You're Beautiful
A man walks around his lonely beach home and looks out onto the foreshore and slowly slides open his patio door as a light breeze now brushes his face as he steps onto the small patio area that led to the beach that evening.
He looks up and down the beach that was comfortably quiet for that evening in his life. He steps onto the beach as the first grains of sand enter his beach sandals. He moves down to the shore and looks out to sea as the gentle sea breezes lightly lift his hair around his face.
This man is middle aged and alone in this life, in his home, as he turns back to look at it with the patio door still open. He again looks around the seemingly empty beach at that time and decides to head back to his lonely home and close the patio door leaving the big wide world to carry on without him for that evening.
He moves to the kitchen to make himself a TV dinner and pour out a beer into an adequate glass. He now heads to the living room as a noise could be heard coming from the spare bedroom in the beach house.
He gets up and ventures into this fair sized room to witness a child fooling around with the curtains that hung over another patio door leading to the same beach.
"These will have to go if I had anything to do with this room. Oh, how drab!"
"What the?"
The child spun round with his raised voice and fell into the curtains pulling them from the pole that they hung on and onto the floor to cover the child and her misdemeanour.
"Hey, who turned out the lights?" She said fumberling for the edge of the curtain.
The man now grabbed the curtain from her and pulled it away from where she sat now focusing in on the man where he stood.
"Who are you and what are you doing in here?"
"I um, erm. The door was open!" She said pointing out.
"So that gives you the right to just walk in here and take over ha?"
"Take over? What, no! Take over what?"
"Stand up!"
"Erm."
"Come on, stand up. I'm not going to hurt you, just throw you out of here with a flea in your ear so that you don't do this sort of thing again."
The child looked around then stood up.
"Nice room."
"What?"
"The room, it's nice, big too."
"Is it? I hadn't really noticed."
"Oh yeah, I think that it's got a lot going for it. Too bad it's in the state that it is." She said moving around the room under the watchful eye of the man. "I wouldn't be seen dead in a dump like this though. Too stuffy, it needs lights. That patio door could do with touching up."
"Thank you, I'll get the real estate man on it in the morning when I decide to sell up."
"Sell up? This place? You can't sell up, this is a prime beach house, you can't sell up, why would you want to?"
"My own reasons. Look, get out of here will you before I call the cops and have you locked up for the night for trespassing or something."
"Doesn't work, I'm too young. Man this room is wasted. I could fix it up for you, wouldn't cost much either." She said looking around. "A bit of paint, I could see a great curtain round that door, some shades on the wall, now that would be nice."
The man watched her spinning around.
"Five seconds more and I'm calling the cops."
"Alright, okay. I'm just telling you what you could do with your room man, but it's your hang up."
The kid now ducked out the patio door and walked off in to the evening sun.
The man watched her go and locked the door. He moved back out to his room and sat down staring at the spare room and laughed.
"I can't believe the nerve of that kid, wasted, really."
Some days later this lonely man had a party at his beach house where he has invited over some work colleagues.
He decides to show them his big lonely beach house while they were all enjoying a drink or three.
"What are you going to do with that big spare room of yours?"
"Hurh?" The man says moving forward to join his mate.
"It's pretty big. What is it, a second bedroom?"
"No, it's just another room, that's all."
"Could do with sorting out. You want to get someone in to do this room a favour."
"Oh really? As a matter of fact I've already had somebody in here, the other day."
"Is that so? What was the quote?
He stopped and looked at him.
"Erm, we're still discussing the in's and out's of the deal at the moment."
"Well, whatever you decide on I'd accept their offer. This room could do with a new appearance. Something to break it out of this, hmmm." His mate said looking around at the rest of the house.
The man looked at him then allowed his mate to walk away as he looks at the quiet and empty room.
The next morning the man wakes up with a slight hangover but walks out on to the patio area of his beach house to look out to the beach.
The child that he had met in his spare room earlier that week now walked past his vision. He stared at her as he remembered the conversation he had with his mate the previous night.
He now jumped down on to the sand and ran out to her.
