Three Little Words

Kaylee’s parents were opposites in many ways, but the one thing she noticed the most was their differences in how they expressed their love for her and her siblings. Their mother hugged them all the time, and always said, “I love you” when they left or came home. But their dad never hugged them nor said those words.

Sometimes Kaylee wondered if her father did love her. That was especially true when she was young. Her dad would take her to a special activity at school, or pick her up from one, and she would expect him to say it, but he never did. He was the one who took her to swimming lessons or to her choir practice. Frankly, he had more opportunity to say he loved her than her mother did, but he never said it.

As Kaylee became a teenager, she saw other girls her age get a hug from their father when he picked them up. But that never happened with her father. Even when her car broke down in a snowstorm, and he came to rescue her, there was no mention of it. She was crying and cold. He had a warm blanket he had put by the heater in his car so she could wrap up in it. And he asked her if she was all right, but there was no hug or anything.

Then, she was off to college. Even though she lived a few hours from home, her father would come at least once a month. Kaylee’s mother came, too, when she could. But even if she couldn’t, Kaylee could always count on a visit from her father. And she looked forward to them. He always took her out to eat, and then they went shopping to refill her food cupboards.

Kaylee’s parents called every week, too, and her mother always told her she loved her. Her dad would ask if she was changing the oil in her car so it wouldn’t break down and leave her stranded. He would tell her not to trust every handsome guy that came along. He even wanted to know if she was cleaning the lint in her dryer regularly so she wouldn’t have a fire.

When graduation came, her parents were there to cheer her on. Kaylee, as usual, got a big hug from her mother. From her father, she got a smile. But she knew that smile meant he was proud of her.

When Kaylee got married, her mother fawned all over her, making sure her clothes were perfect. She also got a hug from her mother the night she got engaged, the day she tried on her dress, and at every other major event along the way. From her father, she got that same smile as at graduation.

When Kaylee’s children came along, she watched her father hold them on his lap and read them stories, just as he had for her. She watched him give their favorite stuffed animals a prominent place at the table. She watched him gently tuck them into bed and remembered how many times he had done the same for her when she was young. She thought about how she always slept better knowing he was there to protect her.

She began to realize that when he asked her if she had checked the oil so her car wouldn’t strand her somewhere, he was saying he loved her. Even his concern about whether or not she had cleaned the lint from the dryer was his way of showing it. He may not have hugged her or said the words aloud, but every action he did to help and protect her was his way of saying it.

Over time, Kaylee could see her father looking very weary. She could tell he was slowing down, not coming over to fix her car when it broke down or fix the hole in her bedroom wall. And the day she feared soon came when he decided that he needed to go into an assisted living center so he wouldn’t be a burden on Kaylee’s mother.

Kaylee visited him every chance she could. He would still ask her if she was checking the oil in her car and cleaning the lint from her dryer. But then, one day, as she prepared to leave, he took her hand in his and said those three little words, “I love you.” That was his way of saying goodbye, and they were the last words she ever heard him say.

And though it was good to hear them, she realized she already knew.