APART

Chapter 1: THE WORST MORNING EVER

It's 6:00 am on a monday morning......my worst day of the week. I reach for my phone to see today's date....it's the 28 day of january, 2019.

Knowing fully well that i have to be at my dad's bakery before 8:00am, i jumped out of my bed to go and have breakfast. Getting there i met my awkwardly quiet dad seated on the biggest couch in the living room, using his phone.

He tilted his head upwards to stare at me as i ran down the stairs to the kitchen. Noticing that he was staring at me weirdly, i stopped to greet him before entering the kitchen.

"Good morning dad" i greeted waiting for his response. Because he was so engulfed in what he was reading on his phone, he snubbed me. I knew better than to pass my dad without making sure he heard my greeting.

"Good morning dad" i greeted again as i stood there for about twelve seconds.

"Morning my beautiful Iris. How was your night?" He asked happily with a smile spread across his already ageing face. Although my dad had already started ageing, he was the most handsome and sweetest man i had ever met in my life. I will forever be thankful to God for giving me a dad like him. The only problem he had was the fact that he's a very quiet person which sometimes, pushes me away when i wanted to engage in a conversation with him. Any time i tried engaging him in a conversation, it always felt like i was talking to myself.

"It was beautiful dad. And yours?" I asked him.

"I would have said beautiful but i have to say, it was okay." He replied with an unbothered facial expression.

"And why was that dad?" i asked feeling a bit worried. A lot of negative things ran through my mind but i had to put my self together and wait for his response. I love my dad so much that the slightest discomfort he gets worries me.

He dropped his phone on the center table and gave me his attention

"well it was nothing serious. It's just your mum kept nagging all through the night about something i wasn't interested in. I think it was because of the fact i wasn't listening to her that kept her disturbing me. So i had no choice but to sleep and wake up with her complaining about my bad behavior." He said with a shrug.

I pursed my lips as i laughed inwardly not to seem disrespectful to him but, my eyes gave me away. Hearing my dad say this was cute. He sounded like a child. I laughed more as i had an imagination in my head of two little kids with one complaining and the other not listening. It really looked funny making it very hard to laugh out loud. I was so into my imagination that i didn't notice my dad staring at me as he pondered over what was amusing me.

"Iris, are you okay?" the question jolted me back to reality

"Yes dad, I'm fine." I responded which was obviously a lie.

"What's making you smile sheepishly? You were trying to hide your smile so hard you didn't notice me staring at you".

"Sorry dad, i was having an imagination of what you told me about mum. It looked really funny in my head" i responded still smiling. Hearing what i said he smiled too.

"I see...." he kept quiet and glared at me as if trying to remember something. After 4 seconds he opened his eyes, remembering what he wanted to say.

"Did you speak with Florian last week?" He finally asked.

I could jump into the atlantic ocean to avoid this question but then, i can't snub my dad. I loved and respected him so much to do that.

"Well to be honest with you dad, i've not spoken to Florian since this year began"

"And why is that?.... I'm asking you this question because i called him yesterday and he asked me about you in a questioning manner which got me thinking. Why aren't you speaking with your elder brother who is studying medicine in india? Is it because your through with your university education at the young age of 24 and he has been having little issues in his academics?"