"Hey, wait up."
The child stops and soon recognises him.
"Oh, hi."
He moves up to her.
"Hello, erm, we meet again."
"Yeah." She said now looking around.
"Look erm, can we talk?"
"Talk?" She said now focusing in on him.
"Yeah, talk, maybe back at my place."
The child looks at the beach house behind him then the man.
"I tell you what, we'll talk half way."
"Come again."
"We'll talk in your spare room."
He smirked and looked down.
"I accept."
"Great." She said then followed him to the spare room.
They walked in to the room and the man watched the child walk around it. She touched the walls and rubbed her hands.
"It needs some work."
"Yeah, say about two years worth."
"Two years? Six months at the most." He said leaning in to the doorway.
She watched him do this.
"Alright, I'll move in for six months and transform this, this."
"Done!" He said moving forward to shake her hand.
"You have been."
They looked at one another.
"What's your name?"
"Hurh?"
"Your name? We might at least keep this civil."
"Oh erm, Claira, everyone just calls me Claira."
"Claira? Is that it?"
"Aha, yeah. What's your name?" She said moving away to look at the big task in front of her.
He followed her around the room for a while and noticed that she had stopped and was looking back at him for his answer to her question.
"Oh erm, my name, it's Jason, Jason Weaver. Excuse me but you said that everyone just calls you Claira?"
"Yeah." She said turning away.
"No last name?"
"Not really no, I have no family so why should I need a last name?"
"Well, you must have had a last name at some point in your life."
"Possibly yeah."
"Well,"
"Look, your spare room." She said stopping him in mid sentence. "I have free reign in here ha?"
"Well basically yes, but it's still my spare room."
"Okay, I'll add a clause to our contract."
He looked at her.
"While I'm here we don't talk about our lives. This is a blank page. We start afresh, from today, agreed."
"Agreed."
"Great, now get out of your spare room while I move in."
He laughed and then went out.
The door closed shut behind him and he slightly looked back and smirked then carried on with whatever he was doing in his life at that point.
Claira collected some tools of her trade and a mattress to boot and moved in to the spare room and started rearranging everything in sight.
One morning, some days later Jason was busy in the bathroom shaving when Claira walked in.
"What time is it?"
"Nearly seven. Are you alight?"
"Rough night." She said scratching her head and yawning.
"Rough? What have you been doing in my spare room all night?" He said moving past her to look in to the room.
"Hey, that's out of bounds, our agreement, remember?"
"It's still my room, if I want to look at it, I will."
"Yeah, look, don't touch!"
"I wouldn't like to." He said turning round to look at her. "You probably need some more sleep."
"No I don't. It's that mattress of mine, it's, it's!" She said storming off to the sofa and grabbing the remote to the television.
Jason watched her go then looked at the mattress. He now headed back to the bathroom and carried on. A while later he headed in to the kitchen to make breakfast and looked through the serving hatch to see that Claira had fallen asleep. He shook his head as he made the tea.
"Why do I do this? She's a complete stranger to me and I've allowed her in to my home and now she's asleep on my sofa!" He said grabbing his cup and moved out to the living room and watched her sleeping silently. He looked back to the spare room and again to the mattress then back to her on the sofa.
Some of Jason's mates walked past him while he was surfing the Internet for shops in his area that sold beds.
"What's this, a single bed? I would have thought that you'd be more a king-size man to me, Jason."
"Very funny. It's not for me, it's for."
"The spare room, just trying to make it look lived in, ha? Try finding a girl and filling it with off spring, it's more rewarding than lying."
"The voice of experience talking ha? With your track record of two failed marriages and me only dabber ling."
"That's not dabber ling, that's called being sad. You wanna get out there and find a girl then get hitched and have kids, it's a wonderful experience."
"Then face the divorce courts in six months time, I've read your obituary."
"Hey, don't knock it until you've tried it." His mate said leaving him to it.
Jason allowed the words to swirl around in his empty brain as he carried on checking the net for the closest and cheapest bed store in town.
Claira took a break from the boredom of the spare room and walked out on to the beach.
