“That’s actually part of the fun of fishing. You never know what will happen with the fish. But if you pay attention, you’ll have fun seeing the geese and listening to the birds and being with those you love. You can’t force a fish to come up and take the bait. You have to wait.”

“Waiting is hard, isn’t it?”

“It is. But think about it. That’s what makes Christmas morning so special. You have all the waiting that leads up to it.”

David had a stack of books by his bed and he looked at them.

“Which one tonight?” his dad said.

“I don’t want you to read one. I want you to tell one. You know, like the goose and the gosling.”

“Why do you want to hear that?”

David shrugged and sank a little further under the covers. There was a feeling he had when his dad sat on his bed and took the time to read or talk. Something warm spread through him he couldn’t describe.

“All right, let’s see,” his dad said, looking at the plastic stars on his ceiling that glowed when the lights went off. “I’ve been thinking about a new story that has people in it.”

He stood and pulled the chair from David’s small desk by the window close to the bed and sat. He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his face inches from David’s.

“Once there was a man and woman who wanted to have a baby. And they waited and waited. They waited such a long time.”

“Just like fishing at the pond.”

“Exactly. And just when they thought they could wait no longer, the doctor said they were going to have a child. And the woman and the man were over the moon.”

“What’s that mean?”

“Over the moon means they were so happy they couldn’t stop smiling. Their hearts rose so high just thinking and planning their life with this child. They painted the baby’s room and they bought a crib and they told their family, and everyone was so happy.”

David propped himself up on his elbows. “Wait. Something bad is going to happen.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because in your stories, something bad always happens before the good thing. An egg gets stolen or stepped on.”

His father ran a hand through his hair and gave David a strange look. “Do you want to hear this?”

David relaxed and nodded.

“You’re right. Something sad happened after the baby was born. It was a baby boy and he was sick. The mom and dad prayed so hard. And the doctor did everything he could. But the little boy was so sick that he died.”

David stared at his father, then looked away. “I told you.”