I am sorry that I have dropped the ball in not only keeping up to date with my stories but writing in general. I can place blame on a numerous amount of things but it all comes down to me on not having the drive to write. I do have the spark back.
The idea from the very start of this story was to have Zoe the school nurse and as her backstory developed while writing, I found it hard for her to be away from the hospital, so if I disrespected anyone by calling Zoe a nurse while working at the school I am incredibly sorry about that. And I will explain more indepth on why Zoe is working as a school nurse as opposed to full time at the hospital in what should be the next chapter.
Enjoy!
"Any certain cravings for dinner tonight?" Wade questioned his daughter on the drive home, letting the run in earlier in the day drop, as he didn't want to embarrass his daughter anymore than she probably already felt. Some things she clearly wasn't comfortable enough to talk to her father with, and this is one of the few times he wouldn't push her into doing so.
"Mexican and not tacos," she told him. "Can we just get take out tonight, from that authentic Mexican restaurant and not the imitation place?"
"Sure thing. Let me know what you want, and I will pick it up closer to dinner time unless you decide you want to eat there," he commented, giving her the option.
"I will let you know after I have finished my homework and do a quick look at what I have learned in the rest of my classes," she told him.
"Sounds good," he told her, pulling into the driveway, not bothering with putting the car in the garage, since they would be needing it once more.
"How do you know Mrs. Stevens?" Aria questioned, pausing on the stairs, ready to run up them at any moment needing to escape her father.
"Doctor I met over the weekend," he told her, flipping through the mail he grabbed on his way inside.
"Huh," Aria said, rushing up the stairs, having a feeling her dad was holding back something from her.
Wade shook his head, walking to his office dropping the mail on the desk, placing his bag on the floor. Rubbing a hand over his face, he grabbed the few bills that came and opened them, to get them paid.
"Hey, dad, I need you to sign this," Aria said, handing him a slip of paper.
"What's this for?" He asked, taking the very obvious permission slip. "Is this something you want to do?" He asked her. "I have no problem signing this and paying the fee, if you really want to join the softball team."
"I do," she nodded. "It won't have any conflict with my school work; my grades won't drop, please dad?" She begged, giving him her famous puppy-dog look, the one he could never refuse.
"Okay," he told her. "I will get this filled out; we will have to get you in for a physical," he informed his daughter.
"Cool, thanks dad," she smiled, leaving him be once more. Setting it to the side, he went back to finishing off the bills, giving the slip one final look over before seeing what questions needed to be answered and signing his name and the date.
With that done, he went to start a load of laundry, not that he had a lot to wash, since Aria washed her own clothes these days. With the wash started, he headed to the living room to watch a bit of TV going over his lesson plan for tomorrow.
"If I read another word from a textbook, I feel like my head might explode, and I would hate for you to be in tears scraping my brains from the walls," she exaggerated, falling on the couch. "Do we really have to watch this?" She whined, swiping the remote from the coffee table, flipping through the channels, to find something to watch.
"This is why you have a TV in your room for," he chuckled, placing his pen down. "What makes you think I would clean your brain matter from the wall? I'd make your uncle do it; I would be too busy crying my eyes out to leave my bed, if it ever happened," he clarified.
"What a weird way of saying you love your daughter," she dryly told him. Leaving the channel on the same show her dad had it on, since she couldn't find anything else to watch.
"Better than not saying it at all," he smirked. "You decided if we are eating in or at home?" He questioned, standing and stretching his back out.
"In, please," she requested, switching the TV off.
"Okay," he said, grabbing the car keys, his wallet still in his back pocket, his cell in the front pocket of his pants. "Anything else before or after dinner?" He questioned, ushering her outside, locking the door behind him.
"I am tired of looking at pale pink walls," she shrugged. "Mind if we repaint the walls?" She asked, looking at her dad over the hood of the car.
"What do you have in mind?" He asked, motioning for her to get in the car.
"Blue or purple, maybe both," she shrugged, buckling up. "I need new shelves too," she told him.
"Why do I get the sudden feeling you are trying to sucker me out of a whole new bedroom? Something wrong with your bed? Dresser? Do you need new clothes while you're at it?" He asked with an amused smile on his face, eyes trained on the road.
"If you're offering, I'm certain I can find plenty wrong with everything in my room," she shrugged.
"It will have to wait. We can go slowly over the next few months, not all at once," he told her pulling into a hardware store. "We'll start with the walls and shelves this time around," he suggested.
"That's fine dad," she said, pushing her door open after releasing the belt buckle. "To save your bank account, I'll have a talk with mom, see if she will take me shopping again to where I can actually bring the things home with me," she said with an eye roll, walking next to father.
"Please do not guilt trip her into buying you anything," he warned, pulling the door open, letting her walk in first.
"I won't," she replied, leading her father to the paint section of the store.
