I decided to do a flashback scene. Sorry that it took me so long. I just started a new job and am working crazy hours to get my training out of the way. Thank you to all those who have taken time to write me reviews and also to those who haven't but have taken time to read my work. As always, please let me know how you think I'm doing.
Daddy Dearest: Part 6
By LissaMarie
August 14, 2002
JUST OVER 15 YEARS EARLIER (KAITLYN'S 13th BIRTHDAY)
"I'm really sorry that I have to run out like this, but this meeting is important. It could have a major impact on my career," Chastity Maurice apologized to her daughter as she hurriedly shuffled papers around in her briefcase.
"I know, mom, but it's my birthday. There's no way you can schedule it for another day?" Kaitlyn asked with pleading eyes.
Chastity's only response was a disapproving stare. "You're older now. You have to understand how important my work is to me."
"More important than me?"
"I will not dignify that with a response. Now I have to go," her mother responded closing her briefcase and leaving the house quickly mumbling under her breath.
Kaitlyn watched her go sadly realizing that her own mother never even said "Happy Birthday" to her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kaitlyn's bedroom was tastefully decorated. Her canopy bed with dark red covers was against the wall in the middle with night tables on both sides--Each with a small lamp with shades that matched her bed-set perfectly. On the opposite wall was a wood student desk with papers and pencils situated neatly on it. There were several bookshelves--A couple filled with books while others had candles and statuettes of various saints and angels. On the walls, there was a large painting of St. Mary and smaller icons depicting St. Anne and St. Joan of Arc as well as others.
The room was Kaitlyn's sanctuary. It was her way out of the world. The deep red and low lighting gave the room a dark, but comfortable feel. She looked around her bedroom and touched the gold cross that was on a chain around her neck.
She walked over to the recliner she had set to face her window. Observing the world was easier than living in it. She could see the kids across the street running around after one another, probably playing tag. Candace Miller, the head cheerleader and most popular girl at the local high school, was walking down the street surrounded by a few of her "friends", who in Kaitlyn's opinion were nothing more than mindless drones. Candace and her friends were dedicated to making Kaitlyn's last 3 years of high school a living Hell.
It wasn't Kaitlyn's fault that her mother had her bumped up 2 grades. She hadn't wanted to do that. She had friends before her mother made that decision. After, everyone saw her as a nerd. A kids surrounded by teenagers who dated and giggled. Her old friends didn't want to have anything to do with her, and no one at her school had bothered to get to know her.
Kaitlyn was lonely.
She didn't mean to be, and she didn't want to be...But she was. She had no friends outside of the people at her church, and her mother hardly tried to make time to be with her. He father was on the other side of the continent and might as well be on the other side of the planet. All she wanted was to have a nice birthday, but here she sat alone in her upstairs bedroom looking down at life.
A car pulling in the driveway caught her attention. No one ever came over when her mother wasn't home. Seeing a man climb out of the driver's seat, she jumped up and ran down the stairs.
"Daddy!" Kaitlyn cried as she ran out of the house. She hadn't been expecting him to come. She wrapped her arms around Gil's neck, and he awkwardly hugged her back.
"Happy birthday, Kaite," he whispered in her ear kissing her forehead.
"I had no idea that you'd be here! I would have done something--cooked something or something," Kaite rambled. She released him and stood back. She knew her father wasn't completely comfortable with emotional displays and usually she wasn't either, but with how she was feeling on her 13th birthday of all days, she couldn't resist wanting to hug her dad.
"I wanted it to be a surprise. It's your birthday. We should go out and do something. Would your mother mind us going to dinner?"
"Who cares?" Kaite said sarcastically opening the passenger side door of the rental car.
"I will once your mother decides to chew out my ass." Despite what he said, he still got into the drivers seat and drove off to see her opening the small jewelry box that had been laying on her seat.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"When can I come to visit you?" Kaitlyn asked fingering the new gold necklace she was wearing as they walked down the cobblestone streets. The simple gift had meant more to her than any of the pricey things her mother had ever bought her. Her father had never truly believed in religion, and that he would respect and think of her devotion to the Catholic Church while looking for her gift showed how well he really did know her though he knew he very little (That does make some kind of wacked-out sense--That's the point.)
"I don't know, Kaite. With school and your mother...It will be difficult to work out. There'd be nothing for you out at my house anyway. It's easier with me just coming out here," Gil explained. As much as he loved his daughter, he would always have trouble connecting with her just as he had trouble connecting to anyone. He never knew what to say or do, and he wasn't sure if he could handle being around her all the time without the opportunity to drop her off at home to regroup. For 13 years, he tried but was never able to be the father she deserved.
"Okay, I guess. I'll warn you though--After I get out of college, I'll be moving to Vegas to be with you. Mother is driving me insane!" They both chuckled. "I'm over the nun idea by the way. You will one day have a son-in-law to bother and grandkids to spoil."
"It's nice to know that I'll have that in the DISTANT future. Try to remember that even though you may not feel it, you are still only 13 years old.," Gil told her seriously.
"I know. I've decided that I'm going to be a scientist. A doctor maybe. Or a psychologist. Or maybe I'll go into molecular biology. Or maybe..." This continued the entire way back to the house until Gil dropped her off at the door. Some of her ideas made him smile, and others made him laugh at loud.
Kaitlyn Samantha's 13th birthday that had seemed to be going so terribly left not a single bad memory in her mind.
TO BE CONTINUED...
I don't know. I tried something different with this part. If it doesn't work, at least I can say that I tried. I've noticed that reviews have gone down. Are fewer people reading? I'm still looking for suggestions of how you would like to see this go. I can't promise to go with them all, but they will all be taken into consideration (Except the Sara/Grissom things--With this fic, the thought makes me cringe. She's only 3 years older than his kid!). I have 3 days off so I'll be writing more soon.