Father and Daughter

The booths of the diner were more comfortable than I had expected. Then again, I did just get out of a place with twenty-year old mattresses and feather-stuffed pillows. The overall atmosphere of the diner made me feel like I was back in the fifties with all of the red-and-white themed decor and framed posters of old movies like Rear Window and Seven Samurai. At first, I felt out of place, but being with Dan eased my mind in a way.

Dan smiled at me from across the polished, white table. I smiled back, trying to distract myself from my anxiety. The people in the diner were still looking at us--or perhaps only me. I figured that they didn’t recognize me, so they were just trying to figure out who I was and what I was doing in town. Four middle-aged women in the center of the room leaned toward each other, whispering something while constantly looking in my direction.

“Don’t let them worry you,” Dan said. My head turned back to him. “They haven’t seen me in a while and they certainly have never seen you,” he went on. “They’re just curious folk. They’ll stop looking eventually.”

“They’re kind of freaking me out,” I replied faintly.

Dan chuckled. “It’s a smaller city--people here like to know everything.”

“So, we’re not in the capital anymore?”

He shook his head. “No, we’re two towns south--in Aether Falls.”

“I’m glad we’re not in Helena anymore.”

A young waitress with flowing black hair and big blue eyes appeared at our table with two cups of water and a couple of menus. I took a glimpse at her name tag before I was suddenly distracted by the cleavage of her breasts that peeked out of a slightly unbuttoned uniform top. Her name was Kara.

I peeked at Dan from the corner of my eye, expecting him to be undressing Kara with his eyes, but he was focusing on the menu she had handed him, reading over the different choices. “Can I get you guys anything to drink?” Kara asked in a rather bubbly voice.

I sat up straight and brushed my hair out of my face, attempting to shrug off the self-consciousness I felt around her. “I’ll just stick with water,” I said. “Thanks.”

“And you, sir?” she asked Dan. Her tone of voice had changed into something more flirtatious-sounding. I glared at her while she wasn’t looking, tempted to express my disgust in her mannerisms.

Dan was completely unmoved by her libidinous behavior and said, “I’ll have a Coke,” without taking his eyes off the menu. Kara paused for a second, defeated. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll be right back with that.” She began to walk away, but stopped and turned around.

“Are you Dan Kaufmann?” she asked.

He set the menu down and looked up at her. “Yes, I am,” he said. “I don’t believe we’ve met.”

“We haven’t,” Kara said. “It’s just that you used to be a regular here and we haven’t seen you in so long. Where’s your...” Her eyes widened as she stopped herself. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry... I completely forgot. I’m so sorry.” I could see the fear and guilt in her eyes and it overwhelmed me with confusion.

“It’s alright,” Dan said contently. “I don’t blame you for forgetting.”

Kara nodded and excused herself to go retrieve the drink he ordered.

Dan faced forward in his seat, giving me a quick smile before getting back to his menu. I continued to look at him and waited for him to explain what just happened. A moment later, he looked back up at me. “You can order anything you want,” he said politely. “I’m starving, so I’m certainly going to help myself to something filling. Salad and fruit gets tiring after a while.”

I agreed to that and finally picked up my menu. The various selections they had were gratifying for me to choose from. The orphanage had a set schedule on what we ate every day of the week and the next week, it repeated. Different meals were a rarity. It just depended on Sister Margaret’s mood--which was almost always negative.

I decided on a bacon-wrapped burger with a side of fries and a vanilla shake. My stomach rumbled from the thoughts about the potential tastes. Kara came back with Dan’s drink--her mannerisms much more discreet--and took our orders before attending to other tables.

I looked out of the window while Dan and I were waiting, still feeling discomfort in the crowded diner. Despite that, I was happy to lay my eyes on a new town. The diner was up on a hill, so I was able to see every inch of the town below. There was a main street, where most of the shops and other major establishments appeared to be. The rest of the places were obviously houses and apartments, evenly scattered amongst the trees.

“This town looks so beautiful,” I commented. “I love how it’s surrounded with forest. It’s definitely different than my hometown.”

“What town are you from?” Dan asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Lucretia.”

“I haven’t been there before,” he replied. “But I’ve heard of it.”

I laughed. “Good. From what I can remember, it’s underdeveloped and completely dull.”

There was a pause before Dan asked a question that poked at my heart. “Do you remember much about your childhood?”

I was sure that he had a slight idea about what caused me to be sent into the orphanage, but I guess he just wanted me to speak up about it. I hesitated but I figured that Dan would have to know about my past sooner or later, so telling him early would be easier on me in the long run.

“Not much before I was orphaned,” I said. “Only the major things.”

“Sister Margaret told me your story... I’m very sorry about what happened.”