Wade looked at paint samples while his daughter looked over the multitude of purple and blue paints, his eyes roamed over the different colors of green, finding that his room could use a massive upgrade from the eggshell white his ex-wife picked out for the bedroom. He could go with a hunter green, forest green, seafoam green or even a crocodile green if he so chooses. Shaking his head, he would consider changing his room around when he finished with Aria's room.
"Find the colors you want?" He questioned walking to the end of the aisle where his daughter seemed to be in a struggle with three different colors.
"Navy and I can't decide which purple to get. Do I go with wine, orchid or amethyst?" She asked, holding the three colors up for her dad to see.
"You picked navy already?" He asked, getting a nod in confirmation. "The wine color here would make your room a bit darker and not light," he shrugged. To him, it wouldn't be right. His daughter had always been a bright light in his life.
"True, I don't need to have a dark room; I want it to be more vibrant," she remarked, looking at the other two colors.
"Now you are on your own because those two colors are the same," he said, looking from one square to the other, not able to tell the difference between the two.
"Of course not," she giggled. Examining the colors once more. "I'm leaning towards the amethyst," she commented, settling on the two colors she wanted.
"If you're sure," he said, letting her back out if she wanted to.
With one final look, her mind stayed made up on the navy and amethyst colors. Informing her dad, she did, in fact, want them. Getting the assistance needed, they walked out of the store with two cans of paint each, saying if they needed more he would come back and get another can.
"You want to tell me about your day at school?" Wade questioned now that they had their food. He made it a point in the day after school at any given time to ask his daughter how school had been for her. Staying a part of her life was natural for him.
"Same as always really. Learned new things, went over things we had already learnt. We have a science project. Paired up today with a syllabus on what we need to do," she rattled off.
"Are you happy with your partner?" He asked, knowing from personal experience how difficult it can be to work with someone you don't get along with.
"I think so, if I could actually talk to him that is," she sighed.
"Does it happen to be your crush?" He asked, finding the situation amusing. He held no worries about her dating; he didn't like it, and it made him anxious. He would be fine if she never wanted to date. He, however, knew that would never be the case.
"Yes," she groaned. "How do I even talk to him?" She asked, needing help on what to do. As awkward as talking about boys with her dad can be, her dad was her rock and there was no one else she would rather be getting her advice from.
"You just do," he shrugged, watching her roll her eyes. "Push past the nerves you're feeling and talk to him like he is your best friend or whatever."
"You're not helpful at all," she groaned.
"Probably not, you can ask your Aunt or your Grandma," he said. "They might be more helpful than I can ever be. I never let me feelings get in the way while talking to a woman I liked."
"What did you do?" She asked curiously.
"Walked up to them and talked to them, commented on how pretty they looked. Pushed past those feelings and acted casual," he shrugged. "The more thought you put into it the harder it can be on you, walk up to him and say hey, comment on something he has, find an interest he likes and talk about that," he finished saying.
"That might help and if it doesn't I am seeking some private girl talk with Grandma or with Aunt Becky," she let him know.
"I suspected as much. You could always talk to your mom about it," he commented.
"I could, but she wasn't there when we had the other talks, and I don't know if I feel comfortable enough in talking about my crush with mom. It's weird and awkward enough with you; I can't begin to imagine how it would feel with mom."
He nodded letting her have it. He would never push her into having any sort of relationship with her mother. He did know that if and when the bridge would be rebuilt between them; it would be set at the pace Aria needed to be comfortable with, and if it moved faster than she was ready for it would only crumble down and stay that way.
"You talk to whoever you feel the most comfortable with, just don't keep things from me," he stated.
"Kind of hard, when they would tell you to begin with. And as awkward as things are when we talk about my personal life, I like not having secrets from you. Even so, I am getting to the age I need to have some things remain private until I am ready to tell you, dad. You have to respect my privacy."
"I do and I always will. We both know I could be one of those snooping parents to see what you are up too. As long as we have an open and honest communication going on, I have no reason to invade on your privacy," he assured her.
"We will," she assured her dad. "Good, now can we talk about Mrs. Stevens?" She asked coyly.
"Only if you want to tell me what you were doing in the nurses office today," he countered with.
"I need to use the restroom," she remarked getting up, making her way through the restaurant to where the restrooms are located at.
With a sigh, he went back to eating his food, waiting on his daughter to return. He got she wouldn't tell him everything, especially if she found it to be embarrassing. He didn't mind she didn't want to talk about it; he found that he was more upset over the fact there were going to be secrets between them unlike when she was a little girl and told him everything a smile not far from coming out.
When Aria rejoined her father at the table, they ate in silence. She knew from a young age, assured from a young age that her dad would always be there for her. That he wouldn't judge her or question her about things if she needed him in the middle of the night. She liked that about her relationship with her dad. Going to see the nurse, there had been a second part to her agenda. She wanted to know more about the woman that her father seems to be infatuated with. So far, she seemed okay, not that spending 5 minutes with her while she had work to do, counted as getting to know her.