Some hours later after the men had pulled away in their van Jason noticed her on the beach and walked out to her.
"Hi."
She looked back.
"Hey, erm, I just took five minutes break, I'm allowed that in my contract you know."
"I'm not about to question it. I have a surprise for you."
"A surprise, for me?"
"Aha, yeah. Do you wanna walk back with me?"
She looked at him then followed him back to the house. She started to get excited as they walked back.
"What is it? Is it for the spare room?"
"You'll soon find out."
"I want to know now, Jason! I hate surprises."
"I don't think you do, it's probably because you've never had one before." He said as he opened the door to the spare room and watched Claira run in.
She came face to face with the bed.
"What do you think?"
"Think of what?"
"The bed? I bought it for the room. You wont have to sleep on some nasty old mattress now."
She turned back to look at him then ran out.
"Claira? Claira?" He said calling after her.
The sun started to set and the warm breeze now started to go cold as Claira walked up on to the steps on the beach house that evening and sat down.
Jason slowly walked out and sat down next to her.
"Are you alright?" He said slowly looking at her.
She looked down and nodded.
"Look, I'm sorry if the bed upset you, but, the room could do with looking a little more lived in, and you do."
Claira now stood up.
"Hey, easy." He said touching her.
She pulled away and turned back.
"A little more lived in after we started with an empty room? You gave me the chance to prove that I could turn your room around and you."
"Claira, I was only thinking of you back there. You've not been sleeping and my sofa is not the spare room! Fine, I'll go back to thinking only for the good of the room, ha?"
"That's how it should be. I'm doing you a favour, that's all. Six months and I'll be gone, you'll see."
He watched her.
"Six months is what we agreed to and I'll leave you alone for those six months."
"Thank you!"
He looked at her then went back in to the house.
Claira slowly looked back and moved in after him and headed to the spare room.
Claira took her time in sorting the room out to exactly how she had envisaged it. One evening Jason returned to find part of the room in the main hallway.
"Claira!"
She now popped her head from out of the spare room.
"Oh, your home, erm, the mess."
"I'm glad you call it that. What the hell is it doing out here?"
"It's a little bit full in your spare room at them moment. I need space to work."
"Can I see it?"
"Hurh?"
"My spare room? It's still mine you know."
"Yeah, I know, erm, I'm working."
"I'm not asking for a daily report. It's been over three weeks since you moved in. I want to know how far you've come in that time."
"Erm, sure." She said pulling the door wider.
He walked in and noticed even more mess and stopped to stare straight at her.
"I'm working on it, okay?" She said walking out to the kitchen and grabbing herself a drink.
Jason followed.
"Are sure your going to be finished in six months? You don't want a year, two? When you start college?" Jason said now grabbing a beer from the fridge and walking in to the living room to sit down.
Claira moved up to him.
"I'm an artist!"
"Is that what you call my spare room, your art? How do you sleep in there at night? Oh I keep forgetting, I guess it is a far cry from sleeping under the boardwalk, ha?" He said swigging his beer back to kind of wash Claira from his mouth.
She now stormed off.
"You'll never understand!"
The door closed shut to his spare room.
Jason now looked around his empty home as his eye travelled back to the spare room.
He took a walk on the beach and returned some hours later to see Claira on the steps to he house looking out to see until she noticed him. He moved up to her and sat down.
"Are you okay?" He said turning to look at her.
Claira sighed and pulled her hair back and looked around.
"Look, I'm sorry about what I said back there. I was just expecting more results than I got and having my hallway filled with, with?"
She looked at him.
They now stared at each other.
"I guess I have to give you space in my house ha? The artist in my place?" He said smirking.
She looked at him and now started to laugh.
Jason now hugged and lightly kissed her. They looked at one another.
"Okay, back to work." He said slightly coughing.
"Yeah." She said jumping up and running back in to the house.
Jason looked back then faced the beach and took time out for a moment.
The next morning everything had calmed down and Jason got himself ready for work. Claira walked out of the spare room and looked around.
"Looking for someone?"
