Beautiful Disaster
Layla Blair Chapman
Sitting down at the huge table that was in my grandmothers house, I looked around at my family, there must have been thirty people here for my birthday, I felt very loved. But the one person that should be here wasn't and that hurt more than anything. Who couldn't take time off for their daughters birthday? I thought to myself as the cake was being brought out. I looked up and put on my best happy face as the camera guy zoomed into my face catching my reaction to the cake. "Oh I love it, thank you so much!" I say, hoping my enthusiasm doesn't sound too fake. "I'm so happy that everyone is here for my birthday, it means so much to me" I say to everyone sitting or standing around the table trying to get a piece of cake.
We are all talking and laughing at each other and I see my uncle Leland stand up suddenly. Everyone looking at him as he pushed his chair back. I figured he was about to say something silly, or sing Happy Birthday to me as was typical Leland style at these gatherings. "There's something I need to say." he tells everyone, looking at me. Oh lord, he was about to give some sappy speech, I think to myself. I look over at my dad and he just shrugs his shoulders.
"Well, what is it?" my dad asks.
"There's something I need to say. I ... I cant do this any more, I've sat by for so long, year after year not saying anything." he says. Everyone just sits by silently waiting on him to say whatever it was.
"Layla...I'm your father." he says looking right at me.
Silence.
Suddenly, all hell breaks loose in the Chapman household. People are asking questions, my dad is yelling. It's mass chaos. I just sit there stunned.
"SHUT UP!" I hear my dad's voice boom over everyone else's. "What the hell are you doing Leland? Why are you saying such things? You know she's my daughter, don't you dare say something like that to her."
"Brah, I'm not trying to do or say anything other than tell the truth, I'm her father." he says to my dad very calmly. "I slept with Emma three weeks before you got married. I don't know if you remember, but she went to some club with her friends before you got married and I ran into her and that night she went home with me because her friends left her. We slept together that night, and she married you three weeks later. And needless to say, Layla was born eight months later.
I see my grandmother ushering people out the back door while all this is going on. I sit glued to my chair. Not knowing what to do. The camera guys just stand there not knowing what to do, other than keep filming it.
I thought I had seen my father mad before, but this couldn't compare to anything. His entire face was red, his neck was red and he had his fists balled up. I thought he was literally going to kill Leland.
"Look Leland, I don't know if you think this is some kind of sick joke or what. But you apologize to Layla right now." he says looking down at Leland while pointing to me.
"I'm not going to apologize to my daughter about anything. God, Duane I cant believe you haven't figured it out yet. When she was born Emma even gave her my initials; LBC." He says gesturing to me. "She practically named her after me!"
"Layla Blair Chapman" I say quietly, repeating it over and over. I had never thought about how similar our names were. I had never questioned it. Now, I was suddenly questioning my entire life.
We are all talking and laughing at each other and I see my uncle Leland stand up suddenly. Everyone looking at him as he pushed his chair back. I figured he was about to say something silly, or sing Happy Birthday to me as was typical Leland style at these gatherings. "There's something I need to say." he tells everyone, looking at me. Oh lord, he was about to give some sappy speech, I think to myself. I look over at my dad and he just shrugs his shoulders.
"Well, what is it?" my dad asks.
"There's something I need to say. I ... I cant do this any more, I've sat by for so long, year after year not saying anything." he says. Everyone just sits by silently waiting on him to say whatever it was.
"Layla...I'm your father." he says looking right at me.
Silence.
Suddenly, all hell breaks loose in the Chapman household. People are asking questions, my dad is yelling. It's mass chaos. I just sit there stunned.
"SHUT UP!" I hear my dad's voice boom over everyone else's. "What the hell are you doing Leland? Why are you saying such things? You know she's my daughter, don't you dare say something like that to her."
"Brah, I'm not trying to do or say anything other than tell the truth, I'm her father." he says to my dad very calmly. "I slept with Emma three weeks before you got married. I don't know if you remember, but she went to some club with her friends before you got married and I ran into her and that night she went home with me because her friends left her. We slept together that night, and she married you three weeks later. And needless to say, Layla was born eight months later.
I see my grandmother ushering people out the back door while all this is going on. I sit glued to my chair. Not knowing what to do. The camera guys just stand there not knowing what to do, other than keep filming it.
I thought I had seen my father mad before, but this couldn't compare to anything. His entire face was red, his neck was red and he had his fists balled up. I thought he was literally going to kill Leland.
"Look Leland, I don't know if you think this is some kind of sick joke or what. But you apologize to Layla right now." he says looking down at Leland while pointing to me.
"I'm not going to apologize to my daughter about anything. God, Duane I cant believe you haven't figured it out yet. When she was born Emma even gave her my initials; LBC." He says gesturing to me. "She practically named her after me!"
"Layla Blair Chapman" I say quietly, repeating it over and over. I had never thought about how similar our names were. I had never questioned it. Now, I was suddenly questioning my entire life.