Hey guys! Sorry this took a little while, but I'm finally on school holidays! Here's the next chapter!
Umbre0n: I honestly burst out laughing when I read your comment! :D Oh, and just you wait... I'm planning on Izzy letting two more people in on the secret... They'll be revealed in due course...
hera98: Thank you! ;)
DreamGirll: Not sure where you recognise the date from... :/ Oh well, I'm glad you liked the last chapter!
Ashe: Thank you! Hope you'll keep reading to see what happens...
Bookworm741: I'm so glad you like it! Enjoy this chapter!
MrAndersIversen: I'm glad to hear you're not confused anymore. Thank you so so much for yet another wonderful review! :)
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
Chapter 9 ~ Hello Hello
November 25th 2011, New York City
Isabelle stepped out of the taxi, paid and thanked the driver, and headed up the front steps to the NYPD, putting her cellphone headphones back in her ears, "Sorry Katie, I'm back. What were you saying...?"
It was about 5 o'clock, and Izzy had decided to come to the precinct to meet up with her dad.
"I said, 'what's the next stage of the plan?'," Kaitlin repeated.
"Probably picking one for now, then chat with them," Isabelle shrugged, entering the police station and approaching the elevator. She sighed, stepping into the lift, "I just hope I can find someone for Dad..."
"Well, you've got four great possibilities..."
"Actually three..." Isabelle corrected. "Turns out Cameron isn't quite as old as she says she is..."
"How old is she?" Kaitlin asked.
"27."
"You're kidding!"
"No, she is. The second I found out, I fed her profile to our paper-shredder," Isabelle replied, before she heard Kaitlin laugh. When she said 'paper-shredder', she really just meant 'Maximus', who could turn a piece of paper into confetti in mere seconds. "I mean, she seems like a nice enough person, but at the end of the day, anyone Dad gets together with could end up becoming my step-mum. And in this case, I just wouldn't be comfortable having a step-mum who wasn't even 15 when my birth mum gave birth to me."
"Rightly so," Kaitlin agreed. There was a moment of silence, before Kaitlin asked, just as the elevator doors parted, "Isabelle... Are you sure you know what you're doing?"
Isabelle stopped just outside the elevator, her gaze instantly falling on a tall figure sitting at a desk across the room. His head was resting in his right hand, while he held a picture frame with his left, his thumb rubbing slow, small circles on the edge of the frame. Teardrops slowly dripped from his chocolate brown eyes, rolling down his face and collecting in his goatee.
Isabelle continued to silently watch her dad. In that instant, her mind was made up. This wasn't just a one-off thing... This was, whether he let on or not, every day for nearly 26 months. And it had to stop. Now...
"Izzy? You okay?"
"I'm better than okay, Katie... I'm ready," she replied, still watching her dad, "I'm standing here, watching Dad just sit there staring at that picture of Mum with tears in his eyes... He needs this..."
Across the room, Eugene brushed away the tears on his cheeks, placing the picture frame back in its usual place. He sighed shakily, turning away from the frame. Noticing Isabelle, he smiled at her.
"I have to go, Katie," Isabelle sighed. "Talk to you soon."
With that, Isabelle hung up the phone, slipped it in the pocket of her jacket, and began walking towards her dad's desk.
He straightened as she neared him, "Hey, sweetheart. How was school today?"
She shrugged, replying simply. "Uneventful."
Eugene chuckled, standing up with some files in his hand, "Well, I'll just get these where they belong, then we'll head home. Okay?"
"Sounds good to me."
Eugene kissed his daughter's forehead, before walking off. Once sure he was gone, Isabelle swivelled round on her heels and walked up to Jessica's desk. It wasn't a long walk, as the two desks were right next to each other.
"Hey you," Jessica smiled. "How's... you know...?"
Izzy giggled, "It's going okay... Thanks again for checking those profiles for me."
"It's a good thing I did too!" Jessica replied jokingly. They both laughed a little, before Jessica sighed, "You made a decision yet?"
Isabelle smiled, "I'm gonna go for it."
Eugene appeared, and stood just outside the elevator. Noticing him, Jessica pulled the teen into a hug, and whispered in her ear, "Good luck."
Isabelle smiled gratefully at her, before joining her father at the elevator.
That night, Los Angeles, California
Rapunzel stepped back from the wall, admiring her work, and a triumphant smile spread across her face. It was just after 7pm and she was working on the continuous mural that ran across every wall in her house. Pascal was dosing peacefully on her desk, while her dad, who'd driven down from Malibu for dinner, was finishing off the washing-up for her.
The artist turned to look at her father, "What do you think?"
Her dad, Richard, looked up at the newest painting on the wall and smiled, "The mural's looking great, sweetheart."
"Thanks Dad." Rapunzel looked at the wall a moment longer, before starting to put her paints away, "I think I'll give it some drying time before adding anything else..."
"Sounds like a plan to me..." Richard replied, placing the sodden tea towel in the laundry basket. "Maybe once you've finished packing up, you could have a look through those profiles..."