She spun round.
"Your up!" She said steadying herself in the doorframe.
"Obviously. Work waits for no man." He said walking out past her. "You okay?" He said lightly touching her.
"Sure, I'll erm." She said pointing back to the spare room.
"You want breakfast or are you going to grab it at one of those many fast food joints along the front?"
"Hurh? Hey, I don't chill out at those places."
Jason moved in to the spare room and grabbed a carton and waved in front of her.
"You wanna explain this?"
"It's part of my art!"
"Great, now I have a fast food shop in my spare room."
"I felt peckish, that's all."
"My fridge is full of peckish stuff."
"I didn't want to indulge."
They stared at each other. He now checked his watch.
"Look, I have to go to work. I leave you the keys to the fridge and probably my life with the way it's going." He said then grabbed his case and run out.
Jason arrived at work and was soon approached by one of his mates.
"Hey Jason, have you seen the skirt that's just started today?"
"What skirt? I haven't seen anyone all morning?"
"Check her out Jason, the number one on the runway."
Jason now focused in on the women of his dreams walking past. He rose to his feet as the women acknowledged him.
"Well, you're certainly in there."
"Shut up, will you. She wasn't even looking at me." He said then sat down but still watched her.
That evening Jason met the lady, as he was about to go home.
"Hello."
He looked up. "Oh, hi." He said then stood up.
"I noticed you earlier. My name is Alison Owen."
"Jason Weaver."
"I guess that you know I've just started here."
"Erm, yeah."
"Have you been here long?"
"Yeah, erm, five years now."
"Oh, a career man. You must be married."
"No! No I'm not."
"Your not? Oh, alright." She said looking at him.
"Are you? If you don't mind me asking."
"No, I don't mind you asking. We might as well be honest with each other from the start. I was, but not anymore. It was complicated."
"Oh, I see, were children involved?"
"No, but I would like them to have been if you see what I mean."
"Erm, yeah I think I do."
"Do you have any children?"
"Children, erm." He looked away as Claira's face appeared in his mind. He now turned to look at her. "Yeah, I have a daughter."
"A daughter? From a failed acquaintance, no doubt."
"Something like that, yeah, it's complicated."
"Oh, it always is."
They now carried on as they made their way out of the office.
Claira walked out of the spare room and noticed the time.
Jason now walked through the door and looked at her.
"I know, I'm late, I'm sorry." He said rushing past her and in to his bedroom.
"Why are you saying sorry to me? I wasn't getting worried for you or anything."
He looked at her as he got changed. He now walked out and looked around.
"You had dinner?"
"TV dinner, yeah."
"Oh, Claira!" He said rushing past her to the kitchen.
"Are you alright this evening?" She said following.
"Perfectly. How do you feel this evening?" He said looking over to and smiling.
She now walked out and back to the spare room.
The next day Jason met up with the lady again and they decided to have a dinner date. Claira was in the spare room when Jason burst through the door.
"Hey Claira?"
"What?"
"A little more enthusiasm please." He said looking at her. "I've got a dinner date tonight, I shall be back late so I expect you to be in bed when I return, alright?" He said checking himself in her bed stand mirror.
"Why would you want to tell me that? I'm not interested in what you do." She said hovering around in the background.
Jason looked at her via the mirror then turned round and faced her.
"Alright, I'll see you in the morning. Be good." He said moving forward to kiss her. "I'll see you." He added then went out.
Claira moved to the doorway and watched him go.
After their dinner date Alison started to talk about families.
"What about Claira?"
"Hurh, Claira?"
"Your daughter."
"Oh Claira, my daughter, erm what about her?"
"How old she?"
"How old is she? Erm." He looked away and realised that he had never asked her that question so he had to guess at that stage, although he made sure that this was to be the first question that he would ask her when he returned home. "She's twelve."
"Twelve years old? You've had twelve years of being alone with her?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"That's too long. Haven't you ever?"
"Hurh?"
"You know, got the urge to, well find Claira a mother so that she can take some of that twelve year old burden off you."
Jason looked at her.
