Time Passes. Snow Falls. I Miss You.
One
“Delany Mariah Rydell!” A voice boomed across the store. A small fragile red head shrunk deeper into the corner she was in, hoping not to be noticed.
“Delany! Get your butt over here this instant!” The little red head put down the mop she was using and plodded over to the man. All the customers in the coffee shop had set down their brews, stopped their conversations and turned to watch the scene unfold.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?!” The man asked his teenaged daughter.
The girl looked down at her green apron as a gesture, “Working?” she stated evidently, not missing a beat.
“Don’t talk to your father like that young lady,” he scolded, “and get your ass back home. I’m sick and tired of this!”
“Dad, I’m working today, you know that.” He ignored her and started pulling her towards the door by her arm. “And I’m not going home,” she asserted, yanking her arm free of his grasp. The cold Chicago air hit her bare skin and shivered, wanting to go back inside the warmed coffeehouse.
Her father ignored her remonstration and tugged her along with him, she looked back through the window at her friend who was behind the counter and shrugged. Her friend looked back at her through the Starbucks window and mouthed ‘I’ll call you’ and held her fake hand phone up to her ear.
The girl smiled faintly and nodded as she was pulled into the car and out of the chilling December air. She was not looking forward to the inconvenient drive home, alone with her father.
&&&&&&&
&&&&&&&
Delany picked up her ringing phone, “Buddy the elf, what’s your favorite color?”
“Hey, Dee.”
“Hey, Kate,” she answered back, but not in her cheery voice as before.
“So how long are you in the sack for?”
“A week.”
“Not that bad! I’m proud!”
“Haha, oh yeah. I know how to work them,” she smirked to herself. A week was actually very good considering some of the other times she got grounded.
“Not to be a damper on this momentous occasion, but you better start working on those assignments if you even want to go to that concert, bugger.”
Delany exhaled in defeat, “Yeah, or even graduate for that matter…”
“Yep, well I’m going to study for the physic test tomorrow, talk to you later, Dee.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, see you tomorrow.” She closed her cell phone and rolled her eyes at her friend. Kate was the smartest girl Delany knew. Kate was valid Victorian, president of every worthy to be known club at their school and teachers were in love with her. Delany didn’t know how in the hell Kate was her best friend, they were complete opposites.
“Delany! Dinner!” her mom yelled down the stairs, not sounding like she actually wanted to even serve her troubled daughter food. Delany didn’t let it faze her though, she ran up the steps two at a time, her mood not dampened.
The dinner table was awkward though, Delany forked around her pasta on her plate. The silence was getting to her. She knew her parents were furious with her and anything she said, she would be shot down.
Finally her dad couldn’t take it anymore, he slammed his fork down, “Mariah!” (Her dad only used her middle name when he was so mad he couldn’t remember her first name, well that’s what her little brother said anyways.) “This has got to stop! Your mother and I cannot handle this! If you don’t shape up, we-we… we will ship you off to your grandpa’s!”
Delany cringed, she didn’t like her grandpa all that much. “Kay,” she muttered.
“Del,” her mother started softly.
“Don’t be soft on her, Anna! You cannot baby her anymore!”
“I’m sorry, Todd, but it’s just, I know she--”
“No. Don’t even say ‘she can’t help it’,” he mimicked Delany’s mom in a girly voice. “You can’t stop letting her use her problem as an excuse for all her nonsense!”
“Don’t talk to me like that in front of my children, Todd!” she started to get aggravated.
“They are my children too, Anna! I am their father, and I will talk to them however I want to!”
“Come on, Alex, lets go play with your cars,” Delany stood up, ushering her little brother out of the room, so he didn’t hear the fighting.
Delany was a strong girl, she was independent and usually didn’t let anyone tell her what to do and no one actually got to her and made her feel bad about herself.
But she had this weird feeling in her stomach, something she had never felt before. A strange, nagging feeling and Delany couldn’t help but think that the fighting her mom and dad were doing so often was actually truly her fault this time.
