Chapter 8
THE AWFUL TRUTH
~~~~~~~~~
Daria had managed to talk Jim Bob into eating one of the four little fish, and sneak a picture of him as he ate. They'd just finished them off when Jake had come barreling down the drive, remembering belatedly that there would be a law officer waiting with Daria. She was embarrassed by his pathetic attempt to slow down drastically without seeming to do so.
Jake parked, got out, and came over, seeming at a loss for words. He opened his arms and said, "Hey, sweetheart! How are ya?" Somewhat reluctantly, Daria hugged him. She didn't want to embarrass him in front of a stranger, and he had refrained from calling her 'kiddo'.
"I'm fine, Dad. I've been fishing and enjoying the outdoors. This is Warden Dickinson. Warden Dickinson, this is my father, Jake Morgendorffer."
As the two men shook hands, Daria went to get the two fishing rods. Jake asked the warden, "Where was she when you found her? Was she okay? Was she crying?"
Warden Dickinson said "She was right here, cooking a lunch she'd caught and gathered herself on this solar grille she made herself. She was worried about you, but she seemed to be having a fine time. You're a very lucky man, Mr. Morgendorffer. Daria is an amazing girl." He gave Jake a pointed look. "Take good care of her." Jake, getting the point, looked sheepish.
~~~~~~~~~
Out on the interstate, headed back toward Highland, Daria watched the countryside slide by. The day had started poorly, but had improved quite a bit. She wished she'd been able to talk her dad into staying and fishing a while. It would at least have increased her away-from-Quinn time.
Jake was anxiously sneaking glances at his daughter. She didn't appear to be distraught, depressed, or angry. In fact, she seemed to be in a rather good mood, although with Daria it was hard to tell. He groped for a safe topic to start a conversation.
"Daria, I was wondering, why did you ask for that compass, telescope, and pocket knife for your birthday? I mean, instead of something else, like dolls or clothes?"
"Instead of something normal, you mean?"
"Oh, no, kiddo! I didn't mean it like that!"
"Yes, you did." Daria thought. She said, "Well, I wanted the Swiss army knife because it's so handy for so many things, and it's so well made. The magnifying glass and tweezers alone make it worth carrying, and those little scissors are the best I've ever used. The compass and telescope are useful too, but I also wanted them because they were such important inventions. The compass changed navigation and started an age of exploration and geographical discovery. The telescope changed astronomy, and other sciences indirectly, and started an age of scientific discovery. And I kind of like anything that helps me see better."
Jake looked down at his daughter in her big round glasses, and felt a pang of sorrow. They'd gotten her her first pair when she was three. He remembered how she'd looked so like a little baby owl. Daria had never known normal vision. He realized he had almost no idea what that meant to her. "I wish I could give you perfect vision, kiddo. You know I would if I could."
Daria looked up at him and smiled a little smile. "Yeah, I know, Dad."
Jake beamed. Quinn's smiles were beautiful, but Daria's made the world go away. They were like emeralds, all the more precious for their rarity. Daria had just made his day.
Daria continued "I think I'm too big for dolls now. Anyway, I just never did get dolls. I mean, I know I'm supposed to pretend I'm a mommy and the doll is my baby and stuff, but... it's like, why would I want to do that? Maybe it's because when I think of babies, I think of Quinn. If I pretended my doll was baby Quinn, I don't think the doll would last very long."
"What about pretty clothes?"
"Clothes are something you need, not something you want for your birthday. If my shoes wear out or my jeans get too small, Mom gets me some new ones. A present should be something fun, something you want, not something you'd get anyway because you have to have it. Don't you think so?"
"Yeah, I guess. But don't you want to dress up and look pretty?"
"For what? To go to church and sit on a hard pew for two hours and be told I'm going to die and go to hell? To go to some party and be made fun of, or get pushed down in the mud? To go visit some old people you say are my relatives, who pinch my cheeks and say my how I've grown, and then have to sit for hours with nothing to do and nothing to read in a house full of stuff I can't touch? Why would I want to do that?"