"I've been thinking about it lately, yeah. Claira has been a great strain to me lately." He said giving out a fake sigh. "The spare room isn't going well."
"Spare room?"
""Erm, I mean my daughters bedroom. She's going through this phase at the moment when she thinks she's the local artist. Her bedroom has taken a direct hit from her indulgencies."
"Really? She must be very creative."
"You would not believe me. I don't know who she gets it from."
"I'd like to meet her."
Jason stopped and looked at her.
"Meet her? My daughter?"
"Yes, well, who else have you been hiding from me?"
"No-one! You, you wanna meet Claira?"
"Claira is your daughter, yes?"
"Erm, yeah."
"Fine. How about tomorrow night, say seven o'clock?"
"Seven? Erm, well I guess you could have dinner with us."
"Wonderful. I'll see you there tomorrow night."
Jason looked at her smiling then looked away and thought of Claira.
Claira stumbled out of the spare room early that morning and came face to face with Jason.
"Hi."
"Hello."
"Would you mind coming into the kitchen with me?" He said grabbing her hand.
"Hurh, but I haven't."
"Doesn't matter, this wont take long."
Claira watched him pull a chair out and gestured to her.
"I've got to sit down?"
"I would like you to, yeah."
She slowly sat down.
Jason sighed and watched her. He now moved away started to make some breakfast.
"Do you want something?"
"Maybe after I've had a shower. Can I go now, I have to."
He moved back to her and stopped her rising to her feet.
"Claira, how old are you?"
"I beg your pardon."
"It's not a hard question. I just want to know how old you are." He said then stepped away.
She watched him make a pot of tea.
"I'm twelve."
"Oh thank god, I was right." He said sighing.
"Jason, what's going on? For the past few days you've been very."
He looked at her.
"Very what?"
"Strange."
He laughed and stared at her.
"Strange, me? Yeah I guess I have in a way. Well, you don't have to worry from this moment on, you and I we're, we're okay, yeah."
"I guess."
"Do you want a cup? "
"Later, after I." She said now jumping up and running to the bathroom.
He watched her go then laughed. He now remembered Alison and again started to think about Claira again.
They were soon having breakfast.
"We're you alright on your own last night?"
"Yeah." She said looking up and over the table to him. "I have been on my own before, Jason."
"Yes, but." He stopped and looked at her. "Claira, we have to talk."
"I guess we do." She said leaning back in the chair. "Are you cancelling the contract?"
"What?"
"I knew that it was coming. Jason, two more months and the room will be finished, I promise you, just."
"Claira, will you shut up for a moment. I'm not interested in the damn spare room for the moment." He said looking at her. "Oh jeez, how am I going to tell you what I've done?" He added now standing up and walking to the back of the kitchen. He turned round and looked at her. "I met someone the other month, that, that is starting to mean something to me."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because your involved."
"I am?"
"I met a wonderful women and she, I, we. Ohhh!"
"I think I better get lost before." She said standing up.
"No! You might as well know. She thinks that you're my daughter and she's coming over here tonight to meet you." Jason said as he moved up to hold her
Claira stared at him.
"Well say something to me. Your not usually this quiet."
She pulled away and run past him to the spare room.
"Claira, darling!"
The door slammed shut.
Jason looked down then headed out on to the beach.
Claira now trashed the spare room and headed out on to the beach as Jason noticed her.
"Claira!" He said running after her.
"Stay away from me Jason."
"You're not running out on me, we have a contract!"
"Some contract. I don't remember it having a clause to call you dad!"
"It didn't. Claira, stop!"
She stopped but did not look back.
Jason sighed and wanted to put his hand on her shoulder but resisted. He slightly turned away to look at the horizon.
"All I am asking of you, for one day, one day out of your life is that."
Claira looked at him.
"Alright, so I was stupid, dumb, but Alison, she, she's been through a lot and she loves kids. What was I supposed to do?"
"Have them and see what happens."
Jason looked at her and smirked.
"I guess that you were my second best to that option. Claira, I played the field and lost, but I still want you around. My spare room wants you around."