"Dad..." she started threateningly.
"I'm just saying," he added quickly, holding his hands up in defence, "There's no point signing up to Internet dating if it doesn't go any further than... you know... signing up..."
"For the record, I already have been through those profiles," the artist corrected, rinsing her paintbrushes. "I just can't make up my mind on what I'm doing... This just seems... weird to me... Meeting a guy I could end up marrying over the Internet..."
"I met your mother over a supermarket checkout," her father pointed out.
"That's not the point!" Rapunzel sighed, drying off her paintbrushes, "Daddy... do you think I'm doing the right thing? You know, having this account...?"
"Of course! This is part of growing up. A little rebellion; that's good! Healthy even," Richard replied.
"DAD!"
"I'm kidding... Listen, Rapunzel, you're an accomplished artist, and while you may not have a very busy job, it's nevertheless time-consuming; it takes a while for you to get a painting exactly how you want it. And it's not like you spend all your time painting... You have other things to do on top of that... You deserve someone who'll love you with all his heart. And that someone might just be the first of your matches to say 'hello'..."
His daughter smiled slightly, glancing back down at her paintbrushes.
"Come on... You know what I mean..."
Rapunzel's head instantly shot up. She knew what her father was going to do. "Daddy, no. No..."
Ignoring her, he started singing, "Feet are feeling light..."
Rapunzel tried not to laugh as a smile spread across her face. Even if it was just them and Pascal, her father's singing was amusingly embarrassing. "Daddy, stop!"
Not listening, again he continued, "Head on out to see the sights..."
The artist giggled, "Daddy, don't sing!"
"Ain't life a many splendored thing?" Richard gave his daughter an extravagant bow, as well as an expectant smile.
Rapunzel huffed, smiling all the same, and continued, "Ducking up and down, all these crazy sights and sounds, bounce around like puppets on a string. Never gonna find, anything to change my mind... Famous last lines of a fool..."
Richard chuckled, before completing the verse, "Just when you think, your chain is just one link⦠Something comes to tip you off your stool..."
Rapunzel smiled, and looked down at the ground. Looking back up, she asked, "You really think he's out there?"
Shaking his head, her dad replied, "Rapunzel... I know he's out there."
She smiled again, and gave her dad a hug, "Thanks Dad..."
"You're welcome, sweetheart..."
She pulled back from the hug, and turned to look at the chameleon sitting by her computer. "Hey Pascal... has Cousin Jerry emailed me those pictures yet?"
The animal stirred at the sound his name and yawned.
"Hold on, I'll check," Pascal replied, scampering over to the mouse. With his two front paws, he moved the mouse for a moment or two, then waited. After a few seconds, a knowing smirk appeared on his face, before he answered, "Nothing from Jerry. But, uh... You do have something else of interest..."
Rapunzel walked over to her desk and sat down, as Pascal added, "A message. From one of your matches..."
Rapunzel read the email and saw that Pascal was right. It was a simple message - just a basic 'hello' - but then again, it was the first.
"Who's it from, sweetheart?" Richard asked, appearing behind her.
"Eugene Fitzherbert," she replied, reading through the email. Something about the name seemed ever-so-vaguely familiar. "Hold on..."
Reaching towards a small stack, the artist flipped through the profiles, until she found what she was looking for. Pulling Eugene's from the stack, she read through the page, gasping softly when she found why the name sparked her attention.
"He's the one doing it for his daughter..." she mumbled quietly.
"What do you mean, sweetheart?"
Rapunzel handed her dad the profile for him to read, "Eugene; he lost his wife to leukaemia about two years ago... His daughter made him see that he couldn't keep grieving the way he was and convinced him to try and find love again."
"Hm... She sounds like quite a kid..." Richard added, handing the profile back to his daughter. "And her father doesn't sound too shabby either..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Rapunzel, this guy is an accomplished policeman, he's quite clearly a loving father, and he is ruggedly handsome... Maybe not as much as yours truly, but-"
He trailed off when his daughter nearly choked on her own laughing fit. The artist coughed a couple of times, before calming herself down. She looked back at the computer screen and her smile faded. Richard sighed, and placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders.
"Rapunzel, sweetheart... I know you've been hurt before, but that doesn't mean you'll get hurt again... You're an incredible, gifted, beautiful young woman who deserves to have someone wonderful in her life. And you never know... This, "Eugene"-" Richard waved a hand at the computer screen, "- just might be the guy you've been waiting your whole life for... But you'll never know 'til you give him a try..."
Rapunzel turned to see a small, encouraging smile on her dad's face. Making her decision, she smiled back at him. Turning back to her computer screen, she laid her fingertips on the keyboard and typed one word in reply...
'Hello.'
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
There we have it... Thank you Dad for giving me ideas for Rapunzel's dad! *smirks and rolls eyes* The song Rapunzel and her dad sing is 'Hello Hello' by Elton John and Lady Gaga from the movie 'Gnomeo and Juliet'. Anyway, please review!
