Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone.
A/n: please r/r – thanks to all who have reviewed so far, thanks for your encouraging comments.
Chapter 12 – Finding Dad ~ part three
"I'll go and have some lunch and I'll be back in about an hour, if I'm not back by the time you want to leave then just pull the door to on your way out." Allison said as she got her coat from the rack and made her way out of the room. Before leaving entirely she said, "Just take as much time as you need. Leila, John, you both have a lot of time to catch up on."
"Thanks" John responded, never taking his eyes off of his daughter. He got up from his seat and made his way across the room to where Leila stood. "Hi" he simply said, a smile touching the very edges of his lips.
Leila looked at him bewildered; there was no long hair, no earrings and no 'rockers' clothing in sight. This smart handsome man that stood before her was her father. He didn't look anything like his earlier pictures, but then that had been so long ago. Age had obviously made him more refined, that and his job. But there was no mistaking the family resemblance and he had obviously picked up on that too.
"Hi" she replied, not knowing whether to smile, laugh, cry. So many emotions to choose from. Noticing this, John took one final step towards her and wrapped he up in probably the best hug she had ever had. It wasn't like no one had ever hugged her before but knowing that this man should have been there for her whilst she was growing up made this seem more favourable. She felt a surge of love trickle through her body, which sent her mind reeling, the next thing she knew she was crying uncontrollably. Holding her closer to him, John also started to feel such a mass of sentiment that he too began to cry.
Twenty minutes had easily passed before they both found the courage to pull away from one another, feeling safe in the knowledge that the other would still be there when they withdrew from their embrace.
"So kiddo," John said wiping the tears from her face and smoothing her hair behind her ears, "you're Leila, my daughter."
She acknowledged with a nod. "And you're my dad, John." She replied.
He too nodded, solemnly at first but then with more vigour. "Has you mum ever told you anything about me?" he asked.
"Not very much, for a long time she lied to everyone. Told us all that you had been killed in an accident at work."
"And I guess you had no reason to disbelieve her." Leila shook her head.
"When did she tell you the truth?"
"Yesterday," came the reply, bitter and angry, 'another Bender trait' John thought. "And because of that I haven't been able to bring myself to talk to her since."
"She must be worried" he remarked, "you need to let her know where you are, you know."
"I know, Brian knows. I've been telling him so that he can tell mum."
"Yeah, he's a good friend. She'll need to hear from you though, eventually."
"Yeah, I suppose. Why did she run away from you, dad?" He knew the question would have had to come out sooner or later.
"I don't know, she hasn't been able to tell me yet." He reclaimed his seat, rested his elbows on the table in front him and put his head in his hands. Rubbing his face gently he said, "Why, Claire, why on earth did you have to be so cruel."
Leila walked over to where he was sitting and moved the other chair around to sit by his side. Once sat, she leant over putting her arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his back.
"Do you still love her, dad?" she enquired.
"Yes … I love her more than life itself," he replied.
"But?"
"No buts, Leila. I love her, plain and simple, and I believe I love her more now I know I have you. I'm just sorry that haven't been there for you, that you had to rely on Brian instead of me."
"Dad, relax, it's okay, really," Leila said "and I didn't rely on Brian too much. Okay, he helped out occasionally, but mum was very strong and independent, in the end all I needed was her. I'm only sorry that I wasn't allowed to get to know you sooner. At first, she obviously felt it better for me to not know the truth about you, thinking that I might want to find you when she did eventually tell me and begin to rake up all those emotions that she had managed to lay to rest. Then perhaps, she felt it was too late to tell me knowing that with every day that passed it was harder and harder for her to tell me and everyone else the truth. Keeping up the charade she had begun my life with was a lot easier for her. The only problem being when she got that invitation from Allison, I think she must have finally realised that the truth was going to come out."
"For someone so young, you're a bright kid" John said, "I only wish I had half your insight when I was your age, then maybe things could have been different." He looked at her and pinched her cheek. She responded with a smile.
"Dad, I really don't think there is any point the two of us dwelling on things past. We've found each other now and we have to move on. I'm angry with mum, yes, as you are too. But thinking about it, she must have had her reasons. What we have to do now is make her realise that she can have her life with you again."