So, he already knows...

I shook my head. “It’s alright. That was a long time ago.”

Kara reappeared with a large tray with our food on it. She set them out evenly--and most cautiously--upon the table. “Can I get you guys anything else?” she asked, putting the tray under her arm.

“That’ll be it,” Dan said. “Thank you.”

We began to eat almost immediately and when I noticed how fast I was consuming everything, I slowed my pace to match Dan’s. I looked around again, paranoid that the some of the townspeople were still watching me... And I was right.

The same table of middle-aged women leaned in even further, their lipstick-covered mouths chattering incessantly. They believed their whispering was at an inaudible level, but I heard them clearly enough. They were talking about how I was probably some homeless girl that rolled into town and Dan was just giving me a pity meal. Or how I might be Dan’s jailbait girlfriend.

I glanced at Dan’s left hand, checking for a wedding ring, but there was nothing. He was probably as lonely as I was. I’m sure that’s why he searched for me--someone that would put an end to his loneliness and make him smile again.



Dan drove us back to his house with the windows rolled all the way down. The day was thankfully getting cooler as the sun crawled closer to the horizon. He took me through Main Street. The wood structures of all the shops were only inches apart like tightly-knit relatives at a holiday gathering. Plenty of people were walking around on the boardwalks--shaded by the shops’ wooden awnings--but that was expected since it was a Saturday.

Aether Falls looked like an old, Western town and if it weren’t for the cars parked along the road, the place would have looked like something from the late 1800’s.

He slowed the car and pointed to a shop called “Myla’s” on the left. “I own that place over there,” he said.

I was blatantly impressed. “That’s awesome. What kind of shop is it?”

“A curio shop,” he laughed as he continued to drive. “It’s a strange business choice, but it wasn’t exactly mine to begin with.”

I wanted to ask him whose idea it was to run a store that sells and buys rarities, but I didn’t want to seem too inquisitive. I was going to have the rest of my life to ask him these questions after all. But I still had one reasonable question.

“How many people live here?” I asked as Dan turned the car onto another street.

He thought for a moment. “Over fifteen-thousand, I believe. Don’t be fooled by how small Main Street is, though. They’re almost finished with a shopping center somewhere on the East end, so that’s what drew the crowd in from all the other bare towns.”

Main Street disappeared in Dan’s rearview mirror and we were heading uphill, further into the trees. The majority of the houses were spread apart. My guess was that property was cheap out here and people indulged in buying part of the woods, too.

We were halfway up the hill when Dan took a left turn onto a dirt road that had a black mailbox at the entrance. The length of the road was about a quarter mile and it revealed a home that made my jaw drop.

It had a vintage design, adorned with contrasting, black shutters and window frames against the ivory exterior walls. It was modestly sized, but not too small. It was enough to give two people space if they had an argument or just needed to be alone. It appeared as though it were passed down through a few generations, but was evidently new.

When Dan parked the Chevelle, I stepped out to take a long gander at the structure. I had always dreamed of living in a house like Dan’s--hidden away and quiet. Therefore, no one could bother you and the solitary surroundings were breathtaking.

Dan walked up to the front door and opened it for me. My state of awe seemed to make him extremely happy. He motioned for me to walk inside. “Go ahead and take a look. I’ll grab your bag.”

I entered the house, beholding the gorgeous vintage furnishings inside. I felt as though I took a step back in time to another century. I approached the staircase, passing by a console table with various picture frames and used candles on it.

My gaze stretched curiously towards the skylights on the ceiling and my hand ran into one of the picture frames, knocking it onto the floor. Luckily for me, it landed on a rug underneath the table and the glass failed the break. I kneeled and picked up the frame, flipping it over to see the photo.

It was a family portrait of a man, woman, and preteen girl. The man in the photo was Dan. The woman and girl were obviously unknown to me, but seeing all three of their joyful smiles caused something to click in my head.

The sunshine casting through the doorway was suddenly blocked by Dan’s silhouette. He looked at my face and then down at what was in my hands. He set my bag and his briefcase down and took a few steps in my direction. There was neither a smile nor a frown on his face--just a blank expression.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I wasn’t paying attention and accidentally knocked this over.”

“It’s okay.”

I looked down at the picture again, trying to hide my face from Dan with my hair. I was flooded with a morose feeling because I had finally figured out what that waitress was talking about; why those gossip queens kept whispering; and why Dan had said he should’ve been thanking me. It was all coming together. Despite the fact that I felt sure about it, I had to ask Dan.

“Are they...” my voice trailed off. My throat started to tighten as I began to ask the question. It was a sign that I didn’t need to finish.

He gave me a simple nod. I was absolutely positive after that.

Dan’s wife and daughter were dead.