Trees (an omori fic)

In an Old Car Telling Dumb Jokes

The next day, my dad shows up at our house. I haven't seen him since Mari's death, when the divorce happened. He looks about the same as I remember him, if anything, he looks a bit better. He's in a nice dress shirt and his face looks smoother than before. There's no cigarette in the corner of his mouth, but I remain skeptical. 

"Sunny!" He greets me, happily. Then his voice turns slightly colder. "Lauren."

My mother looks at him with cold eyes. "Kenzō."

I put my suitcase in the trunk of his old car, and hug my mother.

"Goodbye Sunny, I love you. Have fun, okay baby?" She says, and I can see a bit of tears in her eyes. 

I don't have any post it notes on me, so I just make a heart with my hands, wave goodbye, and then hop in the passenger seat. Without another word to my mother, my dad follows my actions and gets in the car as well, driving off. 

"Still mute?" He asks, thinking mine is a problem that can be fixed. 

I answer him with silence.

He nods in understanding, and unlocks his phone, opening up to an app I can type into and it will say it out loud.

"Here." He passes it to me. "Use this."

I'm a slow typer, but I type "thank you."

He smiles. "Of course, Sunny."

For a second, I wonder why mom never did this for me. It seems so convenient. Nik and I never used anything like it because other than a bit of texting, we never talked. He always seemed to just understand my needs. 

"So, Sunny, I want to apologize to you. I know I didn't always treat you the best as a kid, but I'm getting better, I think. I- uh... -talk to a guy now, with a bunch of other guy's about how to be a better parent. How to not put so much stress on you."

I hit a button to play the "thank you." I wrote again.

"So, even with writing and this app, you don't talk much? We'll work on that though."

I type "okay." And let the app speak for me.

"So, Sunny, I don't know if Lauren- sorry, your mother -told you, but I have a girlfriend, who will be becoming your step mom. We wanted to have the wedding while you were here. Did she tell you  about Ai? That's her name, by the way. One day I hope you'll be calling her mom though..."

"No."

So Dad got a new girlfriend? And they're marrying? And for some reason he thinks I'll be staying with him instead of going back home to my (ex) boyfriend who needs me. 

"Ah, typical... her. So Sunny, your mom told me that you got involved with a boy, what was his name?"

"Nik."

He sighs. "Well your mom doesn't exactly approve of him, and I think, for once, I agree with her. Teens these days are too sex obsessed, and I'm not letting you become like that. Nik is a bad influence. I've talked to your old friend's parents, and in a couple of days, you'll be seeing them. Luckily, we don't live too far away from them."

"I miss Basil." I type, feeling a bit sad.

"Well, then it's a good thing he's going to be sleeping over in a couple of days, of course, unless you don't want him to? Do you want him to stay over?"

"Yes."

He smiles, and briefly takes his eyes off the road to look at me. I smile back at him.

7 hours of driving later...

"Alright, Sunny, we're at the hotel." He says as I step out of the car.

The hotel is beautiful, a big, white building. It's tall, much taller than anything in California because of the earthquake, and the only thing I've seen taller than this was the hospital, which for some reason is super tall... super unsafe if someone fell- or jumped -off.

I look at him in wide eyed amazement. 

He smiles at me, and I smile too, and then wrap my skinny little arms around him and hug him.

He hugs me back, gently patting my black hair.

We drag our suitcases inside, and Dad checks in while I look around the lobby of the hotel room. It's fancier than any other rooms I've been in. I guess Dad is rich now.

For dinner, he takes me to a nice seafood restaurant. I'm not too sure about all the fancy food. I don't know their texture or flavor, and I don't want to take the risk. He orders himself a dish I can't quite pronounce the name of, and he tells me I'll like just some plain sashimi. 
"Our ancestors would be so ashamed of us." Dad jokes. "Look at you, you barely know your way around chopsticks. Here."

He wraps his strong hand around my skinny one, showing me how to use chopsticks. I gently pick up a piece of salmon, and immediately lose my grip and drop it on my plate again. He gives me an encouraging smile, and I try again. This time, the fish makes it to my mouth.

It's not mushy, which is nice. It's cool and mild tasting. It's a bit slimy, and I still prefer chicken nuggets, but it's good.

"How is it Sunny?" Dad asks.

I give him a thumbs up, and then eat another piece of sashimi.

The next day goes by as such. And then, finally, I'm home. 

(897 words)

(Title from If I Saw Him I'd Still Kiss Him by McCafferty)

A/n awww so cute I wish I had that good of a relationship with my dad