“Sky, I told you, now
or never!” Tim hissed.
“I know! But i can’t
Tim, I’m afraid...” I said, tears welled up in my eyes.
“God, damn...Look,
he’s now packing his stuff for the tour and you only have three more hours to
explain everything!”
“Why don’t we
postpone it till after he comes back?”
i suggested.
“NO WAY SKY!!! You’re
gonna do this, whether you like it or not, i don’t care! You have no other
chance than this. Haven’t you realized that he’s the happiest man alive since
he heard he’s gonna be dad again?!”
“And grandad.” I
added.
“My God! Tim i can’t
do this-“
“BUT YOU HAVE TO!” he
cried. He sighed and slumped down on my bed right next to me and held my hand.
“Look, i know it’s not easy but we both know that you have to do this Skylar.
Wouldn’t you want him to see your navel when he comes back, would you?”
I just looked down,
couldn’t have the urge to speak.
“I don’t believe
you.” He said unbelivably when he understood my answer.
“I can’t do it Tim, i
can’t! Why don’t you at least once try to understand me?! I’m not that strong
or brave to do that. Besides, he’ll kill me!!” i yelled.
Suddenly, he grabbed
my wrist and dragged me outside my room and towards to my dad’s room. I tried
so hard to rescue my arm but he was five times stronger than me.
He knocked on his
door, then poked his head inside. Without releasing my wrist, he kept talking
with my dad, asking him if he had some free time to talk about an important
situation. And as expected, he did have. I groaned inwardly while Tim dragged
me inside the room. Vanessa was also there, helping my dad packing his stuff.
“What do you two
wanna talk about? I guess it’s something important.”
“Well, actually Uncle
Nicky, Skylar has something to tell, or call it confess...” Tim told, throwing
the ball at me.
“In fact dad, there’s
some important stuff Tim needs to explain to ya, y’know what i mean.” I continued
throwing the ball back at him, added with an evil look of mine.
“Alright, what do you
BOTH wanna explain to me?” my dad was getting impatient which also meaned
getting angry.
“Hey Vanessa, let’s
leave father and daughter alone.” Tim said. “y’know private things.” He winked
at me and with Vanessa, he left us alone in the room.
I had lost. There we
go.
My dad took my hand
and ushered me towards his bed, we sat down next to each other. He squeezed my
hand between his’ and spoke sweetly:
“What’s the real deal
you want to explain darlin’?” For the last time i looked deep into his baby
blue eyes because i was sure they’d turn into ice pieces after i opened my
mouth.
“To be honest dad, I
didn’t really wanna explain it to ya but...but in one way or another, you’re
gonna learn this.” I sighed and looked at his face. He’d focused on my words,
and he was studying my face carefully. The expression on his face gave me the
creeps.
“I want it to be
short and quick.” I continued. “Dad, i’m pregnant.”
After i unfolded my
secret, i closed my eyes waiting for his not-gonna-be-so-good respond.
“You’re looking a lot
like your mother day by day.” He said almost in a whisper.
Being astonished, i
opened my eyes and looked at him uncomprehendingly. Where were the yellings?
Insulting words? What about the furious looks? And...he was talking about my
mother!
I didn’t say anything
hoping he’d continue.
“She was the most
beautiful girl i’ve ever seen in my life...she was everything i wished for;
talented, beautiful, clever, sweet, funny, romantic, everything...you have her
face with every detail...eyes, nose, mouth...” he was examining my face with
his fingers. His face had beamed with past happy memories.
“I’ve never wanted it
to happen like that....but did i have a chance? I was at first mad at her for
leaving us like this. It made me completely mad, i even wanted to get rid of
you. But what i did really want was to make her face this situation and whether
she liked it or not that you were her child also. I couldn’t believe she was
the same woman i once fell in love with. After all we’d been through together,
she had the heart to leave us all alone...” his hands collapsed on his laps and
he took a deep sigh. Tears had welled up in his eyes.
But...wasn’t my
mother just a one-night-stand? Then...was it all a lie? And what was the truth?
“Dad, please tell me
the truth...” i started numbly. “Who’s my mother and where’s she right now?”
Timidly, he looked at
me, taking another deep sigh.
“I guess it’s time
for you to learn who she is.” He stopped and held my hand as he never wanted to
let me go. He was pleading with his eyes.
“It’s so hard for me
to unfold a secret kept hidden for so long. What i learned is that you can’t
keep something hidden for a long time...” he took another deep breath. “Her
name’s Elizabeth Petterson, and..she must be 34 i guess...” his voice cracked.
“Have you ever seen
her?” i asked and he shook his head as a no.
“I haven’t seen her
for 17 years. I’d seen her once in the street, you were just one years old.
When she realized who i was, she quickly changed her way. I tried to follow her
but i lost her. Since then, i’ve been having a never-lasting wrath towards her.
That’s why i’ve never wanted you to know a person as heartless as her.” A cold
thrill went down my spine. He was mentioning his old love as heartless. Wasn’t
it a drama?
“Uncle Brian had once
told me that she was just a one-night-stand....” i started.
“No, no she wasn’t.
It was just a lie. To keep you away from discovering her. We’d been together
like...for 7 months or something....” he told.
“How did you meet?” I
asked getting excited. I was pleased to learn more about my father’s youth,
apart from what i read in articles.
He let out a small
laugh before speaking.
“It was December 15th.
I was just 16 and Eliza was Brent’s girlfriend’s best friend. I’d just got back
from touring Europe and to be two couples, Brent’s girlfriend had invited her.
She was soo cute with her sparkling baby blue eyes and dark brown hair...we
also had got along really well. At the end of the night i asked her out and we
started dating. What i had first liked about her was that she’d not fainted or
screamed when she learned who i was. I was delighted, cuz those days we were
really popular in Europe and every girl i tried make a conversation with would
want to go out with me or sleep with me. They were looking for popularity with
me. But Elizabeth was very different than any other girl. But our love lasted
in 7 months. She got pregnant and left me...also you.” Tears had welled up in
his eyes again. I felt a sudden urge to solace him. I held his hand and sqeezed
it.
“I’m here for you
dad. I’ll never leave you alone.”
He looked at me with
inquistive eyes. I needed to add:
“Also, you’re not
that old to be alone, you have friends, Vanessa, me and you’re gonna have a
child soon.”
“You too.” He said
softly.
I looked down. What
was i supposed to say right now? Luckily he continued.
“You may probably be
wondering why i didn’t shout at you or ground you...How can i? Since this was
something happened to me also.” I just nodded.
“Now it’s my turn to
ask questions.” He said half smiling. “Does Chris know that you’re pregnant?”
“Yeah, in fact he had
discovered it first. I was always throwing up in the mornings and stuff...” i
explained.
“And i didn’t realize
it...What kind of dad i am?” he asked himself. “I’m so sorry darlin’ for not
taking enough care of you. And now I won’t be able to help my daughter when she
needs me the most.” He told forlornly.
“Dad...this is your
job, you have to go and don’t worry, Chris can take care of me and also
Vanessa.”
“That’s why this
morning he mentioned working...” my dad thought outloud.
“He doesn’t want you
to think it’s all his fault. He wants to show you that he truly loves me and
will always be with me no matter what.” I
told proudly.
“Will you marry him?”
This question shocked
me a bit. I’d never really thought about marriage and still I was sure we were
both too young for it. Maybe after I finished college and started working...
When i explained
these thoughts to him, it didn’t take me long to notice the sparkles in his
eyes.