Three

{Katherine Thrones}

When the honk of the truck dad had rented interrupted what I was doing at 10 o’clock in the morning, I hurried out of the house, a smile on my face, to greet the driver.

“Good day, sir.” I greeted him with a bright smile on my face.

“Good morning, ma’am. I’m guessing you’re Kathrine Thrones?” I nodded as he handed me a card with my name and address on it. “Whew, I’m happy. I thought I was lost for a second. I’m here to transport your belongings to your apartment,” he stated politely, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the way he talked. He sounded French but had a Turkish accent, which made his English sound different from other French and Turkish people I’d met.

I showed him where my boxes and luggage were, and he started taking them out while rushing upstairs to finish packing up the remainder of my belongings.

Mum wasn’t there; she had left the house very early for a meeting, leaving me to deal with all the packing and other preparations. Not that I was complaining; in fact, I was relieved that I would finally be able to escape her pestering, as well as the pressure that was nearly driving me nuts. 

Lifting the last box from the table, I stepped out to see the driver loading the last of my belongings into the truck, and when he spotted me, he sped up his footsteps coming back so he could assist me with the one I was holding. 

“Thank you, sir,” I said, and he tipped his head as he walked towards the back of the truck. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and quickly took it out to see who was calling; it was dad. I grinned when I saw his name, and immediately answered the phone.

“Good morning, Dad.” I greeted him as soon as I answered the phone.

“Good morning, sweetheart. How’s my baby girl?” he asked.

“I’m excited, Dad. I’m finally moving into my own apartment,” I told him, and I could hear him laugh and take a deep breath before speaking.

“I’m pleased you are; I made slight modifications to the apartment and told them to design it in such a way that you would enjoy it. I researched a lot on you, love, and I would apologize but I'm not really sorry,” he said cheekily, “I want you to enjoy and love your apartment, and I hope this is the beginning of our father-daughter bonding. I don’t want you to think I’m trying to make up for the years I’ve missed out on your life with this. All I want is for us to start over.” 

I could hear the raw sincerity in his voice over the phone.

“I hope so too, Dad. I truly want to get to know you and understand a lot about you.” I was being honest. Apart from learning more about him, I needed to know why he abandoned my mother and me, and also why he didn’t come to look for me the first time he came. I was curious as to why I, his flesh and blood, had been reduced to a stranger by him.

“That would be lovely. Once you’ve settled in, I’ll invite you out to dinner.”

“That would be wonderful, Dad. I’m looking forward to it.”

“While we’re on the subject of settling in, has the driver arrived?” Dad asked, “Judging by the time he called me, he should have arrived or almost arrived at your place.”

While he was talking, I could hear footsteps in the background. I wondered if that was his new wife or if he was just changing positions; maybe he was at the office because he was always busy and seldom had time for anyone.

“He’s here, Dad. He arrived about 10 minutes ago, and we’re almost done loading my belongings into the truck.”

“Ha! I see; therefore, I shouldn’t keep you. Call me when you get to your apartment, and I hope you enjoy it. I love you, sweetheart,” he whispered.

I froze, unsure of what to say back to him. I mean, what do you say in response to that when the person was only recently reintroduced back to your life after being absent for 14 years?

“I… I......”

“I understand if you can’t say it now, sweetheart. Take your time. I will call you later, or you can call me once you’ve settled down. I have to leave now, work calls,” he stated before hanging up the phone. 

I feel horrible at not being able to say the words “I love you” back to him. I know he would have been excited to hear it from me. I hope that one day, I will be able to say those words to him, sincerely.

“Excuse me, miss, I’m done loading your belongings,” The driver’s voice jolted me out of my reverie, “Are these all?”

“I – I should go check to be sure,” I said, hurrying back into the house to make sure I didn’t leave anything behind. When I was certain I had everything, I went out to meet the driver. 

“Yes, I got everything, we can head out now,” I said, walking towards the passenger seat, getting in, fastening my seatbelt as the driver did the same, and soon we were on our way. As the vehicle drove out, I watched the house I had spent the last 14 years in through the side mirror of the truck until it disappeared out of sight.

I let out a long breath.

To be honest, I was both happy and sad. Happy because I was finally leaving my mother and having the freedom to do what I had always wanted to do, without being reminded of my grades and schoolwork, or getting extra credit, or visiting the library, and sad because I was actually leaving my mother and comfort zone for the first time. This is a new beginning for me, and I’m not sure how soon I’ll get used to it, or if I ever will.

I took my phone from my pocket and sent a text message to my mum, informing her I was on my way to my apartment. Knowing my mother, I'm certain she would get the message late at night.

Next, I texted Katie to let her know I was on my way to the apartment.

