Notes: This is from the movie , and it's from the POV of the chief mechanic, Audrey. In the movie, Audrey says that the reason that she was the chief mechanic for the ship at such a young age was because of her father, and I wanted to expand on that.
Spoilers: Audrey's past, nothing much beyond that.
Disclaimer: Audrey's an awesome character, but sadly, I don't own her. She belongs to Disney, I believe. (well, IS a Disney movie... ^^;)
For My Father
My father always wanted two boys in the family. Tough, strong men that would be the apple of his eye, the chip of the ol' block. One of them would become a master mechanic and help him out at the shop, and the other would become a world-class boxing champion, just for him. Two boys that would carry on the family legacy.
Too bad he got us.
My name's Audrey, and I'm the youngest of the family. My older sister Tina and I are the only two children in my family - I suppose that after I was born, my father just gave up his dreams of having two strong men to carry out his hopes. Truthfully, the only reason that I even know about what he hoped for was because my sister and I overheard him talking about it to my mother once, late at night.
I remember it well. I was only about three years old, but I've always had a pretty good memory, if I do say so myself. My sister Tina was eight, and she had just helped me get a drink of water from the bathroom sink. We were walking back to our rooms when we heard him; my father was sitting in the living room, feet on the footstool as always. My mother was listening to what he was saying with a kind of half-bored look on her face, but my sister and I listened with rapt interest (something, I might add, which was not easy for me to do at that age).
Don't you ever wish that we actually had those two boys, Tasha? my father had asked my mother, not even pausing to hear her answer. I'd be proud of those boys, if I had em. They'd live out my dreams for me. Remember, dear, what I told you? One would become a boxing champion, and the other would be an expert mechanic, to help me in the garage. It would be great if I was able to live those dreams - unfortunately, we don't have boys.
Shush, Mark! my mother said, That's cruel. Just because they're girls doesn't mean that they aren't capable of boxing or working with machines - although, for heavens sake, I wouldn't know why they'd want to. Tina and Audrey are strong young ladies.
My father laughed a bit at my mother's comment, and he replied, I'm not saying they aren't, dear. I just don't want to see my little girls up to their elbows in grease or bruises just because I made them. If I had boys, sure - but this is different. A father doesn't want to see his little girls doing something that would be harder on her than it would be on him.
That makes no sense. my mother replied.
I remember looking at the carpet as I heard them; it was a dark royal blue, with a few stains here and there from spills of juice and milk and such. The light from the room that my father was in cast into the hallway, but my sister and I stood in the dark area, avoiding the light. The door was open, and we were partially hidden behind it.
That night, after my parents had switched to another topic and my sister and I were back in our room, Tina told me that we should try and do what my father dreamed of. We had bunk beds, and mine was on the top. Tina sat up and looked over the side of mine, her dark eyes wide in the eerie darkness, and she said,
I replied, my three-year-old body tired from all the walking that we had just done.
Member what Daddy said, Audrey? she asked, I think that we should do it. We should prove Daddy wrong, and that even though we're girls, we can still do what he wanted us to do if we were boys. Should we?
I murmured back, nodding. Daddy shouldn't think that we don't know how ta do stuff like that. We can.
Tina said back to me, a smile on her face. Goodnight, Audrey.
G'night, Tina.
I smile at that memory. At this day and age, I'm a teenager, and I've just come back from my most eventful trip to the ocean ever, traveling along with the crew as the chief mechanic. As for my sister, she just finished with competing for the championship in the national boxing league.
I'd like to say that we've made our father proud, but I don't know. He never had the chance to say
As I walk up to box that rests before me, white flower in hand, I have to struggle not to cry. My father is the one who taught me about laughter, after all; why should I cry and feel when I could laugh it off? That just doesn't work for some situations, though. Situations that are so deep, so close to you that you just can't find anything funny about it. Or even anything ironic, surprisingly enough.
I lay the flower on my father's grave, and I am struggling not to burst in tears. It would be really embarrassing for me, especially since Vincent and Sweet were able to come to my father's funeral. They're standing over towards the side, one skinny German and a really big black man. I'm sure that they'll never let me here the end of it if I start crying, and I told myself that I wouldn't.
I placed my hand on my father's grave, and I closed my eyes, half for effect and half because I wanted to stop the tears from forming. Silently, I told my father about all that had earliar happened to me - stuff that I couldn't tell him before. About Atlantis, about what really happened to Milo Thatch, about everything. And I made a vow that I would never stop being a mechanic for anything, even if... even if anything. I would never stop. I would always strive on to continue my father's dream. He may be dead, but by God, I will make sure that his dream lives on. I will continue with my life.
For my father.