!”

“So what are you doing for Father’s Day, Kara?” A.J. asked. “You guys make any plans?”

“We’re taking Derrick camping,” Kara grinned. Derrick was their step-father; him and their mother had gotten married just two months ago. “He’s even gonna teach us how to fly fish!”

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” A.J. stated, smiling at her in the rearview mirror.

“What’re we doin’ this weekend, J.?” Tesia asked.

“Anything you’d like too, Hunny,” A.J. replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

“C’n we go to the carnival?” Tesia asked hopefully, as one had just come to town the day before.

“I dunno, Tesia,” A.J. answered. “There’s going to be a whole lot of people there, and if I’m recognized I could cause a riot.”

“Please J.?” Tesia pleaded. “It’d be fun! We could ride the Ferris Wheel an’ the Bumper Cars!”

“We’ll see,” A.J. said firmly, his tone pretty much saying that was the end of the discussion for now.

“Hmph!” Tesia huffed, crossing her arms over her chest as she sulked the rest of the way home.

Once they’d reached the house, the girls hopped out and ran on inside – Kara looking for her mother, and Tesia looking for her brother’s current girlfriend, Paris.

A.J. and Paris had been going out, since before he and Erin had even broke up – which they did right before Halloween. Things just hadn’t been working out all that well – plus, Erin kept getting jealous of Tesia, who back then was constantly insisting upon spending time with her brother. So when A.J. had bumped into Paris, Nick’s ex-girlfriend, it just seemed almost natural for them to hook up – after he’d gotten over his animosity towards her and what she’d done to Nick. And surprisingly, Nick didn’t really mind all that much that the two of them were together.

“Whoa, hold up there!” A soft voice stated, as Tesia came flying in the front door and down the hallway, her eyes darting to look in each and every room she passed. “Where’s the fire, Hunny?”

“Hi!” Tesia smiled, stopping mid-run and stumbling a little bit. “Tell J. he has to go to the carnival!”

“Why won’t he go?” Paris asked.

“He’s afraid fans – who’re gonna be busy with their own father’s - will recognize him an’ stuff,” Tesia informed her. “I don’t think they will, ‘cause, like I said, they’ll be too busy.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Paris assured the young girl. “Run along now and do your homework.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Tesia replied, minding her manners. She could still be quite the brat at times, but more often than not lately she was being a perfect little Angel – she was minding her manners and doing her chores and all that stuff without complaint. She was doing so well, that her brother had even finally let her start working on making an album of her own – with his help, of course.

Tesia hurried on upstairs to her room and flopped on her bed, pulling her schoolbooks out. She’d only a little bit of homework, as the teacher knew how excited the class was about Father’s Day – the same thing had happened last month for Mother’s Day.

She placed her books on the bed, then frowned. The more she thought about Father’s Day – heck, even Mother’s Day too – the more sad and depressed she felt. Sure, she had brother as her father now, and Paris made a great mother figure, but it just wasn’t the same. Even if she did despise her real mother more than anything, a teeny part of her still loved the evil woman that hated her own flesh and blood – Tesia – so passionately.

“I miss Daddy….” Tesia trailed off softly, speaking aloud without meaning to do so. “He should’ve been here too, Teddy.”

She gave a soft whimper as she scooped up her precious Teddy Bear – the one her brother had given her when she was just three-years-old. The first day they’d met in fact, he’d gone out and gotten her the Teddy Bear – to help scare away the monsters, so he had said.

“It’s not fair,” she whined quietly, burying her face into the bear’s still soft fur.

She stayed that way, crying into her Teddy Bear, until someone who’d been standing silently in her doorway, spoke.

“What’s wrong, T.?” A.J. asked, having had come to see if she wanted a snack, only to find her sobbing what seemed to be her little heart out. He entered her room and went and sat on the bed next to her.

Tesia sat up rubbing at her eyes miserably. “I miss, Daddy….”

A.J. gave her a grim smile. “I figured you just might this weekend,” he stated, gently lifting her up and into his lap. He snuggled her close, rocking her as he kissed the top of her head. “Shh….don’t cry, please Baby T. I know you miss him, I know you do. But it’ll be okay, I promise.”

“It’s not fair….” Tesia whined, burrying her face into her brother as she clung to him tightly while they rocked. “I never got to give Daddy his Christmas presents, an’ now I can’t even give him any for Father’s Day….”