“Delany! Get your butt over here this instant!” The little red head put down the mop she was using and plodded over to the man. All the customers in the coffee shop had set down their brews, stopped their conversations and turned to watch the scene unfold.
“What the hell do you think you are doing?!” The man asked his teenaged daughter.
The girl looked down at her green apron as a gesture, “Working?” she stated evidently, not missing a beat.
“Don’t talk to your father like that young lady,” he scolded, “and get your ass back home. I’m sick and tired of this!”
“Dad, I’m working today, you know that.” He ignored her and started pulling her towards the door by her arm. “And I’m not going home,” she asserted, yanking her arm free of his grasp. The cold Chicago air hit her bare skin and shivered, wanting to go back inside the warmed coffeehouse.
Her father ignored her remonstration and tugged her along with him, she looked back through the window at her friend who was behind the counter and shrugged. Her friend looked back at her through the Starbucks window and mouthed ‘I’ll call you’ and held her fake hand phone up to her ear.
The girl smiled faintly and nodded as she was pulled into the car and out of the chilling December air. She was not looking forward to the inconvenient drive home, alone with her father.
&&&&&&&
&&&&&&&
Delany picked up her ringing phone, “Buddy the elf, what’s your favorite color?”
“Hey, Dee.”
“Hey, Kate,” she answered back, but not in her cheery voice as before.
“So how long are you in the sack for?”
“A week.”
“Not that bad! I’m proud!”
“Haha, oh yeah. I know how to work them,” she smirked to herself. A week was actually very good considering some of the other times she got grounded.
“Not to be a damper on this momentous occasion, but you better start working on those assignments if you even want to go to that concert, bugger.”
Delany exhaled in defeat, “Yeah, or even graduate for that matter…”
“Yep, well I’m going to study for the physic test tomorrow, talk to you later, Dee.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, see you tomorrow.” She closed her cell phone and rolled her eyes at her friend. Kate was the smartest girl Delany knew. Kate was valid Victorian, president of every worthy to be known club at their school and teachers were in love with her. Delany didn’t know how in the hell Kate was her best friend, they were complete opposites.
“Delany! Dinner!” her mom yelled down the stairs, not sounding like she actually wanted to even serve her troubled daughter food. Delany didn’t let it faze her though, she ran up the steps two at a time, her mood not dampened.
The dinner table was awkward though, Delany forked around her pasta on her plate. The silence was getting to her. She knew her parents were furious with her and anything she said, she would be shot down.
Finally her dad couldn’t take it anymore, he slammed his fork down, “Mariah!” (Her dad only used her middle name when he was so mad he couldn’t remember her first name, well that’s what her little brother said anyways.) “This has got to stop! Your mother and I cannot handle this! If you don’t shape up, we-we… we will ship you off to your grandpa’s!”
Delany cringed, she didn’t like her grandpa all that much. “Kay,” she muttered.
“Del,” her mother started softly.
“Don’t be soft on her, Anna! You cannot baby her anymore!”
“I’m sorry, Todd, but it’s just, I know she--”
“No. Don’t even say ‘she can’t help it’,” he mimicked Delany’s mom in a girly voice. “You can’t stop letting her use her problem as an excuse for all her nonsense!”
“Don’t talk to me like that in front of my children, Todd!” she started to get aggravated.
“They are my children too, Anna! I am their father, and I will talk to them however I want to!”
“Come on, Alex, lets go play with your cars,” Delany stood up, ushering her little brother out of the room, so he didn’t hear the fighting.
Delany was a strong girl, she was independent and usually didn’t let anyone tell her what to do and no one actually got to her and made her feel bad about herself.
But she had this weird feeling in her stomach, something she had never felt before. A strange, nagging feeling and Delany couldn’t help but think that the fighting her mom and dad were doing so often was actually truly her fault this time.