Hi Dad Soup
Peanuts Fanfiction by LivingOnLaughs
Inspired from the Goofy Movie
Patricia Jane Reichardt was only a few months shy of her Sweet 16, a heartbreaking time for her father. "Your mom was your age when we began to date," he frequently would tell her. "Sixteen years and a day" he would also add.
"Cool" Patricia smiled to herself, watching the can of soup on their cozy campfire. Her father then began to chuckle. "What's so funny?" the tomboy asked, brushing her sandy hair from her emerald eyes.
"'Hi Dad' soup" her father, Richard, explained, pointing to the can of alphabet soup on the aluminum bowl above the fire.
"Huh?" questioned Peppermint Patty in confusion, trying to understand what her dad meant by 'Hi Dad Soup'.
"Don't tell me you don't remember 'Hi Dad' soup. Oh come on, sure you do, you used to spell things with the letters like 'Hi Dad' or 'Patty' or-" Richard Reichardt began.
"Ambidextrous?" teased the teenage tomboy with the freckled face.
"Yeah, that's-huh? Oh, LITTLE words like-" he explained.
"Hasta la vista?"
"Like 'Bye, bye'"
"Or 'I pledge alliance?'"
"Or 'I Love You'" the two became silent for a moment. When exactly WAS the last time Patricia told her dad how much she loved him? When was the last time her dad DIDN'T have to work overtime and left her with a sitter without leaving an 'I love you' note in her lunch?
"Is-err-is it soup yet?" questioned Patricia, pointing to the can sitting on the fire.
"Ooooh, I almost forgot" her dad replied, clunking his teeth into the top of the can as his rare gem watched in awe.
"Whoa! Where'd you learn to do that?" Patty wondered, handing her dad her favorite soup bowl with the ducks.
"Your granddad taught me that when we went to the Grand Canyon" Richard smiled, wiping away a few tears in his eyes.
"You two did a lot together, huh?" Patty asked.
"Yup" her father replied. Ever since her mother died, Richard's world fell apart, and he wanted to be able to help his rare gem in every aspect possible in her life. "How's the soup?" he asked after a few minutes.
"Not bad" the teenager smiled sadly to herself, slurping it from the bowl as it left a mustache on her lips. "What? What's so funny?" she questioned as her father chuckled.
"N-nothing, my rare gem" he replied, handing her his cloth. "Welp, we better get some shuteye, cause I don't think we're going anywhere tonight"
Patty yawned and cleaned her face. A 'P' shaped noodle was stuck to her nose. "P. P is for Patricia Jane Reichardt" she chuckled, pointing to the noodle.
"Sure is" her dad responded, dowsing the fire. "Goodnight, Peppermint Patty"
Patty sighed, stirring the remaining letters in her soup and showing her dad the bowl. He immediately had flashbacks of her twelve years younger a chicken-noodle and alphabet-soup broth mess that placed the letters together to make words.
"Look," she whispered, as to not wake any other campers.
Her father sat her next to him as they looked into the duck bowl. The words 'Hi Dad' formed as he cried a few more tears. "Hi Patty" he sniffled, hugging his daughter. "My rare gem" he added as she nodded off. "I love you too"