"Whoa! What exactly do you mean by that, that she and I can be together?"
"Dad, you love her, right?"
"Right?"
"And she loves you!"
"How do you work that one out, young lady? And besides relationships are a lot more complicated than I think your giving credit to."
"Why, why do things have to be complicated? When I got home last night mum was lying on the sofa, asleep. She must have been there a while, she was distressed and wretched looking, like her whole world had fallen apart."
"That doesn't mean she loves me" he looked at her warily.
"It does when she says your name over and over. She was having this dream and it was pretty animated."
He started to smirk at the idea of Claire having a physical dream about them, 'not so pristine, after all,' he thought.
Leila continued "It's not like she hid you away from me either, she has this box, like a jewellery box. Brian gave it to her. She has all of the old photo's of you and her, the prom night, the 'club' together and she has this one diamond earring."
John's eyes met Leila's; it was now his turn to stare in astonishment. 'Too much sentiment for her not to love you' his heart bellowed. His breath became rapid, coherent thoughts rapidly fell silent in his head. "Leila, could you describe the earring?"
"A single diamond stud, she never wears it or anything, it just sits there in that box."
"What does the box look like?"
"Its made of a dark wood like oak, may even just be stained to look like oak – I don't really know too much about it, I've only seen it a couple of times. You look really different now, from those pictures I mean."
"For the better?"
"Yes … but then I suppose you can't really go around with long hair and black gloves when you work for a newspaper. I can see why she liked you then though; I would have liked you too. You may have acted tough then but I think you've always had a heart of gold, really."
"Yeah? Nice of you to say, thanks. I'll have to tell you about your grandparents someday though."
"Are they alive?"
"Why?"
"Mum said they had gone too."
"My mum is still around, but she is a very bitter woman. My dad passed on several years ago now. That box you know, I have one too. I keep my prized possessions in it too, my photos of Claire and the guys, one of me with mum and dad, and a diamond earring – the matching one to that that your mother has. She gave me that eighteen years ago, it was the day the five of us all had detention together. It was also Claire that initiated our first kiss too, if she hadn't then she would never have given me the earring and … did she ever tell you this?"
"She told me about the detention, but she would never tell me anything about you – so I never knew about the earring. Every time she looked at those pictures her eyes would glaze over and she would go into a state of disharmony. A week ago I had got home from work and could hear the taps to the bath running. When I went to see what mum was up to she had obviously turned them on with the intention of getting in but she was nowhere to be seen. After I'd cleaned up a bit, I went into her bedroom, she was sitting at her dresser touching the mirror, as if she was touching someone, her other hand was on your photograph. I didn't say too much, I knew she wouldn't appreciate it, so I just made some crack about re-modelling to include a swimming pool inside the house. Dad I'm sorry."
"Good gag, your take after father for wise cracks," he mused. "That box she has, it's an exact copy of one I have at home. I made both of them in 'shop', Brian was failing another one of his projects so I gave him one and kept the other for myself."
"Brian told me that mum had seen it and had fallen in love with it. He had had it in his office and she couldn't take her eyes off it, so he gave it to her. Did he know you had made one for yourself too?"
"No, I thought it best not to let him know, he would have only worried about it. Has Brian ever told you anything?"
"Not really, I guess mum swore him to secrecy, but then she did lie to him too, perhaps he felt weird telling me, perhaps he felt it would be better coming from her."
"Wise man … with your mum's temper, that is. It's a stupid man that would cross her. Did you ever have any other uncle's?"
"No. None. She never entertained the idea. Like I said before, Brian used to help out occasionally, normally to baby sit me when mum went on business trips and the like, and the only other men that ventured over the threshold were mum's brother and granddad. Nana never came."
"That doesn't surprise me. She never could stand me and I suppose when Claire 'disgraced' herself by falling pregnant with you, grandmother never showed her face."
"I don't know! However, what I do know is this. You and mum need to sit down together and sort out this mess you've both got yourselves into. Then maybe, we can become a proper family."
"And how exactly do you think we're going to manage that."
