Guil T

Chapter 2

As she rounds the corner, she remembers that her things were thrown out along with her so she turns back around and take the other route back to where she came from.

As she gets there, there's a man standing by the door and pressing the doorbell.

Noel will recognize her Dad's back anyday. She rushes over and picks up her things, as she does, the door swings open and at the doorway stands Carla.

Her boyfriend Harvey, no. Ex boyfriend's new girlfriend stands at the door looking down at her Dad like he's a pest.

From inside, Harvey asks who's at the door and Carla answers with unmistakable disdain in her voice.

"It's an old man."

Harvey comes out and recognizes Noel's Dad and looks him down as well.

Her Dad doesn't take the hint and still talks quite politely.

"Harvey. It's been a long time since I heard from you. How've you been? How's Noel?" He asks with a smile on his face.

To avoid further disgrace, Noel climbs the short flight of stairs and musters the most scary she look she can give to Carla and steers her Dad away from the door.

As they both descend the stairs, her Dad turns and smiles to Harvey, while he goes back inside with his girlfriend and shuts the door.

"What are you doing here?" Noel asks her Dad

"I came to give you a visit this Christmas" Noel's Dad harmlessly replies with a smile that's very disarming for an old man.

"I told you to forget you have a daughter and not to visit me at all. Not at Christmas, not at anytime." Noel shout-whispers to her Dad while trying to hide the fact that his presence every year disarms her and weakens her resolve to never celebrate Christmas with any so called family anymore.

"You're still my daughter whatever you say."

"..." Noel sighs and goes about picking up her things scattered around

Her Dad looks on with an hint of sadness on his bright face.

Noel is done picking up her belongings from the sidewalk and drags her Dad along with her away from the house.

As Noel and her Dad leaves the house, through the window, Carla watches on with an undefinable expression on her petite face.

Few silent minutes between Noel and her Dad becomes awkward as her Dad keeps offering to help out with the things she's carrying while she keeps refusing.

They finally sit on a park bench and Noel sighs again.

"What happened? Why were your things in the open?" Her Dad finally asks the question that has been bothering him since they left the house.

The apartment he bought for her during her school years and one she reluctantly took from him.

Noel sighs again and drops everything she's holding and looks the other side, away from her Dad and to the direction they had just come from.

"We broke up. He cheated." Noel says and still doesn't look at her Dad, like she's trying to hide her tears at that moment.

There's silence for a few seconds until she wipes her face and turns to face her Dad.

"You need to leave now."

"I only just arrived."

"There's no place I can keep you with me at. You have to go back home." Noel insists

"Fine. Where will you stay?"

Noel stays silent for a few seconds and looks away again before she replies

"I'll be fine. You have to go." She packs her bags beneath the chair and pulls her Dad up.

She has refused to acknowledge the fact that the man in front of her is her Dad for years now.

Seeing him getting frailer and older is pulling those heart strings she vowed to keep buried till he dies or until she has no family left.

He looks up at her and tries again.

"Please come home with me. I'll leave you to your ways as soon as Christmas is over or until you get your place. Hm?" He pleads with his fatherly instincts tugging at his heart.

"No. And it's final. If there's any place I'll spend my Christmas, it's not at that place." She spat out, her resolution iron gripped now.

Noel looks away as her father left her alone and walked down the street towards the bus station.

She sits back down on the chair and let the world pass her by for a while before she stands up again.

She checks the things under the bench and vows to come back for them.

She goes the way her Dad went and walked behind him until he finds a bus and leaves.

As she turns to go back for her things, the clouds let go and an unexpected rainfall begins.

She stands rooted to a spot and sighs while thinking that nothing is going her way.

This once more reminds her of the reasons she hates Christmas to this day.

She turns and runs to the bench just in time to see all her clothes and few belongings in the water, soaked to the thinnest fibre.

Looking on in despair as the rain sweeps them away, she seats on the chair and let out the tears she has been with holding since her day started going wrong.

A few meters away, standing under an umbrella is Shawn who looks on her with a heavy heart.

Torn between to just turn around and leave or cover her with his umbrella while she lets it all out.

***

While Noel cries her heart out on the bench and Shawn stands above her with his red and white umbrella, Carla, Harvey's new girlfriend is unable to keep quiet anymore about something that has been bothering for a while now.

"Hey Harvey?"

"Yeah baby" Harvey answers with his back turned and typing away on his writer.

"You once said Noel hated Christmas."

"Yeah. She hates it totally."

"Did you ever ask her why?"

"No."

"Not even once while you were in a relationship with her?" Carla asks again looking stupified.

"No. Why do you ask?" Harvey turns to face her this time

Carla stands by the window looking into the street, precisely into the corner where Noel and her Dad went. She sighs and turns to see Harvey looking at her.

"What?"

"You've been asking about Noel. Why?"

"You said you didn't ask why she hated Christmas. Not even once."

"Yes. Why do you keep asking though?"

"Look what we did to her at Christmas."