Chapter 6 - Meeting with Dad

Valerie's POV

I wake up very early this morning to get dressed for my meeting with 'dad'. It is a Saturday, I should be getting some rest right now but I can't because I want to meet up with my 'dad' . I find it hard to say the word 'dad' after all these years. I take my bath and get dressed. Granny is very happy with my decision. She told me my 'dad' was also excited. He never imagined I ever talk to him again in my life. I walk into the kitchen to see that Granny had already made a feast. From rice to kimchi to stuffed chicken to Spanish omelette to baked bread to French toast. Different types of dishes are on the table.

       "Who is the feast for?" I ask Granny.

       "Good morning to you too" She replies sarcastically. I mentally face-palm myself for forgetting to greet Granny first and I go over to her place to give her a peck on the cheek.

       "I actually made these for you. As your breakfast. Eat whatever you want."

        "You know I am actually going to a restaurant right?"

        "I know, that's until 10am and this is 8:30, at least put something in your tummy till then.

        "Well, I think this is too much for my belly to contain. Anyways, I will take the French toast."

Granny smiles at me and I start packing the food in a small takeaway.

       "Why are you packing the food?" Granny asks.

        "Well, I have to get going. I don't want to be late for the bus."

      "But the bus does not leave until 9am."

     "More reason why I should start going now." I say and rush out of the kitchen before she stops me.

      "You know it is wrong to eat in the bus!!!" She yells after me but I don't reply her. I am pretty sure she shook her head after I rushed out like a scared cat.

I walk to the bus station and wait for about five minutes before the bus shows up. I board the bus and quickly munched my French toast on it. Some girls keep looking at me but I didn't even pay attention to them. The bus drops me off at the stop close to SUBWAY restaurant where I am supposed to meet up with Dad. I start to walk the short distance and before I know it, I am already in front of SUBWAY. Suddenly, I get goosebumps all over and I start shivering. I am nervous to meet him. What if he doesn't like me like he does. What if he already has another family. I know I am mad at him but a part of me is excited that I am going to see him. I have been longing for this moment my entire life. I thought I was going to see him during my mum's burial but he didn't show up. Part of the reason I should stay mad at him. I gather all the courage in me and step into the restaurant. Cool air greets me on my way in but it is quite different from the cool air outside. This one is kinda artificial and warm. I look up and search through the crowd for him. I spot him. Dark brown eyes like mine staring at me. Mum tells me I look like my father a lot and now I can see the striking resemblance. His face wears a tired look. It is looking wrinkled. He looks neat and okay but he has aged for a 43 years old man. He looks sad. As soon as he spots me, the excitement in me jumps to life. I want to run to him and hug him but I restrict myself. I am not forgiving him that easily. He waves at me to come over and that wakes me up from my daydream. I walk slowly over to his table and he stands to his feet. His weight has reduced but he is still looking fit as always. I stop at his front and stare at him in the eyes.

        "Valerie." he says in his deep tone voice.

        "Mr Thomas." I reply, not ready to call him dad yet because he lost that title a long time ago. Even if he was supporting Granny and mum financially, it does not make up for what he did.

He doesn't even look surprise that I called him by his last name instead of 'dad'. It is like he has been expecting it.

      "Sit down." He pulls out a chair for me but I take one opposite. I don't need his help sitting down. I don't even need his help at all.

He just smiles at my action and sits on the chair he pulled out. He  stands up immediately like he remembers something. He goes to the counter probably to get some snacks for himself, whatever. Surprisingly, he comes back with two sandwiches and smoothie. At least, he acted like a gentleman this time. He drops a sandwich and smoothie right in front of me, exactly like the one Kim offers me in the library. I start eating, munching on my sandwich quietly. I know I just had French toast in the bus but I can't bring myself to turn down the sandwich, especially since it is from SUBWAY. All these while, he just sits there, staring at me as I eat. This is really awkward. After I finish my sandwich, I drink my smoothie to step it down. Yummy. His food still sits on the table untouched. I clear my throat and that seems to catch his attention. 