"Are you going to see Zoe? Like date her?" She asked bashfully looking down at her food.
"Date her, I don't know. See her as being friends with her, I think so," he commented. "I have to think about how awkward things would be if we did date and break up because we do work with each other," he said, letting her in on his thought process. Never once in his life, had he gotten back together with an ex over a decade later.
"That might be for the best, but dad, what if things only go right?" She questioned.
"I can't be certain they will go that way. For now being friends with her is all I can offer her, sweetie. Maybe later there can be something more," he said.
"Does that mean you can invite her to dinner as friends?" Aria asked, chewing the inside of her lip.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to invite her over for dinner one night," he shrugged, liking the idea to get to know the more grown-up Zoe. "Why?"
"No reason," she shrugged.
He could sense there was by far more to it than what she let on. Over the years he learnt not to push his daughter because at any given point you could find her to cave not able to resist in letting someone in on her plan of action. He could wait her out.
The following day, Wade walked into the school ready to invite Zoe over for dinner any day she could make it, not wanting to put her out if she happened to be busy. His only problem he couldn't find her in the teacher's lounge nor the nurses office. He really didn't know where else to look for her at, that he figured it could wait until lunchtime.
That plan didn't work out for him either, when he found out that someone else was filling in for Zoe. It put him in a funk for the rest of the day, not sure if she was sick or if family business came up for her. Either way he found himself worried about her. That was something his students didn't miss during class, the bit of information making its way to Aria.
"What happened? Did she turn you down?" Aria bombarded her dad the second they were in the car together.
"What are you talking about?" Wade asked her with a chuckle, turning to look at her after starting the car.
"Really dad?" She asked with a duh voice. "Everyone is talking about how you were out of it today, and I know for a fact what you had planned to do, so what happened, when is the school nurse coming over for dinner?" She questioned, not wanting to play her dad's little game.
"Not really sure, she wasn't in today," he shrugged, putting the car in reverse to pull out of the parking spot.
"That explains the funky mood," she laughed softly.
"What's that mean?" He questioned, now pulling out of the school parking lot.
"You're worried about her," she teased.
"Of course I am; she is my friend," he retorted. "Other than my mood being spread around the halls, how was your day at school?" He questioned. "Did you talk to Chuck?"
"Chuck?" She groaned. "His name is Mitchell," she groaned. "And other than talking about the project we didn't talk and he more than likely thinks I'm some pathetic loser," she sighed, folding her arms over her chest, sinking into the seat further.
"He could never think that, sweetie," he tried to assure her.
"We both know that he can, and you only say those things to cheer me up because you have to since you're my father, and you've loved me since I was in the womb," she retorted with an eye roll.
"That all may be the truth, but I don't tell you things out of an obligation of being your father and loving you. I want you to be happy, so of course I am going to say anything I can to make you smile, but you oughta know by now that I say what I do because it is the truth, we both know that I will tell it like it is for you," he responded.
"I know," she sighed. "Just like you know that even while fighting with you, I love you. Even if I don't say it all the time."
"I love you too, through fights and everything."
He let the silence fill the car. He wanted to know what happened between her and Mitchell to make her think he would think of her as nothing more than a pathetic loser. As much he wanted to ask, he didn't want to push her into it. He wanted to let her come to him, like he knew she would; it is only a matter of time. And it worked out for him when she sighed loudly, from the corner of his eye, he could she is looking at him. Even so, the car moved along in silence.
"Can we talk?" She asked the second they were through the doors. "Please?"
He nodded, walking through to the kitchen pulling a pack of cookies from the cupboard while she got the milk from the fridge, grabbing a glass from the dish drainer, sitting at the counter.
"What's going on, sweetie?" He asked, placing the open container of cookies between them. "Does this have something to do with Mitchell?"
"It has everything to do with him," she sighed, playing with the cookie in hand. Wade waited, eating his own cookie, seeing she needed a moment to say what was bothering her. "He overheard a conversation today, that he shouldn't have," she said softly, looking down.
"What was the conversation about?" Wade prodded, nudging her leg gently with his foot. "I can't help if you don't tell me, sweetie," he told her softly.
"He heard about the massive crush I have on him, and now he won't talk to me or even look at me. What do I do, dad?"
"You find the courage within yourself to tell him how you feel face to face. If you think that is too hard, then write him a letter explaining your feelings and slip it into his locker, but make sure he knows it's from you," he told her.
"What if he doesn't like me?" She pouted, dunking her cookie into glass of milk.
"Then he isn't worth your tears, and you go find some guy that is worth your smiles," he told her.
"I guess, I can do that. Fear can't hold me back," she smiled, hugging her father.
"Never let your fear stop you. Push through it and you will be happy," he said, kissing the top of her head. "I love you."
"I love you, dad," she responded, eating the last of her cookie, before rushing upstairs.