A/n: please r/r – thanks to all who have reviewed so far, thanks for your encouraging comments.
Chapter 12 – Finding Dad ~ part three
"I'll go and have some lunch and I'll be back in about an hour, if I'm not back by the time you want to leave then just pull the door to on your way out." Allison said as she got her coat from the rack and made her way out of the room. Before leaving entirely she said, "Just take as much time as you need. Leila, John, you both have a lot of time to catch up on."
"Thanks" John responded, never taking his eyes off of his daughter. He got up from his seat and made his way across the room to where Leila stood. "Hi" he simply said, a smile touching the very edges of his lips.
Leila looked at him bewildered; there was no long hair, no earrings and no 'rockers' clothing in sight. This smart handsome man that stood before her was her father. He didn't look anything like his earlier pictures, but then that had been so long ago. Age had obviously made him more refined, that and his job. But there was no mistaking the family resemblance and he had obviously picked up on that too.
"Hi" she replied, not knowing whether to smile, laugh, cry. So many emotions to choose from. Noticing this, John took one final step towards her and wrapped he up in probably the best hug she had ever had. It wasn't like no one had ever hugged her before but knowing that this man should have been there for her whilst she was growing up made this seem more favourable. She felt a surge of love trickle through her body, which sent her mind reeling, the next thing she knew she was crying uncontrollably. Holding her closer to him, John also started to feel such a mass of sentiment that he too began to cry.
Twenty minutes had easily passed before they both found the courage to pull away from one another, feeling safe in the knowledge that the other would still be there when they withdrew from their embrace.
"So kiddo," John said wiping the tears from her face and smoothing her hair behind her ears, "you're Leila, my daughter."
She acknowledged with a nod. "And you're my dad, John." She replied.
He too nodded, solemnly at first but then with more vigour. "Has you mum ever told you anything about me?" he asked.
"Not very much, for a long time she lied to everyone. Told us all that you had been killed in an accident at work."
"And I guess you had no reason to disbelieve her." Leila shook her head.
"When did she tell you the truth?"
"Yesterday," came the reply, bitter and angry, 'another Bender trait' John thought. "And because of that I haven't been able to bring myself to talk to her since."
"She must be worried" he remarked, "you need to let her know where you are, you know."
"I know, Brian knows. I've been telling him so that he can tell mum."
"Yeah, he's a good friend. She'll need to hear from you though, eventually."
"Yeah, I suppose. Why did she run away from you, dad?" He knew the question would have had to come out sooner or later.
"I don't know, she hasn't been able to tell me yet." He reclaimed his seat, rested his elbows on the table in front him and put his head in his hands. Rubbing his face gently he said, "Why, Claire, why on earth did you have to be so cruel."
Leila walked over to where he was sitting and moved the other chair around to sit by his side. Once sat, she leant over putting her arm around his shoulders and rested her head on his back.
"Do you still love her, dad?" she enquired.
"Yes … I love her more than life itself," he replied.
"But?"
"No buts, Leila. I love her, plain and simple, and I believe I love her more now I know I have you. I'm just sorry that haven't been there for you, that you had to rely on Brian instead of me."
"Dad, relax, it's okay, really," Leila said "and I didn't rely on Brian too much. Okay, he helped out occasionally, but mum was very strong and independent, in the end all I needed was her. I'm only sorry that I wasn't allowed to get to know you sooner. At first, she obviously felt it better for me to not know the truth about you, thinking that I might want to find you when she did eventually tell me and begin to rake up all those emotions that she had managed to lay to rest. Then perhaps, she felt it was too late to tell me knowing that with every day that passed it was harder and harder for her to tell me and everyone else the truth. Keeping up the charade she had begun my life with was a lot easier for her. The only problem being when she got that invitation from Allison, I think she must have finally realised that the truth was going to come out."
"For someone so young, you're a bright kid" John said, "I only wish I had half your insight when I was your age, then maybe things could have been different." He looked at her and pinched her cheek. She responded with a smile.
"Dad, I really don't think there is any point the two of us dwelling on things past. We've found each other now and we have to move on. I'm angry with mum, yes, as you are too. But thinking about it, she must have had her reasons. What we have to do now is make her realise that she can have her life with you again."
