Chapter One
Aivi
“You might want to buckle up sweetie, the road tends to get a little bumpy here in this area,” dad said opening the door for me. His jet black hair danced as the wind blew. I grinned and got inside the scratched pick-up truck. The red paint was coming off, showing the true color of the old junk.
“You ever tried buying a new ride?” I asked thinking why he’s had the same car.
“I like this one,” He answered chuckling. His boots clicked on the pavement as I rolled my eyes while forcing myself to sit down on the passenger seat. Sammy, my 1 year old Golden Retriever, begged me to give him some space so he wouldn’t have to sit on the back.
“No Sam. You stay on the back okay?” I said patting him on the head. He squeezed himself on the back and sat, leaving some of his golden fur on my shirt. I brushed them off and cleared my throat. From the rearview mirror, I could see Sam’s golden tail wagging.
The smell of strawberries filled the whole car, and then an awful scent of canned tuna aired in. I sniffed and let out a baby sneeze because of the smell. It was awful, just as awful as my situation was right now.
“Whoa, you got a cold there?” dad asked handing me a clean tissue. I shook my head quickly and sighed. I sat back and realized that something was on the way for my feet to feel comfortable. I looked under the seat and there were two boxes of canned tuna, newly wrapped. They were huge and bulky, much bigger than dog food cans.
“Ugh,” I groaned. “If you’re thinking of having canned tuna for dinner, forget it. I am so out.” I looked at him while slamming the door shut. He was startled of my action which caused him to blink. Then he flashed a fake smile.
“Oh no, those are for my shop. I mean, OUR shop,” he started buckling up. He put emphasis on the word “our” which gave me the goose bumps. “You see, tuna here is very popular. You’d be surprised of how many people will be knocking on our door asking for tuna.”
“Great,” I mumbled pulling my seatbelt and buckling up. I looked out the window. It was drizzling but the sun was out. Sure was an odd weather. Dad started the engine and we drove off. For some reason, he drove better than he ever did leaving me speechless.
“So, do you remember anything about this place Ai?” He asked, turning driving slowly. So many things were circling my mind whether to respond to his question or not. I held onto the door handle, griping it tightly.
“No,” I gulped and shut my eyes tight, hoping he would not throw another question again. I bit my lip and thanked for the one minute silence that was given.
“Really? Why don’t you remember anything?” He asked.
Damn.
I formed my hands into a fist and forced myself not to answer his question. Gripping even tighter on the door handle, I continued to close my eyes.
‘Don’t answer Aivi. Don’t.’
“Hello? Am I talking to anyone?” His voice squeaked through my ears, coming out again.
That’s it.
I breathed deeply and turned to him.
“No, I don’t remember anything. Why would I? You left us remember? Now if you didn’t, even the birds here, I’d memorize. Or maybe even how many rocks lay in the curb I’d know.” I snapped. Then dad pulled stopped the car and looked me in the eye. Anger rose through my whole body as silence filled the car.
“Oh, now what? You’re gonna sit there and yell at me and pretend that you care? Guess what, dad, I don’t want to be here. If you want to yell at someone, yell at mom. Call her up and scream at her, you’re good at that! You’ve always been good at that”
I turned away quickly and looked out the window. My eyes were starting to feel teary, but I forced them not to come down.
No, there was now way I was going to cry in front of him. After what he did. No.
From the corner of my eye, I could see dad. His face. It was speechless from what I had said. He glanced up into the rearview mirror and studied Sam. I sure didn’t get my attitude from him. To my surprise, he just formed a tight seam with his lips, started the engine again, and we drove off. This time, he drove quickly. His eyes remained fixed on the road.
‘I told you Aivi, not to talk.”
The rest of the ride felt longer that I expected. Maybe because of how silent it was in the car and the fact that I had fallen asleep. I looked behind me and Sam was in deep sleep. His paws tucked in his body, just like how they were when I adopted him from the shelter. I looked at my watch. It was almost two hours since I screamed at dad.
“So, I built a doghouse for Sam,” Dad said, noticing that I was concentrated on the dog. He turned the radio on louder since I awoke from my nap.
“He stays inside the house dad. If you won’t let him in, I’ll sleep outside with him.”
Dad just chuckled. “I’ll move the doghouse in your room if you want. The house just got renovated. Your room is a whole lot bigger than it used to be.”
I ignored him and rolled the windows down. I placed my hand outside. It wasn’t drizzling anymore. I could already see the tall buildings, the street lights, the carriages. Everything was still the same.
It still took me a few hours to realize that I was back in New York, the city that’s proud of its huge pretzels and amazing hotdog stands. After 6 years of daring not to stick a foot in this city ever again, the force of my mom’s laws made me. She told me that I should go and visit dad. We fought over this. I screamed at her and told her this was not just a visit. Visiting implied to a week, or two, or maybe even three, but for a whole school year? I don’t think so.
The last time I was here was when I was ten years old. That was the last time I ever saw Dad before now. Even for my eight grade trip, I begged mom not to make me go to the New York Wax Museum. She had to go through a five hour conference with my advisor. She hated that. After that day, she took me out to Pizza Hut and we laughed the whole night.
My mom meant everything to me and even though she’d ground me for the things I liked to do, like partying, sneaking out, getting sent to principal’s office four times a week, I still loved her. She wasn’t that bad, not at all. She accepted my flaws, each and every one of them. I knew she’d dare not to let me go. Maybe because I was the only person she had left in this godforsaken world, since dad left us when I was three. Ever since, I hated everything that would connect to dad, especially this place.
“We’re almost there,” dad said turning to a curb. The houses far from our neighborhood still looked exactly the same. I could still remember, we’d take the same road and I’d see the same houses everyday when I was little. The “S house” was still alive. It was still white with an orange roof. The letter S was still standing there proudly with the American flag on top of it. I chuckled silently. Dad drove slowly as we reached Central park. Wow, still beautiful as ever. I stuck my head out the window and looked up at the sky. It wasn’t going to rain.
“Can you just drop me off here? I want to get some air and take Sammy out for a walk. I’ll take a cab to get home. I won’t be too late.” I said, my eyes still fixed outside the window. Dad hesitated and I knew it. First day together after six years and I wanted to be off on my own, what dad would like that?
To my surprise, he stopped the car without any word and let Sam out. I unbuckled my seatbelt and dared not to look dad in the eye. I still felt guilty for what I had said. Sam jumped up and down. I was actually happy mom helped me train him to be able to take a walk by himself. He didn’t need a leash, and even if I left him 20 houses away from ours, he’d still be able to find me and lick me on the nose. I bent down and patted him on the head.
“You sure you won’t be home late? Think you can make it to dinner?” dad asked getting back inside the car.
“I’ll make it to dinner if you don’t cook tuna.”
“Text me the plate of the cab you’re going to take”
“Dad, I’m not a little girl anymore.” I reminded him slamming the door shut so he wouldn’t have to reach for it.
“You’re right. You’re sixteen. It’s hard to accept that you’re growing up Aivi”
I let out a fake laugh.
“Dad, every parent goes through it. You just forgot.”
I stomped away, ignoring the urging feeling of walking back. I turned my head.
“Sorry Dad.” I whispered talking to myself watching him drive away.