"Not for any particular reason. Just to look pretty."
Daria looked at him as if he were speaking Martian.
"Uhhh... Hey, wanna stop and get something to eat? And a milkshake?"
"Couldn't eat a bite. I had broiled sunfish with herbs, and a side of toasted mushrooms."
"Wow, sounds delicious! You cooked them on that solar furnace thing you made? How'd you know how to build that?"
"I remembered the diagram in that solar water heater brochure you brought home a while ago, how the curved mirrors concentrated sunlight onto the water pipes to heat the water. I changed it a little, into something I could build with the stuff I found, something that would cook food."
Jake was impressed. "And it worked? Just the way you intended it to?"
Daria smirked a bit. "It almost worked too well. It was kind of like trying to cook with a laser beam. Fun, though."
"And you caught and gathered and prepared all that stuff all by yourself! I am really proud of you, Daria. Very proud!"
Daria smiled again. "Thanks, Dad. I'm proud that you and Mom trusted me enough to leave me by myself. That means a lot to me."
Jake looked stricken. Daria looked at him in puzzlement, then concern. When the guilt started to show in his expression, she knew. Now it was Daria's turn to look stricken. What an idiot she'd been. What a fool. They hadn't trusted her. They hadn't had confidence in her. They had forgotten her.
They rode on in silence for a while, Daria staring into the gloom of the footwell and trying to grasp the meaning of that fact, Jake staring at the road ahead and trying to think of something to say. Then Daria noticed Jake's mouth beginning to move, and one hand beginning to make abortive little conversation-type gestures. Before he could actually say something, she unbuckled her seat belt and tumbled into the back seat, then scrunched down in the floor behind the driver's seat, effectively vanishing from Jake's view.
The rest of the way home, except for a minimum of monosyllabic responses, she ignored his feeble attempts at conversation. She had a lot of thinking to do. She made a mental note to ask the librarian for a book on seeing things the way they really were.
~~~~~~~~~
Hang in there for Chapter 9- WE LOVE YOU. YOU LOVE ME NOT
THE AWFUL TRUTH
~~~~~~~~~
Daria had managed to talk Jim Bob into eating one of the four little fish, and sneak a picture of him as he ate. They'd just finished them off when Jake had come barreling down the drive, remembering belatedly that there would be a law officer waiting with Daria. She was embarrassed by his pathetic attempt to slow down drastically without seeming to do so.
Jake parked, got out, and came over, seeming at a loss for words. He opened his arms and said, "Hey, sweetheart! How are ya?" Somewhat reluctantly, Daria hugged him. She didn't want to embarrass him in front of a stranger, and he had refrained from calling her 'kiddo'.
"I'm fine, Dad. I've been fishing and enjoying the outdoors. This is Warden Dickinson. Warden Dickinson, this is my father, Jake Morgendorffer."
As the two men shook hands, Daria went to get the two fishing rods. Jake asked the warden, "Where was she when you found her? Was she okay? Was she crying?"
Warden Dickinson said "She was right here, cooking a lunch she'd caught and gathered herself on this solar grille she made herself. She was worried about you, but she seemed to be having a fine time. You're a very lucky man, Mr. Morgendorffer. Daria is an amazing girl." He gave Jake a pointed look. "Take good care of her." Jake, getting the point, looked sheepish.
~~~~~~~~~
Out on the interstate, headed back toward Highland, Daria watched the countryside slide by. The day had started poorly, but had improved quite a bit. She wished she'd been able to talk her dad into staying and fishing a while. It would at least have increased her away-from-Quinn time.
Jake was anxiously sneaking glances at his daughter. She didn't appear to be distraught, depressed, or angry. In fact, she seemed to be in a rather good mood, although with Daria it was hard to tell. He groped for a safe topic to start a conversation.
"Daria, I was wondering, why did you ask for that compass, telescope, and pocket knife for your birthday? I mean, instead of something else, like dolls or clothes?"
"Instead of something normal, you mean?"
"Oh, no, kiddo! I didn't mean it like that!"