A.J. sighed as he kept on rocking his little sister, who was now basically his child. He hummed softly, in hopes of calming her down.

Tesia hiccupped, whimpered, and cried until she’d no more tears left to cry. Then, and only then, did she fall asleep in her brother’s arms.

A.J. rocked her for a little bit longer, before finally tucking her into her bed along with her beloved Teddy Bear. He knew there’d be Hell to pay if he didn’t put her Teddy in with her. He kissed her forehead, and smiled down at her softly. “Love you, T.,” he whispered softly.

And boy did he ever love her. He loved her even more than she loved him, if that was even at all possible. He brushed her hair back from her face gently, then after kissing her head once more, got up and went downstairs to see what they were doing about dinner that night.

Early Sunday morning, Tesia awoke and hurried off to find Marcus, as she’d questions to ask him – very important questions! She found him sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.

“Marcus?” Tesia began, going over and climbing into the big man’s lap and straddling him.

“Yes, Hunny?” Marcus asked, setting his paper and cup of coffee down upon the kitchen table. “What would you like?” Tesia looked down at their laps, nervously fiddling with the hem of his shirt, before looking back up at him and into his eyes.

“Do you thinks J.’ll mind if I gives him a Father’s Day card?” She asked after a moment’s silence. “‘Cause I made him one, but I dunno if he’ll like it or not.”

Marcus smiled at the young girl in his lap, as he spoke. “Tesia, your brother will love everything and anything you give him. You know why?”

“Why?” Tesia wanted to know.

“Because you,” Marcus started, poking her nose with her left index finger, “got it for him. Even if you didn’t make it yourself, he’ll love it, because he knows just how long you take things into consideration when shopping. He knows you pick out things for him with great care, and that is what matters most. You love him enough to take the time to get or make him something nice.”

“I gots a big surprise for him, if I can gets him to the carnival,” Tesia told Marcus, knowing she could trust him with her secret. Surely, if she could trust the man with her life, then she could definitely trust him with an innocent and perfectly harmless secret. “Buts you hafta come, so he won’t gets mobbed by silly ole fans, who gets a lil’ too crazy when they see him.”

Marcus chuckled. “You know I’ll gladly go, Tesia.”

“I know,” Tesia smiled, kissing his nose. “I love you, Marcus.”

“Love you too, Tesia,” Marcus told her, as he kissed her nose in return. “Now, go and wake up that lazy brother of yours.”

“Kay,” Tesia giggled, sliding out of his lap.

“And remember – if the door’s closed, knock first!”

“Okay!” Tesia called back, as she ran off upstairs to go wake her brother – and Paris. She knocked once, then hurried on in after being told she could. “Mornin’ J.!”

A.J. grunted as his little sister dove onto the bed and landed on him, somehow managing to hit him square between the lets. “Been eight years, and she still hits me there,” he grunted, waiting a moment for the pain to subside. “Now, what do you want, Hunny?”

“To go to the carnival!” Tesia exclaimed, smiling widely at him.

“Okay, okay,” A.J. gave in. “The carnival it is. But you’d better be dressed and full of breakfast by the time I get down there, Little Miss.”

Tesia gave a delighted squeal and took off for her room at top speed to get dressed and ready to go.

Soon enough, they were ready to go, Tesia having something hidden in her back pocket for her brother, which he was completely oblivious too.

“J.? C’n we go visit Daddy first? Please?” Tesia asked, her eyes a little downcast, though she’d been the one to bring it up and not him.

“Sure thing, Baby,” A.J. nodded, turning the car in the direction of the cemetery where their father’s body lie. “We’ll visit him, then go about our day and have fun, okay?” It was Tesia’s turn to nod. She was excited about the surprise she had

for her brother, but still a bit upset about their father not physically being there with them on the special day reserved just for fathers.

They reached the cemetery and climbed out of the car, heading for the marble gravestone hand-in-hand – Marcus having pulled up in his car behind them to watch and wait. Once they reached their father’s grave, Tesia pulled one of the two things she secretly had in her pockets out – a homemade Father’s Day card, just for their father.

“Here, Daddy,” she spoke softly. “I thought you might still likes one. Even if yer not here to say thanks or hug me or anything for it. But I know you’ll like it, ‘cause it sparkles an’ is pretty an’ done in blue.”

She gulped a shaky breath, sniffling a little as she placed the card in the little holder they had attached to his headstone, for little trinkets and other such things they decided to leave for him.

