The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob starred to stand up and jostled the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. "How embarrassing. I am getting so clumsy in my old age."
Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat quietly listening to the others. Someone said," Come on, Frank. Tell us your most embarrassing moment."
Frank began," I grew up in San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard and would stay out until he caught enough to feed he family. Not just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the other kids that were still and home." He looked at us and said," I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled the ocean."
Frank's voice dropped a bit." When the weather was bad he would drive me to school. He would pull right up in front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here I was twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me good-bye!"
He paused and then went on," I remember the day I thought I was too old for a good-bye kiss. When we got the school and came to a stop, he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put my hand up and said,' No, Dad.' It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had this surprised looked on his face.
I said,' Dad, I'm too old for a good-bye kiss. I'm too old for any kind of kiss.' My Dad looked at me for the longest tine, and his eyes started to tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked our the windshield.' You're right,' he said.' You are a big boy…… a man. I won't kiss you anymore.'"
For the moment, Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in his eyes. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to sea and never came back."
I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks. Frank spoke again." Guys, you don't know what I woud give to have my Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek…… to feel his rough old face…… to smell the ocean on him…… to feel his arm around my neck. I wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would been a man, I would never have told my Dad I was too old for a good-bye kiss."
董事会议结束了，鲍勃站起身时不小心撞到了桌子，把咖啡洒到了笔记本上。“真丢脸啊，这把年级了还毛毛糙糙的。”他不好意思地说。
所有人都哈哈大笑起来，然后我们都开始讲述自己经历的最尴尬的时刻。一圈过来，轮到一直默默坐在那儿听别人讲的弗兰克了。有人说：“来吧，弗兰克，给大家讲讲你最难为情的时刻。”
弗兰克开始了他的讲述。“我是在桑派德罗长大的。我爸爸是一位渔夫，他非常热爱大海。他有自己的小船，但是靠在海上捕鱼为生太艰难了。他辛勤的劳动着，一直待在海上直到捕到足以养活全家的鱼为止。他不仅要养活我们的小家，还要养活爷爷奶奶以及还未成年的弟弟妹妹，”弗兰克看着我们，继续说，“我真希望你们见过我的爸爸，他是一个身材高大的男人。因长期拉网捕鱼，与大海搏斗的缘故，他十分强壮。走进他时，你能够闻到他身上散发出来的大海的气息。”
弗兰克的声音低了一点：“天气不好的时候，爸爸会开车送我们去学校。他会把车停在学校正门口，好像每个人都能站在一旁观看。然后，他弯下身子在我脸上重重的亲了一口，告诉我要做一个好孩子。这让我觉得很难为情。那时我已经12岁，而爸爸还俯身给我一个道别的亲吻。”
弗兰克停顿了一下，又继续说道：“我还记得那天。我认为自己已经长大到不再适合一个道别亲吻了。当我们到了学校停下来的时候，像往常一样爸爸露出了灿烂的笑容，他开始向我俯下身来，然后我抬手挡住了他，‘不，爸爸。’那是我第一次那样对他说话，他十分吃惊。”
“我说道：‘爸爸，我已经长大了，大到不再适合接受一个道别亲吻了。也不再适合任何的亲吻了。’爸爸盯着我看了好长时间，潸然泪下。我从来未见过他哭泣。他转过身子，透过挡风玻璃向外望去：“没错，你已经是一个大男孩儿……一个男子汉了。我以后再也不这样亲吻你了。”
讲到这儿，弗兰克脸上露出了古怪的表情，泪水还是在眼眶里打转。“从那之后没多久，爸爸出海后就再也没回来了。”
我看着弗兰克，眼泪正顺着他的脸颊流下来。弗兰克又开口了：“伙计们，你们不知道，如果我爸爸能在我脸上亲一下……让我感觉一下他那粗糙了脸……闻一闻他身上海洋的气息……享受他搂着我脖子的感觉，那么我付出什么都愿意。我真希望那时候我是一个真正的男子汉。如果我是，我绝不会告诉爸爸我已经长大到不再适合一个道别的亲吻了。”
