Chapter 67

Somehow she felt that was what Clarice was about to tell her... a sickness in which she would lose him as well, and though she didn't want to admit it, she felt terrible not to be able to see him or talk to him.

She knew deep down she still cared for him and if he was truly sick, it was still her obligation to help him as a daughter.

She sighed. She had been hurt. Deeply hurt from not being able to have him especially her teenage years where she was clueless on what true love meant. She needed a father who would take care of her but instead, she was the one who had to take care of him.

She witnessed his struggles, every night, staring at his wife's photograph, drinking then crying over the loss of her mother. He was fine the first few months, working hard to provide for them.

They used to have a car repair shop before, and many people knew him in the neighborhood. They trusted him so well since he was one of the greatest mechanics in the town, and his shop was complete of all the tools needed. He was great with fixing cars, until he lost his wife. That took a devastated turn for everyone. Marife was a nurse and when she was gone, the income lessened, too.

Her father worked hard to keep up the shop but he had trouble focusing on work. So everyday he would drink.. one.. then two beers... Later on, it became a bad habit to the point that he wasn't able to do anything anymore.

Alex loved his father but the hurt he had embedded in her system was hard to just shove away. She remembered the last time her father was in a good state after her mother passed. It was Christmas and it was the first time they would celebrate without Marife. So he tried to make it happy. He sobered up for that day and cooked some food such as spaghetti, and bought some fried chicken.

It was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of their lives until the gifts were given away... and then it turned bitter again....

"Merry Christmas, my beautiful girls," Richard greeted as the girls beamed happily at him. "I have some gifts for you."

Clarice and Alex happily opened their gifts. They each had golden lockets were the pictures of their mom was. The hours of pure joy suddenly vanished when Richard saw a letter as they opened the boxes.

Suddenly, he felt sad and all the happiness just flushed away... He went to the fridge and took some beers, locked himself in his bedroom as the two girls watched him again with tears in their eyes.

The letter read:

"To my lovely girls,

I might not be able to give this to you personally but I want you to know how much we love you both. Your father and I had bought this personally and etched your initials on it to remind you of how much we love you both.

Always remember me....

With love,

Mom"

Tears trickled down her eyes as she felt a sudden gust of wind swept through her body. She wanted to forgive him... accept him once again but how?

Strong arms wrapped around her waist as she felt Robbie's chin rested on her shoulders. She closed her eyes as she touched his arms. They held each longer, without saying another word. It was as if their hearts knew what their mouths needed not to speak of.

Both have been abandoned by their fathers in a different way and they understood each other well enough, just by having each other this close. It was enough for them to realize they could get through this...

"I love you, Alex," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you, too, Robbie," she whispered back.

"I know how hurt you may be feeling but I think Clarice was right."

And she turned around to face him.

"Have you been listening?"

He nodded.

"I didn't mean to but I just overheard.."

"You understand, right?"

"I do but..."

"But?"

"I think it's time to talk to your father."

"Robbie..."

"I know it's hard... I am mad at him in a way, too, but maybe this time, he really had changed."

"Would you do the same as well?"

"It's different for me."

She creased her eyebrows.

"How different Robbie? We both had absentee fathers. Maybe for you physically but I have suffered seeing my dad like that for years."

"And I know that, but... your dad had gone through so much pain too."

"But its still not an excuse to neglect us!"

"I understand but come to think of it... Let us try to do this for Sasha..."

"What does this have to do with Sasha?"

"The kid wanted to meet her grandfathers, Alex. Can we not give that request to her?"

"Well, you told her your father might be coming. Will that be enough?"

Robbie sighed. "I know what you're trying to say, Alex.... I know it won't be easy-"

"You see! If it was not easy for you, what made you think it will be easy for me!" and he took his arms from her. She walked over to the chair and sat herself down as she frowned.

Robbie walked over to her and kneeled down beside her.

"Alex," and he placed his hand on top of hers. "I know how you feel, okay. I felt the same way, too, but we need to try. At least one of then would be worth a try, and that would be your dad."

Alex smiled faintly. "Are you saying your father is not worth it?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Maybe..." and he blew out a breath. "I will try... if you do."

"It's not that easy."

"I know... just... talk to him."

She sighed. "I'll think about it."

Robbie took her hand. She looked at him.

"For now, let's take a rest and sleep. Tomorrow we had another thing to do."

"And what is that?"

"We got to plan our engagement and wedding... Stephanie will be here and she scheduled us to check out a restaurant for the catering."

"Okay," she resigned and stood up.

They went inside the bedroom and she crawled into the bed as Robbie turned the lights off. She wrapped her arms around his waist and she laid her head on her shoulder.

Finally, despite of all the things that had happened today, she still found comfort in Robbie's arms.

Tomorrow would be another day to face and she hoped it would be better than today as they plan for their upcoming engagement party.

'No more surprises,' her mind dictated...

And yet, fate had its own way of doing things..

'What would tomorrow bring?' her mind wandered off as she drifted off to sleep.