To be a father

The night was cold and I snuggled up inside the duvet with Darcy, who's left leg was in the east and the right was in the south. I adjusted her but she spread her legs open again as soon as my hands left them. After repeating the same thing a couple more times, I finally gave up and thought it better to catch some sleep. Tomorrow was Friday and an important meeting was taking place at work. I couldn't risk sleeping late because I always had eye bags to show the next morning and my head would be hazy. I tried to close my eyes but pictures of Damien Jaeger kept popping into my head and along with them, wild thoughts came pouring in. Eventually, I escaped into dreamland- but it was all useless because my dreams were even wilder!

~

"Wakey, wakey sleepyhead." Darcy grumbled and dragged the blanket over her head. I pulled it down slowly, "Someone has school today. Get up or we'll be late."

"Mommy, I don't want to." She mumbled a response from under the duvet.

She couldn't possibly start saying she didn't feel like going to school when she had only just started pre-kindergarten now, would she?

But being used to such episodes, I tried to persuade her, "But Aunty Lily will want to see her best friend today. Wouldn't you think it will be unfair to deny Aunty Lily your presence? And you did promise to show up at school everyday with the bracelet she gave you, right?"

The duvet remained motionless for a while before a little pair of hands pushed it away, revealing its owner, dressed in her ducky pyjamas with her plait coming undone, "You're right, ." She said and quickly got out of bed, without forgetting to kiss her mother good morning, of course.

After taking our bath, we started getting ready for the day. I got dressed in a pair of orange jumpers, topping it off with a brown wool coat, the colour of my hair, and brown boots to match, while I dressed Darcy in a pair of blue denim jeans and cardigan. Autumn was already creeping in and it revealed its presence through the chill breeze that it usually came with.

"Momy, I want to wear my pink bow." Darcy requested while I was still trying to style my hair. I flashed her a smile while adjusting the large curls I was making. She had to be a little patient with me. The final result of my work was a bunch of loose curls danging at the tips of my hair. Satisfied, I fished out Darcy's headband with the bow on it.

"You look pretty, ." Darcy said. I looked at myself in the mirror. The outfit was very presentable and I must confess, my hair made me look like a boss. I drew closer to examine my eyes for bags and heaved in relief when I didn't find them.

"Thank you angel. And mom thinks Darcy looks like a princess!" She gave him one of her million dollar grins and I was satisfied. Her compliment had boasted my ego a bit and I felt set for the meeting ahead of me.

Breakfast was an array of fruits, salads, french toasts, scrambled eggs and an option for coffee or tea. I requested juice for Darcy to have with her toast while I took a steamy cup of cappuccino. I had almost forgotten about Damien Jaeger- until he walked into the hall! Instantly, I remembered the scene from last night and my face flushed. I bit into my toast and sipped my coffee, trying not to move my attention on him. He was dressed in his usual black, making me wonder if he had any other clothes aside from his black suit.

For some time, the clattering of forks against ceramic plates was the only sound on the table. Then Damien spoke, "Darcy will no longer go to that school you take her to."

I finally looked up to meet him, "Why?"

"Because, Mélie, I walked into that school a few weeks ago and I picked my daughter in my arms and walked out like nothing happened. We wouldn't want some stranger to do the same, don't you think?"

His voice was mocking. However, he was right! If he could walk into the school premises and walk out of it with a child, anyone else could too. But I wasn't sure Darcy was going to buy the idea.

"I will arrange for a safer school for her." He said and sipped on his coffee. It would surprise you to know that he was also drinking black coffee. What an unhealthy obsession with the colour black!

A thought popped into my head when I looked at Darcy. She was fidgeting with the remaining eggs on her plate, with a bored look on her face. She had started behaving differently around her father. This wasn't a good thing for a 3 year old child to do. I needed to address the issue with Damien.

"Uhm, Damien, we need to talk." I started but he was already getting up from his chair.

"When I get back." He said and dropped his fork on his half empty plate.

"It's kind of important."

"My meeting is also important, Mélie." He replied without giving me a look and walked out of the table.

I sighed and looked at Darcy, "Are you okay, baby?"

She simply responded with a nod.

~

I had just concluded the meeting with Mister Stance and our new business partners and was getting ready to call it a day when I heard a knock on my office door, "Come in." I said. The person seemed to hesitate for a while before finally twisting the doorknob and revealing himself.

"Mister Stance!" I said in a surprised tone. He had never knocked before walking into my office.

He stood by my table and cleared his throat. I was already standing on my feet in acknowledgment of his presence. He adjusted his fat tie. He was a slim man- this Stance Berlin- but he loved wearing large ties and oversized jackets. But his large clothes suited him well.

"Your performance at the meeting was very impressive, I cannot lie." I bowed my head in humility but with a gigantic pride in my heart. This was one of the toughest presentations I have encountered in this company and the very first he had followed me all the way to my office to comment on my efforts.

He continued, "In fact, your presentation was so good that one of our investors would like to have a word with you." No sooner had he said those words, the door creaked open and a chubby middle-aged man I recognized from the meeting room earlier, walked him.

Mister Stance excused himself and I didn't remove the smile from my face.

"Very impressive, missuss…"

"Mélie. Mélie Shapman." He grinned, revealing all the 43 teeth in his mouth.

"Off course, off course. 'Miss' Shapman." He added much emphasis on the title before my name, "A beautiful gem, I must. Confess."

"Oh." I remarked, not really expecting him to compliment my looks. Still, I was glad, "Thank you very much, sir."

"Oh, you don't have to call me sir. The name's Norman."

"Yes, Mister Norman. I must say, the presentation went very well…"

"I'm not here to discuss the presentation with you, Miss Mélie."

My brows arched in confusion, "Then why are you here, sir?"

"I have fallen in love with you, Miss Mélie!"

"What?!" I almost yelled at the top of my voice. He went quiet and then suddenly burst into laughter, taking me by surprise.