Ungrateful
"Hello I'm home"... "Daddddddy" we all shout excitedly and run to him. "I got something for the birthday girl" he said with a smile on his face. "Meeeee" I squeal excitedly as he handed me one of the bags he came home with. I quickly opened the bag to reveal the clothes he'd gotten me. My siblings and I "oohed" and "ahhhed" as we brought out each cloth and inspected it. At the bottom of the bag, there was a sealed nylon bag. I opened it to see the most beautiful jean outfit and a frown began to appear between my brows. My siblings"ahhhed"at it with stars in their eyes but the frown only got deeper and something hot began to burn my eyes just as a wedge lodged itself in my throat.
My siblings looked at me with something akin to envy on their faces. They probably thought that my reaction was because I was feeling overwhelmed with gratitude but I must have shocked them when I screamed "noooo" and ran to my dad with tears running down my face. "This isn't my style, I don't wear things like this, I don't like them" I screamed at him. I took a breath to calm my racing heart and continue more calmly but with no less venom, "all my life, you and mom keep making me wear things I'd rather not. I thought by now, you would have realized that I'm old enough to know what I want and respect them. All these years I've lived with you, I have never worn anything like this but I bet you didn't notice. You were more interested in getting me what you liked instead of what I liked" I told him as I walked out and locked myself up in my room.
"Hey Cecee" my best friend called as she snapped her fingers at me. "Where'd your mind wander to? You totally spaced out on me again" she said with a reproving stare. "Is it your dad?" She asked and I nodded my head weakly. She clicked her tongue sympathetically and patted my back soothingly, "I was just so stuck in myself that I couldn't even see or appreciate his efforts and sacrifices" I said with tears in my eyes as I turned to look at her. "He loves me, he never did say it but he showed it and I was too self-absorbed to see it or appreciate it. I feel really terrible Noni. It took being a thousand miles away from him to finally realize it". I cried as I continued to sob. "Hush now, it's going to be okay. I'm glad you finally realized how much your dad loves you, it took you a while but you finally saw it. Christmas break would be here soon, that'd give you the opportunity to make things better" Noni said as she stood up and dusted the seat of her pants. "But, I don't want to go home " I whisper quietly, "why?" Noni asked "I feel so ashamed" I whispered even more quietly. "Oh my poor baby" she said as she stooped to look into my face, "your dad hasn't stopped loving you. In fact I bet it'd make him happy to see you trying to make things better. You were young and stupid, he understands that". "Hey" I protested weakly as I playfully hit her shoulder. "What?" She laughed as she swatted my arm. "Now, if you're done with the retrospection, have pity on me, and come let's get dinner" she said as she straightened up and extended her hand towards me. "Alright" I said as I let her pull me to my feet. "For someone with such a slight frame, you sure eat a lot" I grumbled at her, "whatever, I'm starving. Your tears have taken a toll on me" she said with a smile in her voice. "Oh yeah", I replied "we finished a whole pot of pasta just an hour ago". "It was just an hour ago? I thought it was ages ago. Well, I'm hungry now". A memory flashed across my mind and I stopped walking. "oh what now?" Noni asked annoyed. "No-nothing" I stuttered, "you sure?", "Yeah yeah I am" I smile at her. "Let's hurry before the diner closes" I said and we both lengthened our strides.
After a very satisfying dinner of steaks, I went back to the memory that had flashed across my mind. It was a memory of one of my earlier birthdays, I think I was 10 or 11 and daddy had gotten me a beautiful jean outfit. I didn't like it at the time I got it but over the years, I grew very fond of it and only stopped wearing it when I grew out of it. So, I lied when I said jean outfits weren't my thing and he must have gotten me the jean outfit on my recent birthday because he remembered how I'd loved the outfit he'd gotten the younger me.
My siblings looked at me with something akin to envy on their faces. They probably thought that my reaction was because I was feeling overwhelmed with gratitude but I must have shocked them when I screamed "noooo" and ran to my dad with tears running down my face. "This isn't my style, I don't wear things like this, I don't like them" I screamed at him. I took a breath to calm my racing heart and continue more calmly but with no less venom, "all my life, you and mom keep making me wear things I'd rather not. I thought by now, you would have realized that I'm old enough to know what I want and respect them. All these years I've lived with you, I have never worn anything like this but I bet you didn't notice. You were more interested in getting me what you liked instead of what I liked" I told him as I walked out and locked myself up in my room.
"Hey Cecee" my best friend called as she snapped her fingers at me. "Where'd your mind wander to? You totally spaced out on me again" she said with a reproving stare. "Is it your dad?" She asked and I nodded my head weakly. She clicked her tongue sympathetically and patted my back soothingly, "I was just so stuck in myself that I couldn't even see or appreciate his efforts and sacrifices" I said with tears in my eyes as I turned to look at her. "He loves me, he never did say it but he showed it and I was too self-absorbed to see it or appreciate it. I feel really terrible Noni. It took being a thousand miles away from him to finally realize it". I cried as I continued to sob. "Hush now, it's going to be okay. I'm glad you finally realized how much your dad loves you, it took you a while but you finally saw it. Christmas break would be here soon, that'd give you the opportunity to make things better" Noni said as she stood up and dusted the seat of her pants. "But, I don't want to go home " I whisper quietly, "why?" Noni asked "I feel so ashamed" I whispered even more quietly. "Oh my poor baby" she said as she stooped to look into my face, "your dad hasn't stopped loving you. In fact I bet it'd make him happy to see you trying to make things better. You were young and stupid, he understands that". "Hey" I protested weakly as I playfully hit her shoulder. "What?" She laughed as she swatted my arm. "Now, if you're done with the retrospection, have pity on me, and come let's get dinner" she said as she straightened up and extended her hand towards me. "Alright" I said as I let her pull me to my feet. "For someone with such a slight frame, you sure eat a lot" I grumbled at her, "whatever, I'm starving. Your tears have taken a toll on me" she said with a smile in her voice. "Oh yeah", I replied "we finished a whole pot of pasta just an hour ago". "It was just an hour ago? I thought it was ages ago. Well, I'm hungry now". A memory flashed across my mind and I stopped walking. "oh what now?" Noni asked annoyed. "No-nothing" I stuttered, "you sure?", "Yeah yeah I am" I smile at her. "Let's hurry before the diner closes" I said and we both lengthened our strides.
After a very satisfying dinner of steaks, I went back to the memory that had flashed across my mind. It was a memory of one of my earlier birthdays, I think I was 10 or 11 and daddy had gotten me a beautiful jean outfit. I didn't like it at the time I got it but over the years, I grew very fond of it and only stopped wearing it when I grew out of it. So, I lied when I said jean outfits weren't my thing and he must have gotten me the jean outfit on my recent birthday because he remembered how I'd loved the outfit he'd gotten the younger me.