‘Damn!!! You’re late, but I’m glad since I’m making your favorite dish. Get your ass here as soon as possible!!’ Her text message flashed up on my phone, and I smiled as I read it.

She truly is a lifesaver, and I love her so much.

After a while, we finally arrived at my apartment and found Katie waiting at the front of the building. When she saw the truck pull in, she screamed, waited for me to alight, and ran over, pulling me into a hug. Between both of us and the driver, we got a few of my belongings into my apartment.

When I saw the inside of the flat, I let out a gasp. This time, Dad outdid himself. When he said he did his research on me, he wasn’t kidding; the living room and one of the bedrooms were both painted white. The other bedroom, on the other hand, was painted with a combination of black, white, and various light hues. The room was red at the time, and a moon-shaped standing lamb that mirrored the color of a rising sun was lit as well, and something about the space felt real and alive. 

This must be what love feels like.

“This is really nice,” Katie commented.

“Yes, it is. My father truly surprised me,” I said as I wiped the tears from my eyes. I remembered not saying the words ‘I love you' back to him, and it broke my heart once again that I couldn’t return those words.

“Hey– hey don’t cry. Come on, love,” Katie whispered as she drew me into a hug, which just made me melt and feel the heavy burden in my heart. I didn’t fight back the tears as they flowed.

We were interrupted by the driver, who informed us that he was finished with unloading everything and that they were now in my living room. We both thanked him, then he was escorted out by Katie. 

As soon as she came back, she sat close to me on the bed, asking, “Are you okay?” 

I shook my head. 

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just… I feel really bad,” I admitted.

“Oh love. Why do you say so? Is it because you lied to your mother about meeting your father and getting the apartment?” she inquired.

I shook my head again.

“Then why?” She questioned. And so, I told her everything that had happened between my father and me, including the phone conversation and how I couldn’t bring myself to speak those words to him, as well as how seeing the apartment and seeing how much he had prepared for me had broken me into pieces.

“I must have hurt him,” I revealed to Katie.

“No! It’s understandable if you don’t have a special bond with your father yet in your situation. He hasn’t been around long enough for you to form that kind of bond with him. So, it’s not your fault you weren’t able to return his love, but as you grow to know one another, I guarantee you’ll be able to tell him you love him more times than you can count,” she stroked my back as she reassured me.

“How long do you expect that to take?” My eyes were still clouded with tears that threatened to fall out at any moment.

“I honestly don’t know; I guess it depends on you and how quickly you two form a relationship between yourselves. Now come on, love, let’s start with this mess, and then, you come over to my side for some food. Or did you forget I cooked you a special meal?” she asked, attempting to calm me down, and I smiled a little and wiped my tears.

We finished arranging my belongings a little after 8pm and moved over to her apartment to have dinner.

“Whew! Thanks for the food, Katie Cory. It was really delicious.  I had no idea you still had it in you,” I taunted, ensuing a scoff from her.

“Woman, I was the best cook until I became lazy, so don’t put my cooking abilities up against yours unless you want to fail.” She lectured.

“Ha! You’re always trying to make yourself the goddess of everything.”

“I’m the goddess of everything, woman, and I rule over everything,” Katie announced with a cocky smile.

I let out a laugh. “I should start going, ‘Miss goddess of ruling the world.’” I told her because if I stayed any longer, she wouldn’t stop praising herself. 

I stood up and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes.  Again, I considered how I was going to handle staying alone. It was going to be challenging because I hadn’t been alone in my entire life. 

“How will it feel? Will I be terrified? Will I be able to do this on my own?” I asked myself.

“You can stay over for tonight.” 

Katie’s voice startled me out of my reverie.

“Jeez. Human, you scared me. How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me?” With furrowed brows, I asked her.

“I called out your name several times, but you were damn preoccupied with your thoughts. Anyway, I know this is your first time being alone, so you had better sleep here with me tonight, and tomorrow you can try sleeping alone. And if that doesn’t work for you, we can always alternate between where to sleep at night.” Katie suggested. I smile at her and move in for another hug; I am a passionate hugger.

“Aww, thank you very much, sweetheart. This means so much to me; I’m grateful I have you in my life.” I said honestly.

“Ew!!” Katie shrieked, “I’m not a fan of skinship, human.”

 She tried to pull me away from her but I clung to her as if my life depended on it. She eventually yielded to the hug and held me closer, making me feel safe.

“Thank you,” I said when she pulled away, and she bopped her head before going to her room to bring out an extra pair of pajamas for me to wear. 

I went to the bathroom, washed up, changed into the pajamas she had given me, and joined her on the bed.

“This is the beginning of a new chapter in my life; I hope I don’t regret it,” I prayed silently.