—
I shut my hair curler off, running my fingers through my hair to allow the curls to loosen up and fall from being so tight. My father is in the city for the weekend and he wants to meet for dinner tonight. I was extremely glad it was Friday when I woke up to his message, I didn't have any classes to to lose focus in thinking about dinner tonight.
Even after making up with him weeks ago, I'm still nervous to see him. I mean I haven't had a real conversation with my father in years, besides the one we had when he was last here in NewYork. Nonetheless I'm still excited to see him which is unusual, but I'm hoping he may be able to shoot me some ideas for my project for Mr. Douglas.
My father was a lawyer before he retired, but he had always had this obsession with war and history. He's a really smart man to tell you the truth, and maybe if I get a chance to ask him, he'll be happy to help.
I'm completely stuck on what to do for Mr. Douglas. I know little to nothing about war in general, let alone a Scottish war that I barely knew even happened. Which is probably my fault due to the lack of attention I pay in class. Regardless, I'm hoping my dad will know something that can boosts my confidence with this piece.
Like always, my makeup is minimal and I chose to wear a black skirt, paired with a brown oversized sweater I took from Harry and my doc martens that are Chelsea boot style. My dad was the one who made reservations and he simply just told me to wear something casual. So I hope this is fine.
I still haven't seen much of Harry since he stopped in at my work on Monday to see me, but since then, he's been sort of in his own world. I understand that he's busy with trying to catch up with school, so I haven't thought much about it. And if anything, it's probably good that he has time by himself, he's got a lot to finish and with May just around the corner, he doesn't have much time.
And maybe tonight it'll be a good opportunity to bring him up to my dad. Now that we have sort of passed the whole 'me hating him' situation, I can see Harry and him getting along well. But I want to restore our relationship before anything else happens. I know there's a lot to be discussed between my father and I, so maybe I should wait to say anything about my relationship with Harry.
And Harry has no idea I'm meeting my dad, I haven't gotten a chance to catch him up with what's happened since the small break we had while he was recovering. I don't blame it on him, I've talked to Bryson about it so it's not like it's something I need off my chest. I just think it would be something he'd like to know.
I put on a coat of lipgloss before I shut the lights of my bathroom off and wander around my apartment, finding my keys and phone on the way before I leave.
It takes me about fifteen minutes to get to the restaurant, but I see my father waiting for me outside when I climb out of my car. He stands tall, just like Harry, and his hair is combed back and is grown out, giving it a flow style. It suits him and makes him look younger.
"Hey, Luck. Was the drive okay?" He asks when I reach him, his arm wrapping around me in a side hug. I nod my head easily, glancing up at him.
"It was fine." I breathe, my father nodding slowly as he gestures for me to sit on the long wooden bench. I notice the buzzer in his hand, signaling he's already got us on the waiting list for a table. "Did you come straight from Nantucket?" I ask him, lightly bouncing my legs from the coolness of the weather.
"I got here this morning, got a hotel just a few minutes away." He explains. I nod my head, feeling slightly guilty that I hadn't offered for him to stay with me. "I'm glad you agreed to come tonight." He continues after a moment, my eyes focused on my feet.
"I'm glad you asked." I reply, rolling my lips into my mouth as I glance over at him. For being fifty-six, he doesn't look it. He has barely any wrinkles except for his eyes and he still moves around like he's twenty. He even dresses young, he wears a lot of skinny trousers and always rolls his sleeves to his elbows. "How is everything at home? With mom." I question, my finger tips tapping together.
"Everything's fine, I tried to get her to come this weekend but. . ." I raise my eyebrows to myself, knowing I wouldn't be sitting here if my mother was here. And I think my dad knows that just as well as I do. "She'll come around, Clove." He breathes.
"I highly doubt that." I mutter, staring forward at the tall buildings in front of me, the traffic beginning to slowly die down for the evening but is still just as obnoxious as ever, filled with loud honking and occasionally fire screeches.
"I'm trying to get through to her, she's stubborn just like you." My father halfheartedly jokes, nudging my arm with his. I grin lightly and shake my head. The buzzer begins to vibrate violently in my fathers hand, both of us standing up and making our way into the steak house.
The waitress seats us at a table in a back corner and takes our drink orders before leaving my dad and I alone once again. His eyes are trained on the menu, scanning over it multiple time as he reads the options. I simply decided on chicken Alfredo, mostly because you can't go wrong with that dish.
"So whats been knew with you? Tell me about art, how's it going?" He asks after a few moments, sliding his menu to the end of the table along with mine.
"It's good, I actually have this project I'm stuck on." I state, my father nodding as a way to urge me to go on. "It's not for art, it's for my history teacher, but he wants a piece based off of the Scottish war because his father served in it." I explain, watching his face light up immediately.
"That's exciting, I know tons about that time, what do you need to know?" He asks, both of us thanking the waitress for our drinks, pausing our conversation to order.
"Well, I just need some ideas on what to draw, and he specifically asked for poppies." I clarify, my father taking a sip from his soda before nodding his head.
