End point

Chapter 8

Christopher 

"I'm going to see you very soon, okay?" I tell Adaline as I'm about to leave.

"You promise?" She asks.

"I promise." I take her hand and interfere our pinkies. She giggles as we pinky promise and I let her go, standing up.

"So..." I look at Katherine. "I guess I'll see you later." Fuck. This is awkward.

"Yeah. I'll text you." She says. The way she can be so calm and collected at these moments always amazes me.

When I get into my car, I remember that she gave me a hard disk with pictures, but I have to talk to my dad first. He lives in Berkeley now, near the campus. As it's Saturday he should be at home right now, at least I hope so.

I knock on his door and he opens the door with slight confusion. "Christopher."

"Hi dad." I walk into his small house. You would think that he could get himself a bigger house after selling the town house in London, but it turns out that the price difference is huge.

"Would you like some coffee?" He asks, it's weird to see him in pajamas.

He starts the coffee machine and I take a seat at the kitchen table. I actually like this house. It's small, but cozy with a lot of wood. Very old-school, just like how dad likes it. I guess being an English professor comes with a certain taste. At least with my dad it does. He likes classic literature and sixties style.

"Were you up?" I ask him as he places a cup of coffee in front of me and takes a seat.

"Yes, I was. I was just reading a book. My adventure with Russian literature continues." He says with a smile. "It's an interesting thing to read books in their original language. Although I might say, I'm not very good at it." He laughs.

"Maybe you should take Russian classes." I suggest.

"Duh!" He jokes.

"Doesn't that mean yes in Russian?"

"It does, but it's just 'da'."

"I see..."

"What's on your mind son?" He asks and drinks from his coffee as he searches my face with hooded eyes.

"I have to tell you something, but I don't know how to do it." I really don't know how to tell him without giving him a heart attack.

"If it's something important you should tell me." He says, suddenly very serious.

"It's very important and it may come out as a shock." As I say, worry flashes through his face.

"I'm listening." He says with a steady voice. Trust me dad, you're not.

"I have a daughter."

"What?" I'm sure that he heard me, that's why his serious face turned into a shock.

"I have a daughter." I repeat.

"But... Mmm..." He shakes his head. "Who is the mother? When did she even give birth?"

Yeah, that's not the question I was waiting for. Who is the mother? Really. I've slept with a lot of women. None of them said this shit... Wait, no it did happen, but she was lying.

"Dad... It's Katherine." I say and he completely loses it.

"Oh my goodness." He gasps.

"She's four years old. Her name is Adaline..." I try to tell him, but he holds up a hand.

"Come here." He says and pulls me into a hug. "I always wanted you to know how it feels like to be a dad." As he pulls away, I notice that his eyes are glossy. "Can I meet her?"