The lights were off and the door was locked. It looked so different after only a few weeks away from it. I stood there thinking about it like it was another person in our lives. The diner had always been there from the time when I was little, through my mother’s death and my father’s illness, until right now. A bittersweet feeling came over me as I looked inside and remembered all the sacrifices and work we had all done. Daimon had so easily taken it over and ended everything for us. A large chapter in my life had ended and now I was to start a new one. Where was it going to lead me? I didn’t know, but today I had to think about my father and how I was going to explain all this.
ASKING PERMISSION
“Addie, just tell me what’s going on,” my father asked as he watched me on the other side of the room. I sat down on the couch and held onto the keys to the diner that no longer worked. Daimon had changed the locks and for what reason I still didn’t know. “Did you have to sell it to pay for my hospital bills?” he asked almost in a panic.
“Not exactly,” I finally managed to say. I looked away from my father’s face as I tried to find the courage to tell him what had happened, minus the selling of my soul.
“Then what exactly?” he asked.
“Daimon helped me with the bank and helped me settle our debt. I was then able to pay off most if not all of the medical expenses,” I said nervously. “I'm sorry, Daddy, but it needed to be done or they would have taken the house.” I bit hard on my lower lip, trying desperately not to blurt out the truth.
“Daimon?” my father said in a hushed voice.
“Yes, Daimon. He was so caring and attentive while you were in the hospital,” I managed to say in a believable tone.
“Is he the one who paid for my private room? Because, Addie, I don’t want to be a hand out to him, especially not him,” my father said earnestly.
“He did pay for the room but only because he loves me. It was for me as much as for you.” I shrugged not knowing exactly what to say to him.
“Damn it,” my father said angrily.
“Dad, he wanted to help so I let him. It’s not like I was in a position to tell him no. Daimon sort of does what he wants when he wants and then deals with the consequences later.” My father slowly found his way to his armchair and sat down, looking beyond the television and out into space. “Daddy?”
“What do I do now, Addie? Who am I to be now that I have failed all of you and myself? At least with the business I managed to keep mine and your mother’s dream alive, but now…now what?” he said so quietly that it brought tears to my eyes.
“You didn’t fail us, Dad. I did. I should have kept the diner afloat. I should have done more, but I didn’t. Now I even took away the one thing that made you feel whole. I'm sorry,” I whispered, swallowing the hard lump that was forming in my throat. My father was about to say something, but I heard the familiar sound of a Skype call, probably from Sofia. He nodded at me knowing I wanted to see her.
“Go,” he said, nudging his head upstairs to my room.
“School is great!” Sofia said excitingly over Skype.
“Tell me about your classes,” I asked.
“Well I have this humanities teacher, he’s crazy. This one kid kept receiving texts in class, the idiot didn’t put it to vibrate and the teacher started losing it. Addie it’s… it’s really awesome being here,” she smiled.
“I’m so jealous,” I laughed.
“Tell me about Dad and the diner, is everything okay there?” She leaned into her desk and fixed her hair as she spoke to me. I had missed the little shit. I hadn’t seen her in a while and she already looked so grown up and different.
“The diner is great and Dad is taking it easy.”
I didn’t want to tell her everything that had happened over a video call. I wanted her to have a great first semester and when she came for the holidays then I would tell her what had happened. I didn’t see how telling her would help, and if anything it might even make it worse for her. I knew her and she would worry until she saw it for herself. My Sofia needed to make sure of things with her own two eyes. I think it was partly my fault since I tried to keep her in the dark as much as I could about everything. The girl wasn’t stupid, but she played the part well enough that at times I was left wondering if she should become an actress. I hated how Sofia had to constantly play the go-between with my father and me, and how most of the time she would put blinders on and act like nothing was happening. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had done something to scar her somehow. The doorbell rang and I didn’t want my father getting up to answer it.