"Well red poppies are a symbol of remembrance, and I guess those are what grew out of the graves of fallen soldiers from the war." My father explains easily.
I lose myself in my thoughts as my father continues to go on about the war, talking a bunch of gibberish that I don't understand. My head is filled with all different sorts of ideas and styles I could potentially use for the project for Mr. Douglas, and excitement floods through my body. This could be one of my best pieces of art yet. I just have to get it perfect.
—
"So." My father begins, using his fork to cut his steak easily, glancing up at me. "Any boyfriend I should know about?" I asks, a small smile tugging the corner is his lips causing me to bite the inside of my cheek, smiling lightly as I shrug.
"Maybe." I answer quietly, taking another bite from my food. My father chuckles lowly causing me to sigh and laugh as well. "Hard to believe, I know." I continue.
"No it's not, I'm happy for you, Lucky." He nods, watching me intently. "Tell me about him, I'm interested." He raises his eyebrows at me, a smile forming onto my lips.
"Well, his name is Harry and he goes to NYU for music technology and production." I start with the easy stuff, my father nodding his head approvingly. "He's really great, and he's really good at the guitar." I continue.
"Does he treat you like he should?" He asks, my fork and knife clicking on the glass as I set them down, moving my plate to the end of the table.
"Yes, dad." I laugh quietly. I feel a little bit less stressed out now that my dad knows about Harry and I's relationship. I just hope Harry will be okay with meeting him and some point and I hope my dad will like him. "He's a really good guy." I mumble, beginning to miss Harry the more I talk about him.
"That's good Lucky, you deserve a man like that in your life." He states. "Can I meet him?" He then asks. I nod my head, sinking my teeth into my bottom lip.
"Yeah that shouldn't be a problem, he's just been a little busy so this weekend probably won't work." I explain briefly, my father nodding his head. "But could you maybe not say anything about him to mom?" I question.
"Clover." He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose causing me to huff.
"Just for right now, you know she'll be all over me about him, and I don't even know if he's comfortable with this yet." I state, my father staring at me for a moment before he sighs and nods his head.
"I'll keep it quiet." He mumbles, my heart rate slowing down immediately as I drop my tense shoulders. "How long have you two been together?" He asks now.
"We met in the very beginning of November, but we just made it official in March." I explain, my dad nodding. "He's just been through a lot, so I just want to make sure this isn't too fast for him." I briefly clarify, my dad seeming to understand as he wipes the corners of his mouth with his napkin. Both of us glance at my phone that starts ringing beside my hand. I pick the device up, realizing it's Harry which causes my face to light up.
"Is that him now?" He asks. I nod, biting my bottom lip as my phone continues ringing in my hand. "It's okay, I need the bathroom and then I'll pay." He tells me. I send him a thankful smile as I stand, answering the call as I find myself standing outside.
"Hey, pretty." I greet, my arm crossed over my chest and tucked beneath my armpit as I slowly pace around the sidewalk, staring up at the sky.
"Baby I need you." He speaks quickly, my heart immediately stopping in my chest as I flick my head down from the sky.
"What do you need? Are you okay?" I ask him calmly, rolling my lips into my mouth as I glance back at the building, stepping off to the side as a family comes walking out, sending me short smiles as they pass, which I return.
"I came to this house party with Zayn, Tiff, and Niall and someone brought a bunch of drugs, I'm kind of freaking the fuck out." He rambles, his voice sounding weak like he's on the verge of tears.
"Okay, okay, just relax. Do you know where anyone is? Can you find Zayn?" I ask him, becoming nervous as I wait for his response.
"No he and Tiff got into it and they disappeared, Nialls inside but he's wasted." He explains. I sigh and grip my phone harshly, screwing my eyes shut for brief moment. "I know I shouldn't have come, you can be pissed at me later but fuck, I need you please." He begs, my heart sinking to my toes.
"I'm not pissed, it's just—" I glance through the window of the restaurant, seeing my dad sat at our table again with his coat over his shoulders, looking around innocently which only causes my heart to ache more. "Never mind, send me your location I'll be there as soon as I can." I tell him.
"Okay." He breathes before ending the call. I move back inside, my dad glancing up at me as I gather my things in a rushed manner, but trying to still seem I bothered.
"Everything alright?" He asks, standing up from the table. I nod my head, glancing over at him as we leave the restaurant, thanking the hostess as we do so.
"Yeah, he just wanted to see what I was doing." I lie, rolling my lips into my mouth as he grins. "Thank you for dinner, and helping me out with my project. I'll send you a picture when I'm done." I tell him.
"Of course. And I'd like that a lot." He nods, leaning forward to pull me into a tight hug. I wrap my arms around him for a moment before we both pull away. "I'm leaving at two tomorrow." He informs me.
"Okay, well maybe we can do a late lunch or something in the afternoon before you go." I suggest. My father seems fond of that idea and it's not long before I'm rushing to my car, worrying about Harry.
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Happy update!! I hope this was okay, we're slowly fixing the relationship with her father that she's always wanted!!
Vote & comment!
Much love
~C