2
Standing in front of my family’s split–level
house were a man and a woman. I have no idea
how they even got there.
The middle–aged man was wearing this simple
outfit, and a beanie, staring at the house with
an impatient expression.
“Didn’t I call? Why isn’t anyone home yet?
Ridiculous!”
He’d aged, his once–handsome face now
looked pale and saggy. But he still had that
same arrogant attitude, like everyone should be
kissing his feet.
Looking at him, I felt a weird mix of disgust
and… pity?
Back in the day, he thought so highly of himself
because he was some English major, always
looking down on my mom, calling her a “simple
housewife.”
He openly carried around pictures of his old
girlfriend, writing poems and doodling about
her.
When he heard she’d died, he sat on the back
deck, smoking all night long.
I was just a kid then, but I remember him
clutching her picture, crying, saying something like, “Eleanor, I’m coming to join you!”
The next day, he sold the house, donated all his money, and became a monk.
The media celebrated their “epic love story”
while Mom and I were kicked out, living on the
streets. Nobody gave a damn about how we
were going to survive.
And now he has the nerve to come back?
“Mallory! You’re home!”
Carol spotted me and waved enthusiastically.
“Come on over! Oh, this kid, why won’t she
come over here? Seeing her dad must have
knocked her dumb with joy!”
Dad followed Carol’s gaze, paused, and
<
10:15
scowled. “Took you long enough. You know
how long I’ve been waiting?”
100
I ignored him, asking coldly, “What are you
doing here?”
Dad, already annoyed that I wasn’t acting
thrilled, got even angrier. “What do you mean,
‘what are we doing here?‘ After all these years,
you’ve forgotten how to address your elders?
Zero respect! What did Donna ever teach you?”
Hearing him insult my mom made my blood boil.
He still thought he was the king of the castle?
Screw that!
“Who are you calling a bad mother?”
“Your mother, what… you little brat, how dare
you talk to your father like that!”
He caught himself, looking shocked and furious.
He reached out to slap me, but Carol jumped in.
<
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold on a second! This
father and daughter are only just seeing each other, so there’s no need to quarrel!”
Carol pinned Dad’s arms down, gave him a meaningful look, and turned to me with a placating smile.
“Mallory, don’t be like this. Aunt Carol knows that you’ve missed your dad so much over the years, so you feel upset. Actually your dad has missed you too, and he came back to fix the issues from the past…”
“Fix?”
I snapped. “When he donated all our money and left us homeless, did he think about what Mom
would do, what would happen to me and my
brother? Now he wants to ‘fix‘ things? I don’t
need anything from him.”
<
Dad stared at me in disbelief.
“What do you mean, my donating the money made you homeless? All the property and the
money were the results of my work. Do I not have the right to handle my own money?”
“Besides, I was hit hard back then. As my
daughter, why can’t you be empathetic? Does
money matter to you more than relationships?”
I’d thought he’d feel at least a little guilty about what he’d done, but he was acting like he was
completely justified.
I almost laughed, but I couldn’t waste my breath
arguing with him.
“I’m not going to debate with you. Please leave.
You’re not welcome here.”
Carol, seeing things were going downhill fast,
<
tried to smooth things over. “Mallory, that’s not
what your father meant. Why don’t we go
inside? You both need to calm down. Arguing in
the yard is just embarrassing!”
“I’m not letting you in today, so get lost! Don’t
make me call the cops.”
“How dare you speak to me like that? I’m your
father!” Dad raised his hand again, but Carol
held him back, frantically winking at him.
He calmed down, lowered his hand, and
smirked. “Fine, fine. A few years apart, and
you’ve turned into a heartless brat. I won’t talk
to you. I’ll wait until your mother gets home.
Let’s see if she dares to keep me outside.”
I clenched my fists.
He had a point.
Mom used to be so crazy about him that she
<
chased him for years before he reluctantly
agreed to marry her.
Throughout their marriage, Mom was always
meek, catering to his every whim. He messed
around with other women, and Mom always
forgave him, never willing to blame him.
If she saw him, she’d probably forgive him
again.
I couldn’t let that happen.
“I said you’re not welcome here! Get the hell off my property! Security! Security! We’ve got
trespassers! Get them out of here!”
I screamed, grabbing a broom and swinging it
wildly, trying to chase them away like stray
dogs.
If they wouldn’t leave, I’d force them out!
<
Dad got whacked in the face with the broom, sputtering and cursing as he backed away.
“Mallory, you’re crazy! How dare you treat your own father like this! You’ll be sorry!”
“Don’t call me by your first name! My last name isn’t even the same as yours!”
I dipped the broom in dog crap and tried to
poke it on their faces and yelled, “Get out! Get out! Get out!”
The battle was raging when I suddenly heard Mom’s voice. “Mallory?”
I froze.
At the end of the driveway, Mom was standing
there with grocery bags in her arms, staring at us in shock.
How could she be home so early?
