Dominantor's Property

4

SANA

Graduation day. How exciting! Two other girls from Rose and Cal’s were also graduating so today was a big day at the house. We were all “all dolled” up. My hair was up in a sleek updo. Bright red lips, smoky eyes. Rose told me I looked 25 instead of 19. I feel like I’m older, anyway. Always have. It was probably because of losing my Mom so young.

It was probably, in part, due to being almost on my own for the better part of a year at almost 9. After Mom died, Dad would leave me alone for hours at a time, sometimes overnight, while he nipped out to run “errands”. I learned how to make simple meals at that age, to cook and clean up after myself. At 9 I even paid the electric bill once when I noticed that there was a disconnection notice taped to our door. It was a rare occasion that my Dad’s wallet had been full of cash so while he slept off a bender I took the bill and took the money and walked the 3 blocks to the bank and paid it.

Social services hadn’t looked too kindly on it, though, when I told them about it in my interview when they’d come over to check on me after my aunt had called. I’d been proud of myself when I told them I could get myself off to school, make my own breakfast and pack my own lunch, and that I’d even paid bills at the bank with money from Daddy’s card games.

Yeah, that had gone over so well that they hauled me into care. They’d come with Aunt Carol and found me at home alone with almost no food in the fridge other than some dried out old Chinese take-out but case of 24 beer in the fridge and nothing but some saltines and beer nuts in the cupboard. The green mat had still been on the dining room table from a poker game Dad had hosted two nights before and it was filled with crushed beer cans and overflowing ashtrays. He’d always told me to stay in my locked room during those games.

Dad turned up drunk in the middle of the meeting and blubbered like a baby in front of the social worker. He was ruined after Mom died. I felt like I had to take care of him back then. Lord knew he couldn’t take care of me. I guessed that was what made me an old soul, the fact that I had to be.

Anyway, here I was all ready to graduate high school, wishing my parents were there to see me get handed my diploma, graduating on the honor roll. I didn’t know if Dad would make it. I doubted he would. I knew that Rose, Cal, and Jihyo, my social worker would all be there for me and that was okay.

After the ceremony we had a family celebration planned at Rose & Cal’s and tonight there was a big dance and after party planned, too. My ex-boyfriend Mark had been sniffing around me all week and I wasn’t looking forward to seeing him tonight.

Mark was trying to win me back. I wanted no part of it. Mark was 22, he was gorgeous, long hair and leather jacket, tattoos, and he was a bad boy. I was attracted to the look and the swagger of bad boys, for some reason, but when it all came down to it they’d get dumped as soon as they showed me their true bad boy colors. It sounded dumb, of course, because while I was attracted to them, I didn’t want to waste my time on someone going nowhere but downhill.

I thought about the guy that had come into the ice cream parlor I worked at the other day. He’d come in while I was working my last day and he was well-dressed, as sexy as a movie star, and carried himself with confidence. He was so tall and strong and 100% grown-up male. He was very different from Mark. Older. Somewhere near 30, I figured, and he gave me tummy flutters like I’d never had before. What would it be to date a guy like that? A guy that oozed sex appeal and power? He seemed so together. A man.

I hadn’t stopped thinking about him the past 2 days and the past 2 nights. But that had been my last day at that job so the chances of seeing him again were small. He’d flirted with me but I’d been like a deer in the headlights. I wished I was older, more confident, and that I’d given him my phone number. I was so over Mark, so over guys that were like Mark.

Mark texted that he wanted to attend the graduation ceremony but I had only a limited number of tickets to give out for family members and friends and since I had no one but Dad I’d given my extra tickets to the other girls who had other guests. I’d only sent one to my father at his last known address along with the Facebook inbox message and a note to pick his ticket up at the school office if he did get a chance to come.

As I walked up on the podium to receive my diploma I had the surprise of my life. My Dad, in the audience. Sitting there smiling at me. He sat beside Rose, who was chatting softly to him while snapping pictures of me. Mark was sitting behind my Dad, dressed up and smiling at me. I avoided his gaze, tried not to think about how handsome he looked. Looks weren’t everything! Why was he even here? I bet Nayeon gave him a ticket; she’d been trying to get us back together.