The Daughter Trainer

The Daughter Trainer

Ch. XX: Introduction

               If there was one word to describe Marin Kalor, it would be brat.

               However, to her father, she was faultless. It had been the two of them for most of her life, as her mother had died months after her birth, and she knew no alternative. So, her daddy’s attention was hers and hers alone. Every woman that he had been with had left for some reason or another – whether it was due to Marin’s attitude or not, the world shall never know. And I could ramble on and on about Marin’s misadventures. However, I believe it best to let her actions show what words fail to describe.

               A lithe woman slid out of bed, her entire form cloaked in darkness. The dark silhouette that could be seen was dressed in an oversized t-shirt, her hair tousled and knotted. Slowly, she made her way across the bedroom to the en-suite bathroom. One hand reached out and turned on the fluorescent light overhead. The other hand reached out and turned on the water, ensuring that it was nice and cold. When it touched her alabaster skin, it startled her into a fully-awake state.

               Her head rose, and she looked at herself in the mirror. It took a moment for reality to settle in. And even then, she had to blink several times and look once more. Because that certainly wasn’t there before she went to bed. A scream tore from her throat before she had a chance to stop it. Because there, on her face, was a brown mustache. She could smell the ink of a permanent marker, and frantically started to try and wash it off. The ink smeared, but other than that it remained the same.

               Charles rushed into the bathroom, still half asleep. He looked around for an unseen attacker, but when he found none, his eyes settled on the woman. “What’s the matter?”

               “Look what that little brat did to my face!” The woman seethed.

               “Who… Marin?” Charles asked, his voice barely above a mumble. “But she couldn’t have done this, because she’s been in bed since seven…”

               It was true. Fifi had told him that she had tucked the toddler into bed at 6:45 PM, complete with her Disney Princess blanket and all of her stuffed animals. According to the maid/nanny, the child hadn’t left the bed since. But, come to think of it, he had heard little footfalls in the hallway around midnight. And then, the door to the bathroom was pushed open a little bit more. A tiny form wandered inside.

               Marin looked up at him with her wide, innocent blue eyes. “Mawin heawd a scweam. Daddy OK?”

               “Marin,” Charles bent down so that he was at eye level with his daughter. “Did you draw on the nice lady’s face?”

               “No.” Marin shook her head, blonde locks falling in front of her face.

               “Don’t lie to me, Marin. Hand over the marker, or no Barney for two weeks.” He held out his hand expectantly, but Marin stared him down. It looked as if she wasn’t about to relent.

               “Mawin no like Bawney. Bawney scawy.”

               Charles frowned. “Fine. Then, no Disney Princesses for two weeks.”

               Marin’s blue eyes widened and flooded with tears. Finally, she removed the marker from where she had hidden it in her Pull-Ups. “Thewe.”