"Your room, oh damn."
"What?"
"I'm sorry Jason, but in my fit of rage at you, I." She looked down.
"You didn't?"
"What was I to do? You wanted me to be your daughter and I."
They ran back to the spare room.
"Oh great. Alison wants to meet you tonight and see your masterpiece. You call this your masterpiece?"
"My masterpiece?"
"The spare room. I told her that you were rearranging your room, and."
"My room?"
"She thinks that you're my daughter. Where else is my kid going to sleep?"
She looked down.
"Sorry."
Jason looked at her and then pulled her head up.
"There's no need to be. How long will it take you to sort this out?"
"Hours."
"Well, let's get cracking then."
That evening Alison arrived prompt at seven and knocked on the door. Jason opened it and kissed her.
"Hello darling."
"Hello."
"Come on in. The dinner is nearly ready."
"Thank you."
Claira hovered in the back watching Jason with Alison.
"Well, where is she?"
"Hurh?"
"Your creative daughter?"
"Oh Claira, erm I'll just go get her."
"Dad."
Jason stared at her.
"Darling, erm, Claira, this is Alison. Alison, this is my daughter, Claira."
Jason watched her step forward to shake her hand.
"It's nice to meet you. Dad hasn't been able to stop talking about you for months."
"Really. I hope that the reports that he has been giving you have all been good?"
"Fairly good, you know my dad."
"Oh, thank you. I have to get the dinner ready. You two, just."
"We will Jason, don't you worry. So, Claira tell me all about your dad, he sounds intriguing." Alison said looking on.
"Darling, you promised."
"Which darling is that, dad?" Claira said looking back at him.
"I don't believe this. I'm out numbered by my own kid." He said leaving them to it. Jason checked on the dinner then watched Claira talking to Alison and smiled.
They soon had dinner and the conversation turned to the spare room.
"How's the refurbishment coming along?"
"I would hardly call it a refurbishment. Claira has completely gutted the place. When she told me she wanted to redesign her bedroom I was looking at three one hundred dollar and minute designers walking through my door. I must say that having your own kid working on her room is a lot less hassle. What am I saying? I would have been better with total strangers."
Claira watched Jason laughing with Alison.
"Do you wanna see the room?" Claira said jumping up.
"I'd love to."
Claira ran to the room.
Jason stood up and moved towards the room with Alison hand in hand. They now stopped and kissed.
"Hi." He said watching her.
"Dad?" Claira said stepping forward.
"I think that your daughter is calling you."
"Hmm, music to my ears, like your music to." He now pulled away and they walked in to the room and looked around.
"What do you think?"
"Well?"
"It's not finished yet, of course. You're the only people who have been in here since I moved in."
"Since you moved in? I don't understand. I thought that this was your bedroom." Alison said looking on.
"Erm." Clara looked towards Jason.
"Claira's mannerisms, that's what she means, moved in, since the upheaval." Jason said looking at her.
"Yeah, that's what I meant."
Alison walked around in the areas that she could.
"When do you think that it will be ready?"
"I said three more weeks, but well dad and I had a contract that ends in three weeks time."
Jason moved in front of her.
"It's complicated."
"Hmm, I've been hearing that a lot from you lately."
"Fancy another drink?"
"Alright."
They went back out.
A while later Claira moved in next to Jason and slowly fell asleep on him.
"She doesn't take long to get tired by you." Alison said looking on.
"She's had a tiring day."
"I bet." She said watching Jason pull Claira more closely into him.
Jason now looked at her.
"Erm, I think that I'll erm, just put her to bed."
"Oh, don't mind me. I think that I better be going."
"What, erm, no!"
"Hurh?"
"Well, the night is young. Look, please stay a while. I'll be out in a minute."
"Can I watch you put Claira to bed?"
"Watch me put, erm, yeah, alright."
"Great. You must have done this many times before." She said watching him get up holding Claira tightly into him.
"Sure I have, piece of cake." He said giving her a worried smile as he headed towards the spare room.