"Whoa! What exactly do you mean by that, that she and I can be together?"
"Dad, you love her, right?"
"Right?"
"And she loves you!"
"How do you work that one out, young lady? And besides relationships are a lot more complicated than I think your giving credit to."
"Why, why do things have to be complicated? When I got home last night mum was lying on the sofa, asleep. She must have been there a while, she was distressed and wretched looking, like her whole world had fallen apart."
"That doesn't mean she loves me" he looked at her warily.
"It does when she says your name over and over. She was having this dream and it was pretty animated."
He started to smirk at the idea of Claire having a physical dream about them, 'not so pristine, after all,' he thought.
Leila continued "It's not like she hid you away from me either, she has this box, like a jewellery box. Brian gave it to her. She has all of the old photo's of you and her, the prom night, the 'club' together and she has this one diamond earring."
John's eyes met Leila's; it was now his turn to stare in astonishment. 'Too much sentiment for her not to love you' his heart bellowed. His breath became rapid, coherent thoughts rapidly fell silent in his head. "Leila, could you describe the earring?"
"A single diamond stud, she never wears it or anything, it just sits there in that box."
"What does the box look like?"
"Its made of a dark wood like oak, may even just be stained to look like oak – I don't really know too much about it, I've only seen it a couple of times. You look really different now, from those pictures I mean."
"For the better?"
"Yes … but then I suppose you can't really go around with long hair and black gloves when you work for a newspaper. I can see why she liked you then though; I would have liked you too. You may have acted tough then but I think you've always had a heart of gold, really."
"Yeah? Nice of you to say, thanks. I'll have to tell you about your grandparents someday though."
"Are they alive?"
"Why?"
"Mum said they had gone too."
"My mum is still around, but she is a very bitter woman. My dad passed on several years ago now. That box you know, I have one too. I keep my prized possessions in it too, my photos of Claire and the guys, one of me with mum and dad, and a diamond earring – the matching one to that that your mother has. She gave me that eighteen years ago, it was the day the five of us all had detention together. It was also Claire that initiated our first kiss too, if she hadn't then she would never have given me the earring and … did she ever tell you this?"
"She told me about the detention, but she would never tell me anything about you – so I never knew about the earring. Every time she looked at those pictures her eyes would glaze over and she would go into a state of disharmony. A week ago I had got home from work and could hear the taps to the bath running. When I went to see what mum was up to she had obviously turned them on with the intention of getting in but she was nowhere to be seen. After I'd cleaned up a bit, I went into her bedroom, she was sitting at her dresser touching the mirror, as if she was touching someone, her other hand was on your photograph. I didn't say too much, I knew she wouldn't appreciate it, so I just made some crack about re-modelling to include a swimming pool inside the house. Dad I'm sorry."
"Good gag, your take after father for wise cracks," he mused. "That box she has, it's an exact copy of one I have at home. I made both of them in 'shop', Brian was failing another one of his projects so I gave him one and kept the other for myself."
"Brian told me that mum had seen it and had fallen in love with it. He had had it in his office and she couldn't take her eyes off it, so he gave it to her. Did he know you had made one for yourself too?"
"No, I thought it best not to let him know, he would have only worried about it. Has Brian ever told you anything?"
"Not really, I guess mum swore him to secrecy, but then she did lie to him too, perhaps he felt weird telling me, perhaps he felt it would be better coming from her."
"Wise man … with your mum's temper, that is. It's a stupid man that would cross her. Did you ever have any other uncle's?"
"No. None. She never entertained the idea. Like I said before, Brian used to help out occasionally, normally to baby sit me when mum went on business trips and the like, and the only other men that ventured over the threshold were mum's brother and granddad. Nana never came."
"That doesn't surprise me. She never could stand me and I suppose when Claire 'disgraced' herself by falling pregnant with you, grandmother never showed her face."
"I don't know! However, what I do know is this. You and mum need to sit down together and sort out this mess you've both got yourselves into. Then maybe, we can become a proper family."
"And how exactly do you think we're going to manage that."