Baby, I'm A Dreamer For Sure

I was running around in the kitchen, trying to fix the last things. Everything would be perfect tonight. I smothered down the apron I was wearing over my new dark green dress. I ran a hand through my hair as I checked the potatoes in the oven. They weren’t done just yet. I looked at the clock, feeling a little stressed as Sophie, Alex and Natalie would be here any minute.

My mom came into the kitchen with a smile on her face. “Everything going alright? Do you need anything?” She asked as she went and picked up her purse from one of the kitchen chairs.

“I think I’ve got it all covered, thanks.” I smiled at her. I took out four plates and started setting the table.

“Alright then, have fun, and I’ll be back tomorrow around noon, okay?” She came over and gave me a hug.

“Okay, yeah.” I hugged her back and said goodbye to her as she left the house. I took the cheesecake I had made yesterday out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator so it would thaw a bit before we ate it.

Just as I took the potatoes out my phone started ringing. I furrowed my brows wondering who would be calling me at this moment. I looked at the caller ID and frowned at my dad’s mane flashing across the screen. “Hello?” I answered, a little uncertainly. I actually hadn’t spoken a word to him since he moved out, which was almost a month ago.

“Hi, Jessica!” I heard his voice on the other line. “Happy birthday, sweetie.”

“Thanks.” I mumbled, not knowing exactly what to say to him.

“How’s your day so far?” He asked in a happy tone, like everything was just fine and dandy between us.

“It’s been fine, I have a few friends coming over soon.” I sat down at the table while a talked to him.

“That’s nice. Look, I have your present here, but it’s not like I can send it or anything.” He laughed a little awkwardly and then cleared his throat.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

“It’s a car.” He said proudly.

“A car?” I asked shocked. That was unexpected. I had never thought I would get a car from him. Honestly when he moved I had almost not expected to hear from him ever again. Even when he lived here we didn’t have the best father daughter relationship. We didn’t have much of a relationship at all to be honest. We were just two people living under the same roof, exchanging about a few words a week. All communication we really had went through mom. And now that they had separated I guess he had to step up his game to be a part of my life. I wanted to have a good relationship with him but I wasn’t going to bug him and call him all the time. I wanted him to be the one to reach out to me; he was after all my father.

“Yeah, I figured you’ve had your license for about a year but you haven’t got to use it so much. And with it, you can come and visit me any time you want.” So he had an ulterior motive for it, but I was happy anyway.

“Really?” I asked, grinning. He was showing with that, that he wanted to be a part of my life.

“Yeah, I also wanted to ask you if you wanted to come live with me for the summer.” He said, making me speechless. Live with him for the whole summer? I didn’t know how I felt about that. “I’ve just got settled into this nice one story house. It’s not big but you’ll get your own room and everything. I know I’ve got to work a lot since I just got this job I can’t take so many days off, but I’ve got this neighbor who owns a small bookstore in town and I’ll be able to get you a job there, so you can earn some money on your own.”

I didn’t know what to say. I did want to see him, but for the whole summer? “Wow, dad, I don’t really know what to say…”

“You don’t have to decide right now, I just want you to think about it. I know I haven’t been the best father I could be, but this whole… thing has made me open my eyes. I miss you, and I want us to be able to talk to each other.” I noticed how he hesitated on mentioning the divorce, which led me to believe he was still torn up about it. Mom was taking it pretty hard too. She always smiled and tried to be strong in front of me but I could still see it in her eyes.

“Alright, I’m gonna think about it and I’ll call you back in a few day, okay?” I told him before saying goodbye. I sat there at the table just thinking about things. I had no idea what to do.

I put smile on my face as the doorbell sounded. I walked out into the hallway and opened the door. “Happy birthday!” All three of them screamed and took turns in hugging me, Alex giving me a kiss as well.

All through dinner, I kept thinking about the offer. I knew Natalie was going to visit her grandmother in Florida over the summer. Sophie had gotten a job in a clothing store at the mall thanks to her mother working there. Alex would be gone on tour for the whole summer. And what would I do with my time. If I went to Chicago I would have a job there too. Maybe it was for the best.