Alison watched from a safe distance as Jason slowly put Claira in to her bed and tucked her in.
"There." He says looking back.
"What, no kiss?"
"Hurh?"
"She's your daughter. You've been together now for twelve years, and no kiss at the end of the day?"
"Of course I was going to kiss her, what do you take me for?"
"I'm beginning to wonder." She said looking on.
Alison watched him move back to Claira and kiss her.
"There."
"Hmm." She said then went out.
Jason looked back at Claira then followed Alison.
"Well, what was that for?"
"What for?"
"That, hmm."
Alison pored herself out a drink.
"It's just that something doesn't ring true with you and Claira, that's all."
"Oh, in what way?" Jason said making himself a drink and sitting down next to her.
"Your body language, lets say."
"What about it?" He said moving in closer to her and kissing her.
"I didn't mean with me, I meant with Claira, Claira your daughter!" She said pushing away his advances.
He stopped and looked at her as he sat forward.
"What about her?"
"I don't know, you tell me." She said sipping her drink.
He looked back to her waiting for him to speak then jumped up.
"There's nothing to tell."
"Jason, your like an open book at the moment. I'm slowly leafing through the pages of your life and I don't see Claira involved with any of it, except for that room in there."
"That's her bedroom!" He said pointing back.
"Is it?"
"Yes, you know that."
"For how long had it been her bedroom? A week, a month, for about as long as you have been father and daughter?"
He looked at her.
She now stood up and put her glass down.
"You know what, I think it was time I was leaving."
"Alison, wait please."
"No. You know Jason, one day you'll wake up to yourself. You'll be ready to tell the truth on that day and when you do, just maybe I'll be waiting at the end of it. Until that day, I don't think that we'd have anything in common. Maybe Claira can then carry on with whatever she was doing before you got involved with her, maybe I can too."
Jason watched her leave as he stood in his empty living room of his empty beach house.
Claira ventured out early the next day to find Jason sitting at the kitchen table staring in to his cup of coffee.
"Erm hi." She said trying to grab his attention.
He sighed and looked at her choosing not to speak but slowly acknowledged her.
She grabbed a cup from the rack and poured out a cup of coffee and moved around him to sit down facing him.
"I want to start on the carpet in the spare room this week sometime." She said trying to get some reaction out of him.
He sipped his drink and slightly nodded.
She looked around the room then back to Jason.
"What happened after I went to bed last night with you and Alison?"
He now looked at her.
"Nothing." He said rising to his feet and moving to the sink to pour away his coffee.
"Nothing as in?"
"What do you think nothing means to you Claira?" He said turning back to face her. "Nothing, zilch, nada, the big goose egg."
"You mean you didn't."
"Didn't what?"
"You know, what men and women get up to when the kids have gone to bed."
He stared at her then moved away.
"Hey, dad!"
He stopped and turned round.
"Look, lets get one thing straight from here on in Claira, I am not your father, you are not required to call me dad anymore because."
"Because you messed up last night."
He stared at her then went out on to the beach for a walk. He soon realised that Claira was following. He stopped and allowed her to come level with him.
"What part of me walking away from you don't you understand?"
"Hurh?"
"I don't want you around me anymore, get it?"
"Why are you mad at me for? I didn't luck out last night. Big deal, so you didn't get laid, she'll be back, you'll see."
"I doubt it." He said walking on.
"Why, what did you do that really sent her cold?"
He carried on as Claira stopped.
"Did you talk about me? Dad wait, did you talk about me last night?" She said running up to him.
Jason now stopped and focused in on her in front of him.
"I guess it wasn't hard to notice that we. Claira, I don't know anything about you and we go straight in to, in to what I did. Ah, forget it, it's over with. I lost and Alison is better off without me."
"Are you?"
"Hurh?"
"Are you better off without her?"
Jason allowed her words to wash around him like the sea on to the shore that morning and collapsed on to the sand as Claira's feet.
"I've lost her Claira. I've lost the only women I have ever loved over, over a stupid lie and there is no way that I could ever get her back."
"She doesn't know that it's a lie."