"Yes, you did." Daria thought. She said, "Well, I wanted the Swiss army knife because it's so handy for so many things, and it's so well made. The magnifying glass and tweezers alone make it worth carrying, and those little scissors are the best I've ever used. The compass and telescope are useful too, but I also wanted them because they were such important inventions. The compass changed navigation and started an age of exploration and geographical discovery. The telescope changed astronomy, and other sciences indirectly, and started an age of scientific discovery. And I kind of like anything that helps me see better."
Jake looked down at his daughter in her big round glasses, and felt a pang of sorrow. They'd gotten her her first pair when she was three. He remembered how she'd looked so like a little baby owl. Daria had never known normal vision. He realized he had almost no idea what that meant to her. "I wish I could give you perfect vision, kiddo. You know I would if I could."
Daria looked up at him and smiled a little smile. "Yeah, I know, Dad."
Jake beamed. Quinn's smiles were beautiful, but Daria's made the world go away. They were like emeralds, all the more precious for their rarity. Daria had just made his day.
Daria continued "I think I'm too big for dolls now. Anyway, I just never did get dolls. I mean, I know I'm supposed to pretend I'm a mommy and the doll is my baby and stuff, but... it's like, why would I want to do that? Maybe it's because when I think of babies, I think of Quinn. If I pretended my doll was baby Quinn, I don't think the doll would last very long."
"What about pretty clothes?"
"Clothes are something you need, not something you want for your birthday. If my shoes wear out or my jeans get too small, Mom gets me some new ones. A present should be something fun, something you want, not something you'd get anyway because you have to have it. Don't you think so?"
"Yeah, I guess. But don't you want to dress up and look pretty?"
"For what? To go to church and sit on a hard pew for two hours and be told I'm going to die and go to hell? To go to some party and be made fun of, or get pushed down in the mud? To go visit some old people you say are my relatives, who pinch my cheeks and say my how I've grown, and then have to sit for hours with nothing to do and nothing to read in a house full of stuff I can't touch? Why would I want to do that?"
"Not for any particular reason. Just to look pretty."
Daria looked at him as if he were speaking Martian.
"Uhhh... Hey, wanna stop and get something to eat? And a milkshake?"
"Couldn't eat a bite. I had broiled sunfish with herbs, and a side of toasted mushrooms."
"Wow, sounds delicious! You cooked them on that solar furnace thing you made? How'd you know how to build that?"
"I remembered the diagram in that solar water heater brochure you brought home a while ago, how the curved mirrors concentrated sunlight onto the water pipes to heat the water. I changed it a little, into something I could build with the stuff I found, something that would cook food."
Jake was impressed. "And it worked? Just the way you intended it to?"
Daria smirked a bit. "It almost worked too well. It was kind of like trying to cook with a laser beam. Fun, though."
"And you caught and gathered and prepared all that stuff all by yourself! I am really proud of you, Daria. Very proud!"
Daria smiled again. "Thanks, Dad. I'm proud that you and Mom trusted me enough to leave me by myself. That means a lot to me."
Jake looked stricken. Daria looked at him in puzzlement, then concern. When the guilt started to show in his expression, she knew. Now it was Daria's turn to look stricken. What an idiot she'd been. What a fool. They hadn't trusted her. They hadn't had confidence in her. They had forgotten her.
They rode on in silence for a while, Daria staring into the gloom of the footwell and trying to grasp the meaning of that fact, Jake staring at the road ahead and trying to think of something to say. Then Daria noticed Jake's mouth beginning to move, and one hand beginning to make abortive little conversation-type gestures. Before he could actually say something, she unbuckled her seat belt and tumbled into the back seat, then scrunched down in the floor behind the driver's seat, effectively vanishing from Jake's view.
The rest of the way home, except for a minimum of monosyllabic responses, she ignored his feeble attempts at conversation. She had a lot of thinking to do. She made a mental note to ask the librarian for a book on seeing things the way they really were.
~~~~~~~~~
Hang in there for Chapter 9- WE LOVE YOU. YOU LOVE ME NOT