No Crying on Sundays

She Keeps Me Warm

The smell of coffee filled the entire house, with some sweet tunes playing in the background downstairs. The sun's rays were peeking through the blinds of the bay window. Last night's crazy dream had thrown Gabriela into a pit of despair. Normally, she didn't let little things bother her, but ever since her mother passed away two years ago, it seemed to consume her days. She felt like she was slowly coming undone, like a seam on a piece of clothing. Dragging herself out of bed, she made her way to the bathroom.

"Wow, I feel like I've been through a battle," she yawned, trying to recall waking up suddenly but not remembering falling asleep again. As she brushed her teeth, she couldn't help but talk to herself in the mirror.

Getting dressed felt like she was in a slow-motion movie. Somehow, she even managed to make her bed and caught a whiff of pancakes in the air. Pausing for a moment, she touched the worn-out book lying open upside down on her dresser, only to see that it was already 10:00 am according to the clock.

"Oh my gosh!," panic-filled every fibre of her being as she dashes likes a wild tornado out of her bedroom! 

Reality smacking her in the face, shattering her tranquil routine! And, hold on, did she just catch a glimpse of faint music earlier and the scent of coffee? Adrenaline surged through her veins as Gabriela, full speed ahead, sprinted into Tammy's room, anxiety pumping through her like a racing engine!  The room stood empty, like a deserted island! In a complete frenzy, heart pounding like a thousand drums, she zoomed towards the main bathroom, racing against time itself! 

"Tammy??..." knocking at the door softly, "Are you in there? Gabriela slowly opened the door, the bathroom was empty, screaming now she started downstairs "Tammiel Jaden, where are you!"

Running into the lounge, then the kitchen, colliding straight into frail that once were, broad shoulders, of a man who was now holding a fry pan up above her head. 

"Whoa...you could've gotten hurt", Dayne said, looking down at Gabby.

"What...how...who..." she stuttered, trying to find her words.

Guiding Gabby towards the kitchen, her dad put the pan on the stove to finish his final pancakes.

"So, Mark got a call from Tammy, right? She was saying that she couldn't wake you, and she needed a ride to school" 

Gabriela's face showed a mix of anger, stopping Dayne in his tracks. Gabriela couldn't help but notice how much her father had aged. His once sharp jawline was now covered in a mix of white and black stubble. His eyes, that use to be that vibrant hazel colour, had lost their shine. And he had lost a lot of weight too. He used to be so strong and athletic, but now he looked like a completely different person.

It made Gabriela feel like a little girl again, the way her father used to make pancakes for her on Sunday mornings while her mother went to church. She would purposely sleep in just to have that special father-daughter time. Her mother always believed that a child needed a good night's sleep to have good habits. Did her mother ever figure out that Gabriela only slept in when her dad went fishing?

She sat up straight on the stool, savouring every bite of the delicious pancakes. Man, she really missed these. Her dad was in full conversation mode now, talking about Marcus. Wait, hold up. He actually called him Marcus? No one had ever called Mark, Marcus except his mother, the law and herself when she was angry with him. Just how close have these two become since her mother's funeral? And why doesn't she know about it? And wait a second, since when has ever spent time with Tammy? How did all of this happen without her knowledge? Right now, It feels like she is living in some kind of virtual world, where everything happened regardless of her. This whole situation was spinning out of control, and she felt like she was riding a roller-coaster in the backseat, seeing everything before it reached the bottom.