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sign wasn’t lit up, and I could barely see in the windows. I pulled open the big front door and stepped inside.
    “SURPRISE!”
    A huge group of people yelled at once. I nearly jumped out of my skin. My heart was hammering in my chest as I felt my adrenaline pumping.
    The lights came up and people were all over the place. I was in shock.
    Darcy came running over to me and wrapped me in a huge hug. A few other people from our college days were there, Jim and a few of my coworkers were there, and off to the side, sitting in his wheelchair with his nurse behind him, was my Dad.
    “Darc! What is this?” I said, pulling back.
    “It’s a congrats surprise party for your big sale. Last minute thing, but it’s a decent turnout.”
    “How did you do this?” I couldn’t believe she got my Dad to come down.
    “It was mostly Jim’s idea. I invited everyone, but he let us have the place for free.” Jim was looking at us with a huge smile. Most of the room had gone back to chatting, and the café’s music came back up. I was never a huge fan of parties, but this was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. I felt like I was near tears, and had to take a deep breath to steady myself.
    “You’re amazing, Darc. Thank you so much,” I managed.
    “Oh don’t cry, you big baby. You deserve it,” she said, laughing.
    I thanked her again, and then made a beeline to my Dad. He looked thin, thinner than he did last week. His nurse, Jasmine, stood behind his chair, all smiles. He was hooked up to his oxygen machine, but was wearing his nicest suit. I bent down to hug him as hard as I could without hurting him. He felt so thin in my arms, and I couldn’t help but remember the Dad from when I was young, all tall and broad shoulders and gruff stubble.
    “I’m proud of you, Amy,” he said in my ear.
    “Thanks Dad. I’m so glad you came down.”
    I pulled back and he was grinning. “Yeah, me too. Tough gettin’ around these days. Philly’s kindof a craphole anymore, too.”
    “Yeah Dad, not like in your day. Really going to seed.”
    “Gone to seed, you mean. Anyway, city’s always been a hole. It’s just a new kind of hole.”
    Typical of my Dad. He was always grouchy, even before the lung cancer. He spent most of his time working when we were young, but he did his best to make time for us. He was a good Dad, despite all the problems in his life. Despite all the problems we had caused him. But he still loved us, and always made sure we knew it.
    “Congratulations on your app, Amy,” Jasmine said.
    “Thanks Jasmine. And thanks for bringing this lazy guy,” I said.
    “Hey, I tried to walk here, but she was stubborn.”
    We laughed, and he looked uncomfortable being center of attention.
    “Yo Amy, congrats millionaire,” came a voice behind me. I turned around and saw John, my oldest brother.
    “John!” I said, and wrapped him in a hug. We had gotten much closer in the last few years. Our middle brother, Derek, was going through some issues, and was currently somewhere out near Reading. We didn’t really know what Derek was up to most of the time, but it was probably drug related, whatever it was. Meanwhile, John was a pretty successful accountant, and tried his best to take care of the family. Mostly Derek, these days, but he was a huge help when I was a student in New York with barely enough money to feed myself, and he pays a big chunk of Dad’s medical bills.
    “So, what are you doing with your first mil?”
    “Well, I’m not a millionaire. But I’m paying off my student loans.”
    “Smart girl,” he said.
    The night went smoothly. Dad left early because he was tired, but it was amazing he even made the trip down at all. Jim let my friends bring beer and wine, and things got fuzzy, as they usually did. Toward the end of the night, I found myself at a table with Jim, Darcy, and John, the rest of the partying having cleared out.
    “So how’d you do it, anyway?” Darcy asked me.
    “What do you