"It's not hard for her to realise that we're not a family."
Claira moved in next to him and rested her shoulder on his.
They walked back to the house a few minutes later hand in hand.
"I've got to get on with the bedroom." Claira said moving forward.
"Sure, you carry on."
"What do you think about what I said earlier?"
"Hurh?"
"About getting the carpet sorted out. Dad, didn't you listen to a word I said?"
He looked at her.
"Why are you still calling me dad, I'm not your."
"You want your relationship with Alison to work, don't you? I kind of like her, and."
"Yeah, and?" He said moving up to her.
"I'm sure that you can work something out." She said pushing him back.
"Claira, you!"
Jason now ran after her.
Monday morning soon came and Jason headed in to the office as usual.
"Hey Jason, what did you do to that dizzy girl the other night? She's called in sick this morning."
"I haven't done anything to her."
"A likely story."
Jason now thought about her.
Some hours later Jason was surfing the net when he came across an adoption agency by chance and quickly grabbed the phone.
Claira started to pull up the remains of the old carpet in the spare room as the dust flew around the room.
She soon heard coughing from the doorway and looked through the dust to Alison standing in the doorway.
"Alison!" She said jumping up.
"I was wondering if anyone was going to be here."
"Where else would I be? This is my home." She said looking around.
"Is it?" Alison said looking at her.
The dust settled as they looked at one another.
Alison now walked out.
"Wait, please!" Claira said jumping over the carpet to stop her reaching the front door.
She turned back.
"What, what made you realise that Jason wasn't my dad?"
"A few things, the fact that you didn't really talk about the room as your bedroom. The father daughter relationship thing seemed so, nice, so new, so."
"Fake?"
"That too."
Claira smirked which slowly raised a smile from Alison.
"I'm sorry." Claira said looking down.
"Why do you need to be sorry?"
"Dad and you seemed so, so."
"Real?"
They looked at each other.
"Yeah well, maybe we were, for a while."
"Maybe we could still be."
"Dad!" Claira said looking up.
Alison turned round and faced him.
"I'd better be going." She said moving out past him.
"Alison!" He said stopping her.
"I, I want you to read this, then just maybe we could be a family." He said handing her a legal document.
Claira looked on as Jason moved back towards her and kissed her.
"What's going on?" She said moving in close to him.
"Shoosh let her read it. I want her to make her own decision."
"On what?
Jason looked at her.
"On your future."
"My?"
"That's if you want me as your father and Alison as your mother."
Claira looked at him as he hugged her.
"Dad?"
"Yes? Ohh yes."
Alison now looked up from the document.
"This is all legal?"
"I'm just waiting for confirmation."
"From whom?"
"From possibly the future Mrs Weaver on whether she'd like to join this family as my wife and mother to my child."
Claira now forged forward.
"Say yes Alison, then I can give up my place under the boardwalk for a nice cosy bedroom in a fashionable beach house.
"Fashionable?" Jason said behind her.
"Well, it will be fashionable once I've finished with it. Subject to contract conditions of course."
"Oh of course." Jason said laughing.
They now looked to Alison again.
"Erm, Claira, I need to talk to Alison alone. Would you mind?"
"Sure, I understand. See you later, mom!" She said running off.
Jason moved up to her.
"Hi."
"Hi." She said watching him.
"I hear the beach is a good place for a walk."
She looked back then to Jason and nodded.
They moved on to the beach hand in hand.
"You did all this just to, just to keep me?"
"Well, not just you. Claira's contract on her bedroom would have been up soon, and I really wanted her to stay around and you of course."
"Oh, of course."
Jason stopped her.
"I'm asking you to marry me, Alison and have Claira as our child."
"Well she's hardly a child."
"You know what I mean."
"Yes, yes I do." She said looking towards the horizon.
"Will you, will you marry me?"
Jason watched her look down to kick the sand between her feet then looks up and faces him.
"Yes, I will marry you." She said smiling.
Jason now grabbed her and passionately kissed her.
A while later the family went for a walk along the beach as the sun went down.
THE END