Dad, You Filmed the Clouds!
Brian Armer
The video contained seventeen seconds of sky, a corner of somebody’s hat and a splash that might, with enough imagination, have been his daughter.
“Excellent cloud work, Dad,” Tessa said.
He had been entrusted with one job. She had practiced for weeks for the organized cliff-diving meet; all he had to do was point a phone in approximately the right direction. From shore, the height had looked manageable until she stepped onto the cliff ledge. Then his hands had apparently decided to attend a different event.
He remembered the moment perfectly. Her glance toward the spectators. His absurdly large thumbs-up. The breath he forgot to let out until she surfaced.
None of that was in the video.
Now she was beside him with a towel around her shoulders, watching the recording again. On her way out of the water, a rock had scraped her forearm. The event crew had checked her and helped clean the small cut. Dad had supplied the towel and a running commentary that nobody had requested.
“I’m usually very good with technology,” he said. “You once printed a screenshot of a printer error.” He considered defending himself. The evidence was against him.
Tessa reached into her bag for the balm she had brought. When she’d read its ingredients, the beeswax had surprised her. She had thought of candles; this was about protective coverage at the skin’s surface. Same familiar material. Different job. Following its directions, she applied a small amount of Zombie’s Regenerate RX to the clean, dry area before covering the cut.
Dad held her bag while she finished. He had wanted a recording she could keep. Something to send her brother. Something he could watch later and say, with entirely unreasonable pride, That’s my girl.
“Your next dive,” he said, “I’m getting somebody competent to film it.” “Good.” She leaned against his shoulder. “Then you can just watch.”
He put the phone away. That was a job he could do.
Who would you want cheering from shore? Share this with the person whose presence matters more than their camera skills. You’re welcome to explore Zombie’s care for active days.