A.J. pulled Tesia into a comforting hug, as his own eyes tea red up some – though, he never really had gotten a chance to know his father better than what he did.

Eventually they turned and walked back to the car, getting in and heading off for the nearby carnival – Marcus trailing along behind them, still in his own car,

They soon reached the carnival and got out, after A.J. had parked the car in a shady spot in the parking lot. A.J. paid their way in – as well as Marcus’ – and off they went to have fun.

They went on every single ride they could, and played every single game Tesia insisted that they play. Soon enough, Marcus had his arms full of prizes Tesia had won – some for her brother, and some for her. A.J. meanwhile, was carrying the huge stuffed Dino he’d won for Tesia, at the water gun game. His persistence had finally paid off – though, it would’ve just been easier to have given the carnie a crazy amount of money for it – but it wouldn’t have been as fun. Him and Tesia had worked as a team, both of them playing and just sharing their prizes, so that they could trade up until the finally got the gigantic Dino.

“Thanks for helpin’ me win, Dino, J.,” Tesia grinned happily. “It was lots of fun!”

“Yes, it was, wasn’t it?” A.J. grinned back, having a good day himself. So far so good – no fans had recognized him – any of them for that matter – they all went out together so much that sometimes Tesia and Marcus would get recognized before him. “Now what do you wanna do?”

“This way!” Tesia told him, grabbing his hand and leading him to the stage that was set up in the center of all the action and activities. She showed him to a special seat up front, then disappeared quickly, so he wouldn’t have the chance to ask her where she was going or what was going on.

A.J. raised his eyebrows and eyed his security guard, and best friend, suspiciously. “What’s going on, Johnson?”

Marcus just smiled and shrugged. “How should I know? Kid’s got a mind of her own.”

A few minutes later, an announcer spoke, clueing A.J. into just what was going on.

“And now, here to perform for us all on this lovely Father’s Day, Tesia McLean!”

Tesia came out then, grinning widely. She hadn’t changed into a costume of any kind, except to stick a funky looking cowboy hat on her head.

“Hey y’all! Hope yer day is goin’ well, an’ that yer all havin’ fun!” She chirped. “Um…my Daddy passed away just before this last Christmas, so I’m gonna sing something special for my brother – who’s kinda like my Daddy now – instead.”

A.J.’s eyebrows shot up in surprise – he hadn’t expected this, not in the least.

Tesia cleared her throat, then began to sing once the music had started up.

“It’s hard to remember, A summer, or winter, When he hasn’t been there for me. A friend and companion, I can always depend on, My brother, That’s who I need…..”

Once she had finished singing the song she’d written for her brother and had had him listen to months ago – in fact, so long ago it’d been last year – she switched songs and began to sing Daddy’s Hands by Holly Dunn, and then Daddy’s Girl by Red Sovine.

A.J. watched proudly as his little sister sang her heart out for the crowd that had gathered to see what was going on. He felt ever so proud to call her his own, and knew this would definitely be one Father’s Day he’d always remember.

“Happy Father’s Day!” Tesia smiled and waved, as she finished her set. She then hurried off the stage and over to her brother, pulling out the card she’d made for him in the process. A.J. smiled, though he probably looked confused, as he accepted the homemade construction paper card she handed him. He opened it up, and blinked back the tears that threatened to fall as he read what she had written.

J.,

Thanks for being the bestest big brother and Daddy all at the same time! If it weren’t for you, the monsters never would’ve gone away! Thanks for always trying to keep each and every promise you’ve ever made me. Though, the only promise that really matters to me, is the one where you promised to love me forever an’ always, no matter what.

I love you!

Happy Father’s/Brother’s Day!

Love,
Baby T.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

A.J. looked up after he’d finished reading the card and had wiped away the odd tear that had managed to escape him. “Thank-you,” he managed to say softly softly. “Thank-you so much, Hunny.”

Tesia smiled and flung herself at her brother for the hug he was now offering to her, and her alone. “Yer welcome!”

“I love it, and I love the sparkles – and I most definitely love you, Baby T.” A.J. murmured into her hair, as he hugged her close and tight – but not too tight.

“Loves you more, J.,” Tesia giggled, as she clung tightly to her brother, remaining in his strong, loving, and overly-protective arms. She knew she’d always be safe, just so long as he had his arms about her – and those were her most favourite moments of all.