Father of Mine Part 8
(That night after dinner. The cliffhangers are clearing tables and Daisy is helping before she goes back to working in the kitchen.)
Peter and Sophie walk in. "Daisy, your father's here to see you." Peter says.
Daisy takes a deep breath. The other cliffhangers watch her for her reaction. She walks over to Peter and Sophie. "You ready for this?" Peter asks.
"Yea, no problem." Daisy says, but Peter and Sophie can tell she's nervous. They all walk out the door together. The campus is empty, except for at one picnic table sits her father.
"He'd like to speak to you alone." Peter says. Daisy just nods and heads over to the table taking off her apron.
"You think that's a good idea to let them talk alone?" Sophie asked.
"Her dad requested it. And we're staying with in distance to help out if necessary." He answers.
Daisy walks up to the table. "I almost didn't come." She says.
He looks up at her. "I'm glad you did." He says. They stay there awkwardly for a moment.
"Daddy," She says, and for the first time she says it as though it's not a bad word. "What made you come here?"
"I'd like to show you something." He said, looking back down.
"Dad, did you not hear me, I asked why you're here." She says a little unnerved.
Her father looks up at her from where he sits and extends his arm. He opens his hand and inside sits a silver locket. Daisy is shocked. She takes the locket and then sits down, not ever taking her eyes off of it. She is overwhelmed by the fact that he remembers, but then it hits her. "This doesn't change anything daddy. It doesn't make up for what you did to me." She says looking at him.
"I know." He says sadly. "Nothing can take away all the pain I've caused you, but I wanted you to know that I remembered. When your mother died, I went through several of the family albums, including the one I gave to you. I kept thinking about all the good times we had. I wondered what went wrong. I made mistakes. I drank to cover up my pain. Your mother did the same thing. I'm sorry to say that it took me losing my wife to realize how bad my life had gotten." He pauses. "There I was. Sitting in the middle of the living room. I was drunk, covered in pictures of your mother, of you, of happier times. And I began to think about my life." He pauses, looking to her. "I had lost my little girl, I had lost my wife, and after years of hard work and going to this social event and that social event, the only "friend" I had was a bottle of scotch. I knew I had to change. And I knew I couldn't do it on my own. So I found a rehab center and checked myself in."
"Daisy, it wasn't easy for me to go to rehab. Being Sober made me have to face everything I had drunk away." He pauses. "The day I got out of rehab, I went to your mother's grave and I prayed. And then I asked her to forgive me. For not being there for her, for not stopping her that night, and for not realizing how much I loved her until she was gone. And that's why I came here to ask you to forgive me. For not being there for you, for abusing you and for not realizing how much I loved you until you were gone." It's silent for a few moments. They are both thinking. "I know you can't forgive me right away, it was wrong for me to expect you to. I know seeing me makes you remember a lot of pain, that you'd rather forget. So now that you've listened, I'll go." He stands. Then looks down at her, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything that I did to you. For all the pain I caused you. And as much as you might not believe it, I do love you." With that he walks away. Daisy watches him go, tears streaming down her face. She opens the locket and on the inside is the picture from the birthday party.
(That night after dinner. The cliffhangers are clearing tables and Daisy is helping before she goes back to working in the kitchen.)
Peter and Sophie walk in. "Daisy, your father's here to see you." Peter says.
Daisy takes a deep breath. The other cliffhangers watch her for her reaction. She walks over to Peter and Sophie. "You ready for this?" Peter asks.
"Yea, no problem." Daisy says, but Peter and Sophie can tell she's nervous. They all walk out the door together. The campus is empty, except for at one picnic table sits her father.
"He'd like to speak to you alone." Peter says. Daisy just nods and heads over to the table taking off her apron.
"You think that's a good idea to let them talk alone?" Sophie asked.
"Her dad requested it. And we're staying with in distance to help out if necessary." He answers.
Daisy walks up to the table. "I almost didn't come." She says.
He looks up at her. "I'm glad you did." He says. They stay there awkwardly for a moment.
"Daddy," She says, and for the first time she says it as though it's not a bad word. "What made you come here?"
"I'd like to show you something." He said, looking back down.
"Dad, did you not hear me, I asked why you're here." She says a little unnerved.
Her father looks up at her from where he sits and extends his arm. He opens his hand and inside sits a silver locket. Daisy is shocked. She takes the locket and then sits down, not ever taking her eyes off of it. She is overwhelmed by the fact that he remembers, but then it hits her. "This doesn't change anything daddy. It doesn't make up for what you did to me." She says looking at him.
"I know." He says sadly. "Nothing can take away all the pain I've caused you, but I wanted you to know that I remembered. When your mother died, I went through several of the family albums, including the one I gave to you. I kept thinking about all the good times we had. I wondered what went wrong. I made mistakes. I drank to cover up my pain. Your mother did the same thing. I'm sorry to say that it took me losing my wife to realize how bad my life had gotten." He pauses. "There I was. Sitting in the middle of the living room. I was drunk, covered in pictures of your mother, of you, of happier times. And I began to think about my life." He pauses, looking to her. "I had lost my little girl, I had lost my wife, and after years of hard work and going to this social event and that social event, the only "friend" I had was a bottle of scotch. I knew I had to change. And I knew I couldn't do it on my own. So I found a rehab center and checked myself in."
"Daisy, it wasn't easy for me to go to rehab. Being Sober made me have to face everything I had drunk away." He pauses. "The day I got out of rehab, I went to your mother's grave and I prayed. And then I asked her to forgive me. For not being there for her, for not stopping her that night, and for not realizing how much I loved her until she was gone. And that's why I came here to ask you to forgive me. For not being there for you, for abusing you and for not realizing how much I loved you until you were gone." It's silent for a few moments. They are both thinking. "I know you can't forgive me right away, it was wrong for me to expect you to. I know seeing me makes you remember a lot of pain, that you'd rather forget. So now that you've listened, I'll go." He stands. Then looks down at her, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry for everything that I did to you. For all the pain I caused you. And as much as you might not believe it, I do love you." With that he walks away. Daisy watches him go, tears streaming down her face. She opens the locket and on the inside is the picture from the birthday party.
