My dad was a fisherman. He had his own boat, but it was hard to make a living on the sea. He would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family.
He was a big and strong man. When you got close to him, he smelled like the sea.
Sometimes he would drive me to school in his old truck. It was older than he was. You could hear it coming from blocks away. On the way, I would shrink（缩着）down into the seat hoping to disappear. He would pull right up in front of the school. Then he would give me a big kiss on the cheek. It was making me feel uncomfortable!
One day I decided I was too old for a goodbye kiss. When we got to school, he had his usual big smile. He started to get close to me, but I put my hand up and said, "No, Dad. "It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way." Dad, I'm too old for a goodbye kiss. "
My dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out. "You're right, "he said." You are a big boy... a man. "It wasn't long before my dad went to sea and never came back. It was the day when most of the boats stayed in, but not dad.
I wish that my dad would give me just one more kiss... to feel his old face... to smell the sea on him.
I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have told my dad I was too old for a goodbye kiss.