        "Are you full? Do you need more?" I shake my head no and wait for him to start the conversation.

          "So?" I ask, getting bored already.

       "Right. Wow, you have grown so big. How have you been?"

        "As you can see, I have been great." I answer sharply. He winces a little. That must have been harsh. Serves him right though.

       "Looks like you are not here for foreplay." He says and I give him a 'duh' look.

       "I will just go straight to the point. I am really sorry for all this years. I hope you will find it in your heart to forgive me. I want to make it up to you. Be there when you need me. Fill up all the gaps I have left all this years."

      "Is that it?" I ask him. He looks confused by my question.

       "You left for almost 12 years not looking back. No explanation, nothing! And you want to come back now?"

       "Look Valerie, I can never leave you. You are my baby girl."

        "Yeah right. Granny told me she give her money and clothes to give to mum and I. I can't believe she kept in touch with you."

         "It is not about the money Val. It is the fact that I was there. I always follow you when you are going to school and when coming home just to make sure you are safe and okay. I was there when you got into middle school. I was there when you got into high school and I am still there till now."

     "Wait, do you still follow me around?"

      "Kind of, not all the time though since you are now a big girl now." He says smiling. I almost smile too but I stop myself. I think he caught up on that because his smile widens.

        "Why were you not there during mum's burial?" Well, that seems to wipe the smile off his face.

          "Uh...actually, I was there but only your Grandma knew about it. I was in the other room, following the memorial events and everything. I saw you, so small and sad, crying by your mother's ashes. I wanted to come to you but your Grandma stopped me, saying you needed space."

     "Dad, why did you leave?" I say almost at the verge of tears. He seems surprised by me calling him dad. He looks down and avoids my gaze. I almost ask him the question again when he speaks up.

        "I don't think you want to know why."

         "Just tell me the damn reason!" I yell at him and this seems to attract  other people's attention. Do I care? No. I just want to know the reason he left. My dad gives me an apologetic nod and looks at me surprisingly.

         "Well..... it is a long story." He says.

       "I am all ears."

       "Victoria and I are best friends as you know. We never keep anything from each other. We were very close when we got married but after we had you, things turned around a bit. I had to work more and make more money and she had to look after you more. We started to drift apart little by little. Not long after, we started fighting. She said I didn't give her enough time and also accused me of cheating. She said I don't love her anymore because her body has changed. I tried to prove her wrong but she didn't listen. She kept throwing things at me, telling me to leave both of you alone...."

       "And so you left?" I ask, interrupting him.

       "No, I didn't. I was looking for a way to change my schedule to spend more time with my family and that was how I came with the 'fro-yo" treat every Sunday for you and I. At least, that will keep our bond. After I made a little time for your mum, she still complained that it was not enough, she wanted more. I didn't know what to do and our fights got more intense. All these, we made sure you didn't find out about it and we didn't let it affect our relationship with you. One day, I wanted to surprise her so I took three days off to take her on a trip and spend time with her. Your Grandma was supposed to pick you up from school and take care of you till we are back. I walk into the house and heard noises."

       "What type of noises?" I ask him, nervous to find out what happened next. He ignores my question and continues.

       "They were coming from the bedroom. Vicky and I matrimonial bedroom. I walk into the room and found....."

      "What did you see?" I hope it is not what I am thinking. When I look at him in the eyes, they give me my answer.

       "Mum cheated on you." I say in a low voice. Wow! So dad is not the bad guy.

       "I left immediately and went to the bar ran by my friend. I made a mistake that day. I day-drank which I shouldn't have. That made me make a rational decision that day."

       "What decision did you make?"

       "I left you. Till today, I still regret my decision. That day, when I came back home drunk. I yelled at your mum, packed my bags and left. I don't know if you remember. That doesn't even matter, can you just find it in your heart to forgive me?" I just look at him dumbfounded. So, he has been keeping this from me because he is trying to protect mum. He must love her so much.

           "I do love her. Till her last breath..." I didn't even realise I said my thought out loud.

