Fonder.
chapter one
“Why do you have to move to America?” the small boy asked the younger girl, trying not to cry. He rubbed his sparkling blue eyes when she wasn’t looking in attempts to not seem like a cry baby. “You’re my best friend, it isn’t very fair.”
The brown haired girl looked over at the chunky faced boy. “Joshy, don’t cry. I’ll be home during the summers and we’ll get to play then.” Her words seemed to comfort the six year old. The two children were too little to truly understand what her parents’ divorce truly meant. The only thing that they understood was she was moving across the globe. She embraced him in a tight hug and mumbled into his chest, “I’ll miss you the rest of the year, though.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” he replied, returning the hug. A few teas hit his arms and he frowned. “Emmie, please don’t cry.”
“Okay.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled away from her best friend. “I’m scared. I’m going far away, and I won’t have you or papa.”
“I know, but you’ll come back and we’ll always be right here,” Josh said, smiling sadly at her. He pulled her back into a hug and kissed her forehead. When she looked up with a confused look on her face, he blushed. “Er, my dad does that to my mum before he leaves for work. Sorry,” he mumbled.
Emmie smiled at him and scrunched her face. “Josh, are you saying we’re gonna get married?” She started giggling, before pecking him on the cheek in return. “You’re funny.”
That memory was distant and blurry in Emma’s mind and it definitely wasn’t on her mind when her dinner date was interrupted with a phone call from a hospital in Surrey, informing her of her father’s arrival in the hospital. It also wasn’t the first memory that came to mind up when she got off of the plane in the same dress she wore to her date and a light jacket, because it was the only coat in her closet in her Californian apartment.
She jumped into the first cab she saw and threw her suitcase in the backseat. “I need you to get to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“It might be a bit of a drive,” replied the taxi driver. “The weather is awful. They’re going to start cancelling flights soon.”
Emma sighed and fell back against the seat. The taxi passed through town in what seemed like a slow manner as her mind flooded with a thousand thoughts. She tried to push all of the racing thoughts of her father’s condition as she watched the snow fall heavily against the surrounding buildings. Some places brought back memories of her childhood in Surrey. Not every memory was the best, but anything that took her mind off of the current situation.
She forced herself to get lost in a string of memories of her youth, remembering her childhood friends and all of the crazy adventures they’d have. She wasn’t sure if it upset her or made her happy, remembering things she had tried so hard to forget. By the time she had realized they arrived at the hospital, she had tears welling in her eyes. She wiped them away before paying the taxi driver and jumped out of the car into the frigid winter air of Surrey.
For five thirty in the morning, the hospital was busy. People were buzzing around her, some injured and others family that had come along with them. She approached the desk, but the nurses were too busy to tell her where her father was.
She was pacing in front of one of the desks, running her hands through her wavy hair and cursing under her breath. After thirty minutes of pacing and complaining about seeing her father, a nurse finally took her back to see him.
“He had a heart attack,” the nurse said, flipping through papers. “We’re keeping him for another two days to monitor his recovery. You can go in and see him.” She stopped outside of the door that read 313 and opened the door for Emma to go in.
Her father had aged since the last time she’d seen him. His once dark brown hair was dull and had grey hairs scattered throughout it. His face had more wrinkles than before and he looked wore down, though that was more than likely because he was in a hospital—one of the places that he hated to be.
He face perked up when she walked in the door though. “Oh my, Emmie. Look at you!” he said, his voice still deep and smooth as it had be all throughout her childhood. It brought a smile to her face. “Are you all dressed up to come see me?”
She wiped a tear that was forming in her and nodded. “Of course so, daddy,” she replied. “I’ve missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Of course I’m okay,” he stated. “I’m the great Robert Frost—no relation to the poet, of course.” After all of these years, he was still making that joke. She giggled a bit as she sat down on the chair that was next to his bed. “It’s going to take a lot more than a heart attack to keep me from going.”
“I’m really glad, daddy.”
The brown haired girl looked over at the chunky faced boy. “Joshy, don’t cry. I’ll be home during the summers and we’ll get to play then.” Her words seemed to comfort the six year old. The two children were too little to truly understand what her parents’ divorce truly meant. The only thing that they understood was she was moving across the globe. She embraced him in a tight hug and mumbled into his chest, “I’ll miss you the rest of the year, though.”
“I’ll miss you, too,” he replied, returning the hug. A few teas hit his arms and he frowned. “Emmie, please don’t cry.”
“Okay.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and pulled away from her best friend. “I’m scared. I’m going far away, and I won’t have you or papa.”
“I know, but you’ll come back and we’ll always be right here,” Josh said, smiling sadly at her. He pulled her back into a hug and kissed her forehead. When she looked up with a confused look on her face, he blushed. “Er, my dad does that to my mum before he leaves for work. Sorry,” he mumbled.
Emmie smiled at him and scrunched her face. “Josh, are you saying we’re gonna get married?” She started giggling, before pecking him on the cheek in return. “You’re funny.”
That memory was distant and blurry in Emma’s mind and it definitely wasn’t on her mind when her dinner date was interrupted with a phone call from a hospital in Surrey, informing her of her father’s arrival in the hospital. It also wasn’t the first memory that came to mind up when she got off of the plane in the same dress she wore to her date and a light jacket, because it was the only coat in her closet in her Californian apartment.
She jumped into the first cab she saw and threw her suitcase in the backseat. “I need you to get to the hospital as soon as possible.”
“It might be a bit of a drive,” replied the taxi driver. “The weather is awful. They’re going to start cancelling flights soon.”
Emma sighed and fell back against the seat. The taxi passed through town in what seemed like a slow manner as her mind flooded with a thousand thoughts. She tried to push all of the racing thoughts of her father’s condition as she watched the snow fall heavily against the surrounding buildings. Some places brought back memories of her childhood in Surrey. Not every memory was the best, but anything that took her mind off of the current situation.
She forced herself to get lost in a string of memories of her youth, remembering her childhood friends and all of the crazy adventures they’d have. She wasn’t sure if it upset her or made her happy, remembering things she had tried so hard to forget. By the time she had realized they arrived at the hospital, she had tears welling in her eyes. She wiped them away before paying the taxi driver and jumped out of the car into the frigid winter air of Surrey.
For five thirty in the morning, the hospital was busy. People were buzzing around her, some injured and others family that had come along with them. She approached the desk, but the nurses were too busy to tell her where her father was.
She was pacing in front of one of the desks, running her hands through her wavy hair and cursing under her breath. After thirty minutes of pacing and complaining about seeing her father, a nurse finally took her back to see him.
“He had a heart attack,” the nurse said, flipping through papers. “We’re keeping him for another two days to monitor his recovery. You can go in and see him.” She stopped outside of the door that read 313 and opened the door for Emma to go in.
Her father had aged since the last time she’d seen him. His once dark brown hair was dull and had grey hairs scattered throughout it. His face had more wrinkles than before and he looked wore down, though that was more than likely because he was in a hospital—one of the places that he hated to be.
He face perked up when she walked in the door though. “Oh my, Emmie. Look at you!” he said, his voice still deep and smooth as it had be all throughout her childhood. It brought a smile to her face. “Are you all dressed up to come see me?”
She wiped a tear that was forming in her and nodded. “Of course so, daddy,” she replied. “I’ve missed you so much. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“Of course I’m okay,” he stated. “I’m the great Robert Frost—no relation to the poet, of course.” After all of these years, he was still making that joke. She giggled a bit as she sat down on the chair that was next to his bed. “It’s going to take a lot more than a heart attack to keep me from going.”
“I’m really glad, daddy.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Rewritten, and a lot better.