Chapter 13

Kimberly decided to pay her dad a visit the next day. She woke up pretty early, leaving a sleeping Ian at home. She knew he could take care of himself when he wakes up, so she only wrote a short note, telling him where she was. She would ve loved to wait until he wakes up to give him a morning kiss but she couldn t risk wasting any more minute so as not to miss her dad because she really needed to talk to him, even if it was a five minute conversation. Okay, that s a pretty short timing but you can t blame her though, she desperately needed to see her dad before he leaves for work. She hopes she makes it in time. The thought of calling both her dad and fiancé's place her home brought a smile to her face. She was grateful she could proudly call both places home, she wouldn t want it any other way. Two blocks away from her destination, Kimberly spotted her dad's car in the driveway, much to her relief. She parked her car behind her dad's and hurriedly got out of the car. Ringing the doorbell twice, she patiently waited for her dad to open the door which he did within seconds. "Kim? I wasn t expecting to see you here!" her dad said in surprise Kimberly instantly wrapped her arms around her dad, making him even more surprised. She didn t realize how much she had missed her dad until now. She knows it has only been a few days she has been away but God, she has missed his fatherly touch and was craving it badly. Her dad returned the hug, making her snuggle closer into the embrace "Are you okay honey?" he asked in a calm voice but Kimberly could still trace a hint of worry. "I just missed you" she murmured, still not letting go of him "Okay? But we've only been apart for a few days" he chuckled "I know dad. I just can t help it" "Why don t we go have some pancakes for breakfast before it gets cold" Kimberly s face lit up at the mention of food. She couldn t remember the last time she tasted her dad s cooking. He is a great cook and she is proud to have learnt from the best. As they walked into the kitchen, Kimberly felt a wave of nostalgia. She couldn t believe that just some years back she was her daddy s little girl who he doted on. They did so many fun things together, like going to the park, getting ice cream, he even had tea parties with her. The thought of those events brought a smile to her face. Her dad is her idol. She wouldn t deny that she sometimes hated the bitter truth of her being independent, doing things, making decisions, choices and mistakes without her dad s assistance, like it used to be when she was little. "Here s yours" her dad said, bringing her out of her thoughts "Thanks dad" she said, not wasting any minute in digging into her banana pancakes "Aren t you gonna be late for work?" she suddenly asked, taking a sip from her coffee. It just dawned on her that he didn t look bothered by the time nor was he fully dressed and it was already past 7:00am "I don t have any lectures today, so I m taking the day off" "I see… then I guess my timing was perfect" She smiled, happy that she had her dad to herself for the whole day because she doesn t plan on leaving anytime soon. After breakfast, Kimberly did the dishes before joining her dad in the living room. "So… how are things going with you and Ian?" her dad asked as she settled herself comfortably beside him on the sofa. "Great. The past few days has been wonderful, although we had a little fight but now we re good" she replied with a smile "Already fighting? That isn t a good sign you know" "He was just being stubborn, but I must admit, part of it was my fault too. We already made up dad, so there s nothing to worry about" "Honey?" "Yes dad" "Does he treat you the way he treats a lower ranked officer? Because I know these military officers tend to behave in such manner" her dad asked, not hiding the worry in his voice this time. "No daddy. Ian is different… I'm fine, I promise" she assured her dad "If you say so" "I know so, dad" she countered "Then, I'm glad you re happy" Mr. Wright placed a kiss on the top of his daughter's head as she wrapped her arms around his waist, snuggling into him. He couldn t stop himself from thinking back to the times when she was little. There were times when she couldn t go to sleep without him beside her, reading her bedtime stories. That was their everyday routine until she turned eleven. He wouldn t say he wasn t a good father but he just wished her mom was alive and presently here with them, that way Kimberly would ve grown up in a normal home. He sometimes hated himself for not being able to give her that motherly figure she yearned for, but he guess it s better this way because he didn t think any other woman would ve loved his daughter a 100 percent like her mom would ve. He honestly didn t want his daughter going through such trauma. "Daddy?" "Yes honey" "I and Ian will be going on a week long vacation" Kimberly quietly said, her head still resting comfortably on her dad s chest. She chose to remain that way because she didn t want to make eye contact with her dad, so he doesn t notice her nervousness. "Where to?" he asking, running his fingers through her hair just how she likes it Kimberly tensed at that question. She didn t think her dad would be interested in finding out where they'd be going to. She hesitantly moved her head from her dad s chest, using each second to think of a reply. Why didn t she come up with a destination before coming over? It s obvious Kimberly, you didn t think he would ask, she mentally said to herself. "Um… h-he says it s um… a resort" she nervously replied, putting her hair behind her ear, looking anywhere but him. "Aren t you happy about it?" her dad asked after a minute "I-I m just worried about leaving you… for a whole week" she replied with her head low. She couldn t bring herself to look at him because she was lying to him for the first time in her entire life and she hated herself for doing it. Her dad smiled at her reply "Kimberly honey, you don t have to worry about me. I'll be fine, besides, I'm also travelling next week… sweetie, you re an adult who'll be getting married next year. Everyone leaves their parents someday" he explained, bringing her close to himself for a warm embrace when he noticed a tear roll down her cheek "I love you, dad" "I love you too, honey"