           "I don't want the story to change your view about your mother. She really helped you a lot. She was there for you when I wasn't. Just ignore my story. I just want to make things right and to do that, I have to let go of my past demons. I don't want you to forgive me out of pity. I want it to come from your heart, genuinely. I will wait. Even if it takes forever to get your genuine forgiveness, I will wait patiently for you."

        I hold his hand from across the table and smile at him. He smiles back at me and I can see the happiness hidden under the sad face. Even after hearing what happened, I still don't hate my mum. I mean, what is the use of resenting against the dead anyways???

        "How about you eat your food now, uh?" He happily picks it up and starts eating hurriedly. He must be really hungry. I sit back with my arms folded on my chest and just stare at him. I guess it is my turn to watch him eat.

************

I walk into the house and meet Solomon by the door.

     "Hi. How was your meeting with your dad." He asks me. I ignore him and walk past him. He follows me like a puppy, ranting like a moron that he is. Damn, can't this dude just shut the fuck up! I stop and turn to face him, giving him a deadly glare. He steps back a bit, clearly intimidated by my look.

     "What do you want from me? Because last time I checked, you made it clear you didn't want to have anything to do with me." I say, still giving him the glare.

       "Look Valerie, I am sorry for what I said that day. I said it out of anger. I didn't mean it at all. I am genuinely sorry." He says, seeing someone like Solomon apologise is quite shocking. He must sincerely mean it then. I look at him in the face and he looks sorry and cute too. How can his cheek bone be this perfect. Valerie!!! I snap out of my daydream and say.

        "Uhnnn....I will forgive you on one condition."

       "Name it, anything you want."

      "Let me think.....you have to bring me fro-yo every single day and...."

     "Fro-yo?"

     "Frozen yoghurt, vanilla flavour, my favourite."  He gives me a weird look but doesn't object.

     "Is that all?" He asks me.

    "And you and your friend have to hang out with my friends and I next Saturday. We are all meeting here. At least, that will get my mind off things a bit."

      "Your friends? How many of them?"

       "Just two, Mia and Kim NaNa. You know Kim right?" He nods his head no and I give him a weird look.

      "You don't know her? She goes to our school." He gives me a confused look and I shake my head.

      "Who do you know then?"

      "Michael, Ro-bin and you."

      "What the.......you have to start making new friends and you are going to start with my friends. Make sure your friends are there as well."

       "We are not really on good terms, the three of us."

      "I don't care, you guys should grow up and fix things. Stop being babies, jeez." I look at him for a while and continue.

     "Also, you have to help me set up on Saturday and.."

     "Wait, are you having a party?"

     "You have gat to stop interrupting me and a party is a great idea, Solomon. Good boy. It will be a game night and a party. You also have to promise not to get mad at me for no reason. If you wanna take out your anger, take it out on someone else, not me and you also have to....."

      "Whoa, whoa, whoa.....your terms are getting too much." I give him a dirty look for interrupting me again and he raises his hands up in surrender.

        "I am pretty sure Google's terms and conditions are longer than this and you still accept them."

        "Well, you are not Google. You obviously don't know everything!"

        "You don't either, 'Mr know-it-all'." He just rolls his eyes at me and waves his hand for me to proceed.

       "I guess that is pretty much it."

       "Thank God." He says, relief in his voice. I roll my eyes and say;

      "Whatever. I can't wait for Saturday to come. It is going to be so much fun."

      "For you mostly." He says in a 'duh' tone.

       "Just admit you are going to love it." He doesn't reply me. He just starts to walk in fast stride. I run after him and keep ranting about all the fun things we are going to do, mostly to annoy him. Well, that does the trick because he uses his fingers to block his ears and starts walking faster. LMAO, he is such a baby. Can't wait till Saturday though!!!!

A/N

HEY PEEPS....How have you been????

So, another chapter😱😘😘😘. Thank you so much guys for your reads and views. I love you guys soo much💕😘❤. I hope you keep supporting me by reading, liking and commenting, thanks in advance😀

I hope you enjoyed this chapter though. Next chapter will be out very soon.

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