Yotsuba sat, there, silent, on the laptop.
I sat at my desk, reading the newspaper. I didn't care about any of the articles, though. I just wanted to seem sophisticated in front of my daughter.
"..."
There was a tense silence filling the room, I felt like my presence in front of Yotsuba was annoying her, or maybe I was being paranoid. I don't know. I'd get my answer soon enough.
"Watcha on?"
"Nothing." She replied, quickly, I could hear her tapping a certain key once or twice.
"How was school?"
"Fine." Again, a quick reply.
"... Shall I-"
"Dad." She said, lowering her screen, glaring at me. "What's with the questions?" She asked, then returning to the computer.
"I just... I was..." I started, feeling my heart break a bit.
"What?" She asked, reading something on the screen, the tone in her voice sounding more annoyed.
"... I was wondering. I just... We haven't... spoken in a while." I put the newspaper back down, expecting a response from her that she would have given when she was around 6. But of course, those days had passed, and she was different now.
"Yeah." She said, making it clear she wasn't listening.
Again, my heart sank, I wanted to talk to her.
"Maybe we could go on an adventure?" I said, laughing a bit, many years ago, she would have jumped up, singing 'Adventure! Adventure with daddy!"
"Pfft, haha. What am I, six?" She said, still staring at the screen.
"No, I mean it. How about it?"
"An adventure? The fuck?" She said, lowering the screen again, staring at me, laughing in a mocking way, as if I had said something stupid.
"As in... We could... Go to the park? Or... to a restaurant together?"
"I'm gonna go." She said, I heard the tune her laptop made when it was being shut down.
"Go? Where to, cap'n?" I said, getting up, excited.
"... Not with you, dad." She said, walking into her room.
"... You're going out?" I asked, following her.
"Yeah, I have plans to go out with Nori." She said, putting her arms through the sleeves of her coat.
"Where to?"
"Dad, why do you care so much?"
"I asked you a question, Yotsuba."
"... Whatever, see you at around 5." She said, walking past me.
"Maybe we could do something together? Maybe go out with Jumbo?" I suggested, walking down the stairs with her.
"Jumbo? That... guy? The tall one?" She asked, obviously not considering the idea.
"What about with the Ayas-"
"Didn't they move. Like... forever ago, Dad?" She said, laughing.
"Oh... Right. I just..."
"There you go again, can you even finish a sentence?" She asked, walking out the door.
"That's not the point! Why can't you remember the fun days?" I asked, feeling as if I was going to cry, making a fist to resist it.
"Fun days? Like, when I was 6? Whatever, Dad. I don't even remember that." She said, leaving.
I felt the warm tears run down my face, I wiped them off, and ran outside, yelling.
"I love you, Yotsuba!" I yelled, before realizing she couldn't hear me from down the road. Maybe she could. I still don't know.
I miss the good old days, I thought to myself, back indoors, picking each individual leaf out of the four leaf clover on the window sill.