I felt his lips touch mine so softly, so fleetingly, my heart yearned.
I opened my eyes and watched him silently turn and walk away.
Chapter 24
Kara
Some mornings, I really didn’t want to get out of bed. On those days, I just shut my brain off and went through the motions. It helped when I didn’t think of everything I had to get done and just focused on one thing at a time.
Wake up, coffee, eat breakfast, get ready. Go to class, coffee, eat on the go, drive to work or do some errands, coffee, worry, do my assignments and review. Eat, shower, worry, go to bed. Repeat.
But today was different.
Today, it wasn’t just my body that ached. It was my heart.
I wished I had enough money to move to another province, to another country, to another planet. Maybe the time machine would be invented in my lifetime, and I just hoped I could afford to buy or rent one. Oh, the fun I could have.
Already I could hear the sounds of my dad making breakfast in the kitchen. The thought of him working so hard was the reason I forced myself to move. I knew even after his work at the garage, he would take on some odd jobs for extra cash. Tonight, he was supposed to paint the local gymnasium. If my supervisor at the nursing home didn’t call me tonight, I’d help him out.
I pushed myself up from bed and headed to the kitchen.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” my dad greeted as I sat at the kitchen island. “Here you go.”
I grabbed the coffee he handed me, sipped, breathed it in, sipped some more.
“Cereal or toast?” he asked, like he did every morning because that was all my stomach could take in the morning.
“Toast, please,” I mumbled, my face in my coffee.
“Coming right up. So,” my dad began as soon as he placed the toast in front of me and topped off my coffee. “How’s my favorite daughter?”
“I’m your only daughter.”
“I think in another dimension I probably have ten daughters,” he said, wiping the counter. “But you’d be my favorite.”
I am my father’s daughter through and through.
“I was just thinking of buying a time machine.”
My dad’s eyes sparkled with humor. “If you go first, check out my future self and let me know if I’m still hot, eh?”
I winked at him, forcing myself to cheer up. “You bet.” I watched his back as he went to the sink, washed the rag, hung it over the long neck of the faucet to dry. “Hey, Dad,” I said and waited until he turned to face me. “I got the job.”
When my dad smiled, really smiled, his whole face lit up. It was hard not to smile back. “Oh, baby girl, I knew it. Congratulations! Want pizza tonight to celebrate?”
I nodded happily. “My treat.” I was planning on buying them takeout on my first paycheck, but what was wrong with now? I’d buy them pizza tonight and on my first paycheck.
He frowned. “Oops. Sorry, I just remembered I have extra work tonight. How about tomorrow night?”
Oh, right. The gymnasium.
“That sounds good. I’ll drive to the gym after class and give you a hand if I don’t have work tonight.”
“That’s okay. Dylan will help me for a couple hours and Erwin is coming too. About this new job—”
“Mornin’,” Dylan mumbled as he walked sleepily into the kitchen.
My dad scooped food from the pan and handed him a plate of pancakes and bacon. Dylan grabbed a juice from the fridge, sat next to me, and proceeded to inhale his food. I had no idea how he could eat so much in the morning.