Chapter 2: Till Death Do Us Part

It was a beautiful afternoon. But then again, everything was beautiful when my Dad was around. His smile could brighten up the most dullest of grey afternoons.

"Daddy..." I mumbled cautiously.

He smiled down at me. His grey eyes twinkled when he smiled. They were the most amazing grey...

We were at the beach, sitting on a bench. He had gotten us our usual ice-creams, chocolate for me and cookie dough for him.

"Yes, honeypiesweetiepooh." He grinned. I giggled. He was the only one that could ever make me laugh, even to this day.

"We were talking in class today about our Mummies and Daddies. Jessica McKane, remember her?" He nodded.

"She came up to the front and told everyone that she didn't have a Daddy. She said he left her and her Mummy when she was only a baby".

His face took on a more serious, but just as gentle expression while I was speaking.

"I felt sorry for her, so I gave her a big hug after class. I can't imagine what life without you would be like..."

There was a calm silence. I looked out at the lapping waves going in and out, in and out. They were always fascinating to me.

"Promise you'll never, ever leave me and Mummy?" I whispered, looking back at him. "Promise you'll stay with us for ever and ever?"

"I promise." he replied quietly, his voice as smooth as velvet. His took my right hand and squeezed it gently.

"Pinky promise?" I held out my left pinky.

"Pinky promise" He shook my pinky with his and we continued licking our ice-creams, joking and chatting cheerfully.

Till death do us part...

I woke with a start. The car had staggered to a halt and taxi driver was calling me.

"Missy? Missy, we're here. Wake up, lass."

"I'm awake.." I mumbled. The ghost image of Dad's smile was painfully fresh in my mind.

I started to put my things back into my backpack. I didn't describe my backpack too well, did I? Well, like I said, my Dad got it for me.

It's a lovely pale blue with black stitching and a embroidered star on the front pocket. It's adorned with all my badges and pins.

"I never caugh' yer name missus," the taxi driver smiled at me. Apparently, he still wanted to be nice to me, even though I was obviously making no effort.

"Scarlett," I replied quietly. "What's it to you?"

He ignored the latter. "Scarlett. Cute name. Yer mam or dad give tha' tah ya?"

I sighed. "My Dad. My Mum wanted to call me Bridie, but Dad said he didn't want his daughter growing up to be an old-fashioned eejit."

He chuckled. "And did yer Dad wanna send ya here?"

"My Dad died three years ago." I muttered while opening the door. I slung my backpack on my back, got out, and slammed the door behind me. The taxi driver got out after me.

"I'm awful sorry lassie," he said while opening the boot. With a grunt, he dragged my suitcase out. It hit the ground with a heavy thud.

I didn't reply. I took the suitcase from him and took my purse out of my backpack. "So, what do I owe you? Twenty? Thirty?"

"Don't worry bou' tha'," He winked at me. "Nook has tha' covered. T'was a pleasure meeting ya, Scarlett."

I smiled at him. Yeah, believe it or not, I smiled. "You too, eh.. what's your name?" I was getting tired of mentally referring to him as 'taxi driver'.

He climbed into the car and closed the door. He started to drive away. I thought he wasn't going to reply when he shouted out the window,

"Me name's Cap'n!"

I smiled once more, this time to myself, and pulled out the handle on my suitcase, ready to wheel it away. I was sort of annoyed at myself for how quickly and easily I became comfortable around Cap'n.

Even though I just smiled at him, it was something other than scowling. It was something new. Different. And it had felt good. Really good.

I turned away from the road, and looked around at my surroundings.

I was in front of a red bricked building with white pillars and large, grey-paned windows. There was a message etched into the marble above the door. I squinted to make out the words.

"Copperbrook was founded in 1927 by Mayor Tortimer, a valiant heart with an image of harmony and unity".

Copperbrook. So, that's where I was. What a strange name for a town.

I walked slowly towards the entrance, and pushed the door open.