(Charlotte's Father)
*October 11th, 1941*
*12:15 pm*
*Central Park*
A few days had passed since homecoming as Anya, Charlotte and Mary were having lunch together as they discussed the previous events and the future.
"Man, that sure sounded like fun, I wish I was able to come but too bad I'm an orphan and not of age" Mary had spoken out in a tone of awestruck while Anya and Charlotte nodded their heads in agreement.
"I agree, it would have been so much fun for you but to change subjects, how have you been lately? I know it's been a few days since we've last seen each other and whatnot" Charlotte had spoken back to her friend as she handed Anya a piece of a sandwich while waiting for her answer.
"I've been doing fairly well! Just been listening to Mrs Harrison's lectures and avoiding getting in trouble of course but overall, I've been doing well" Mary had answered back as this made Charlotte and Anya happy at the fact that their friend was doing well.
"Wonderful! I'm glad to hear that and speaking of Mrs Harrison, how has she been doing lately?" Charlotte had asked her friend once more in a happy tone of voice as Mary began to speak once more.
"She's been doing well and she's just been taking care of me and my other orphan siblings but other than that, she's doing quite good but that reminds me, Do you happen to know a man named Patrick?" Mary had spoken back to her friend as this made Charlotte's eyebrow raise up in curiosity as she began to speak.
"Um, no? I've heard about him due to Anya's interactions with him but I'm afraid I don't know him, why do you ask?" Charlotte had answered back in a tone of curiosity as she waited for her answer.
"Well, some strange man who goes by Patrick asked Mrs Harrison if she's ever seen someone named Charlotte and he's claiming that he's your father…" Mary had answered back as this caught Anya and Charlotte by surprise as both of their eyes had widened.
"My father? What business does he have with me? One day he left me and my mother when I was young and now he wants to talk to me? That's honestly selfish of him but what else did he say.." Charlotte had spoken out in a rather irritated tone of voice while waiting for an answer.
"That's pretty much it but all Mrs Harrison said was that she wasn't sure about your whereabouts and he has left.." Mary had answered back while Charlotte nodded her head in understandment as Anya began to speak.
"There's no way Patrick is actually your father! I know there's no pictures of him but I just think he's lying or something but that's honestly me" Anya had chimed into the conversation as Charlotte nodded her head in agreement.
"Yeah, Patrick was always quite the odd person as Anya described him to be so I just think he's lying but I honestly don't wanna talk about my father anymore so can we just change subjects, plz?" Charlotte had requested to her friends in a rather annoyed tone of voice while Anya and Mary nodded their heads in understandment.
"You're right, sorry for bringing up your father. I know it's a sensitive topic and I should have been more aware of it…" Mary had spoken back in a complete understanding tone of voice as Charlotte began to speak once more.
"It's okay. It's not your fault or anything and I'm honestly glad you've brought it up since I can now avoid Patrick so don't beat yourself up too much, okay?" Charlotte had spoken back as she regained her usual demeanor and tone of voice while giving Mary a smile as this was watched by Anya.
"Could it be that Patrick is actually the father of Charlotte? I do recall him asking me how she's doing and other stuff? I have a feeling that things are only gonna get even crazier…" Anya had thought to herself as she continued to chat amongst her friends for the remainder of their lunch hour.
*8:26pm*
A few hours had passed since the incident as Charlotte was sitting in her room as she looked at the beautiful lit city as she thought about the events of today.
"Why would my father even want to see how I'm doing when he's failed to do the same for my mother? Assuming that Patrick is my father of course" Charlotte had spoken to herself as she looked over to see a photo of her, Emma, and the rest of their friends during their time at the festival which made her smile as she suddenly remembered the good times that she's had with them as she got up from her bed and proceeded to head towards the kitchen where her mother was at to see if she needed any help.
"Good Evening Charlotte, you seem awfully quiet today, Is there anything on your mind?" Mrs Smith had asked her daughter in a tone of concern while washing her hands in the kitchen sink as she waited for a response.
"Honestly, yeah. I've just been thinking about my father lately since one of my friends had told me that allegedly he came to her place and asked about my whereabouts and claiming he was my father…" Charlotte had answered back as this made Mrs Smith suspicious as she placed her fingers on her chin to think about the events.
"It couldn't be, right? There's no way Patrick wants to connect with the child and even mother he left all those years ago…" Mrs Smith had thought to herself as she let out a sigh before walking towards the living room area as she opened the drawer to take out a photo of her, Patrick, and Charlotte when she was a baby.
"Mother, Is Patrick really my father?" Charlotte had asked her mother as she walked over to the living room area to sit next to her while waiting for an answer as her mother began to speak.
"Yes, He's your father. He originally went by Peter Smith however he's changed his name to Patrick Bates and I know this because he's sent me letters confirming this but he's just a deadbeat father who doesn't care about me or you.." Mrs Smith had answered back in a disappointed tone of voice as this made Charlotte's eyes widen in shock and surprise as she tried to process this information.
"N-No way..this whole time…Anya was talking to my father…Patrick is…" Charlotte uttered out in shock as she stared at the photo as she looked over to see Patrick which made her angry.
"How could he? The audacity to leave you and me and now he wants to talk to me?! He doesn't even care about your own wellbeing?! If he decides to show his face here than I don't want nothing to do with him!" Charlotte had cried out in anger as there was suddenly knocking on the door which prompted Mrs Smith to get up from her couch as she walked towards the door.
"Just a moment.." Mrs Smith had called out in response as she opened the door and to her surprise, it was no other than Patrick.
"Sarah? Is that you? It's been an awfully long time since I've seen you, how's our daughter doing?" Patrick had spoken out to Mrs Smith as he looked over to his former wife's side to see Charlotte running upstairs.
"Leave, NOW! I have no business with you anymore so please leave now or I'll phone the police'' Mrs Smith had advised towards her former husband as she shutted the door right in his while sighing to herself as she sat on her couch while looking out of the window to see Patrick walking away before closing the windows to proceed on with her night.
*Charlotte's Room*
Charlotte was laying in her bed as she thought about the events that had transpired.
"I can't believe it, my father actually came and tried to talk to me and my mother. He's truly got some nerve!" Charlotte had thought to herself as she peered out to her window to see Patrick slowly walking away as she suddenly had an idea.
"Wait, If I can just know WHY he left then maybe I can finally be at peace with this, I gotta let mother know before he gets too far" Charlotte had spoken out to herself as she quickly got up from her bed to run towards the living room area which startled her mother.
"Charlotte, what seems to be the matter?" Mrs Smith had asked her daughter in a tone of concern as she waited for her answer.
"Let Patrick enter this home, I feel like he needs some explaining to do…" Charlotte had spoken back in a serious tone of voice as this request made Mrs Smith eyes widen in surprise as the both of them knew that they must finally face the man who left them all of those years ago.