The Dress

Chapter 5

A Week After

Almost four weeks have gone by and so has the excitement. I've been locked inside the yard and I can already feel the madness begin to sink in. I know a few weeks is not a lot of time but the silence is deafening and I'm beginning to detest it. At first the serenity of the place made my thoughts and feelings clear but now they've become too clear.

I miss my old home and even though most of the nights I couldn't fall asleep because of all the traffic noise below, I still miss it. Even though it was noisy it is still better than the quietness.

As I continue to revel in my madness for another hour I hear a knock at the door.

"Come in."

It's my mother.

"Hey, Lyn. Your father and I have to talk to you and Simon about something downstairs. We'll be waiting."

My mother closes the door behind her without another word spoken. I hollowly make my way down the staircase taking one step at a time. Observing each one as I descend the stairs. If I'm going to feel gloomy then I might as well let it show in every move I make. Maybe then my parents will notice that something is wrong.

I join my mother and father in the living room, when my mother told me that my father was here I didn't quite believe her. He is rarely home any more so we don't talk as much as we used to. We haven't spoken much for the past few months besides the occasional 'Good morning' everyday. In fact I'm even lucky if I get a simple word out of him before he quickly rushes out for work.

The lack of communication and facial time has slowly begun driving an invisible wedge between us and it upsets me. As a child I used to be very close to him, we were basically inseparable. I remember how we used to sit up at night discussing concepts and theories about almost anything. My father loved talking about conspiracies, not because he believed in them but because of the mystery they held. My mother used to mock us as she found it rather strange how a seven year old and a man very much older connected at an unprecedented level.

I always wanted to be exactly like him, somehow I believed I wasn't worthy of him because of how great I believed he was. And that led me to do everything in my power to do whatever I could to make him proud of me. Our connection was wonderful.

But as the work hours increased, the nights grew longer and so did the distance between us. I can barely imagine how my mother feels now.

As we wait for Simon I take the opportunity to observe my father since I haven't seen him in a very long time. The light behind his eyes have dimmed, almost as if a shadow has been cast over them. A few patches of white now sprinkle his beard as if snow has settled on it. He is still as handsome as he used to be but the glow that was once on his skin has now disappeared.

After a while, Simon enters the room. He sits down next to me and nervously glances at me from the side. He's been acting weird lately, we haven't been talking so I don't know what's been on his mind for a while.

We both look at my parents expectantly, I notice how close my parents are sitting. My mother is holding my father's hand quite firmly. My parents look at each other and a small smile slowly creeps its way on to my mother's face.

My mother nudges my father on the shoulder causing him to look at us.

"I know the environment around the house has been a little dull," my father says. He clears his throat before he speaks again. "Well your mother and I have been talking and we feel as if we're finally ready to have another child."

I feel Simon tense up immediately, he looks down at his black and white sneakers. He seems to be having trouble digesting the information.

It remains quiet for a while as my parents wait to hear our response.

A nervous laugh escapes my lips as I stare into my parent's eyes.

"Well what do you think?" My mother anxiously asks me. I choose my words carefully before I speak.

"Would it make you happy?" I ask my parents, more to my mother than my father.

A childish giggle erupts from my mother's throat. "It would mean a lot to me, Lyn." My mother says with a wide grin splayed across her face.

I don't see any reason as to why they shouldn't do what makes them happy. "Alright then, you have our full support." I say.

I look over at Simon and notice that he's still looking down at his feet. He remains immobile but with a worried look on his face. I decide not to ask him about it yet, he probably needs time.

My father stands up and before he leaves he hands me a piece of paper to Simon and I.

"What's this?" I ask. My father smiles, "School application forms. You two didn't think you were going to sit at home all year did you?" I laugh, "Of course not." I reply.

"Fill them out then hand them to me when you're done. You should be starting two weeks from now," my father says as he exits the room.

I enter my room and look for the nearest pen. I quickly write down my personal details and sign it off. I'm glad I'll finally be doing something productive.

Even though I wasn't too open to the idea of moving at first, I'm glad that I now have the chance to start off fresh. Back at my old school I was barely noticed and even though being noticed never appealed to me as much, it would be nice to have a friend. Maybe even a best friend, we could braid each other's hair and drool over boys in the magazines.

I laugh over the idea of being a crazy fan girl.

I find my father sitting in his office looking very focused, I silently knock on the door. He looks up at me and smiles, ushering me into his office.

I hand him the form and he tucks it away neatly. Before I leave he calls my name. I look back at him.

"I know things haven't been great dear, but I promise there will be a difference. The only thing I live for is making my family happy and if they aren't happy then I'm not happy. So believe me when I say that things will change. Okay honey?"

I nod and silently leave his office, I hope he keeps his promise.

When I'm out I look out the window and notice the sun descending into the horizon, the colours look breathtaking and it makes me realise that even though the world gets complicated. It never forgets to reward us because even the worst situations can become the best.