Romance Me

Taming the Beast - Part Three

"What's wrong, Jane?"

The voice - so old and weathered - seemed to grate across the girl's heart. Adjusting the apron tied around her waist, she focused her energy on the sizzling pieces of bacon, flipping each slice as her other hand found its way to the refrigerator.

"Hmm?" she asked casually as she took out the carton of orange juice.

"You're making breakfast."

"It's Sunday," she reasoned.

"No, Jane. It's Friday. You're supposed to be at the library..."

"Can I not make breakfast for you, Papa?" Jane responded with a weak smile. Her heart twisted inside her chest as she took a breath, blinking away tears of anxiety that had threatened to rise. Placing the last piece of bacon on the plate, she set it with the other breakfast dishes on the table and looked up with a cheery expression.

A pair of deep, sunken eyes stared back at her, their grey depths containing far more woes than any man of fifty years should have. The man looked down at the food, his hand slowly coming out to lean on the chair in front of him.

"We cannot eat this much, Jane."

"Of course not! I was planning to share it with our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Ro--"

"Jane."

The girl bit her lip, her eyes closing as she tried to calm the shaking of her fingers. Slow steps walked toward her, and soon a warm, calloused hand rested on her shoulder. She looked up, her father's worried face swimming in her vision. After a few breaths, she motioned to the food once more.

"May we... may we please eat?"

Her father stared, then slowly nodded.

Time trickled by as utensils quietly clattered on plates, though Jane could've sworn the food had transformed to rubber every time she put it in her mouth. The sunlight that had spilled into the room now brightened, shining like a soft beacon through the large window. Finally, her father set down his fork, those eyes gently probing her for answers.

"I..."

Her voice did not sound like her own, and she stopped, clearing her throat.

Come on, Jane. He deserves to know the truth. Say it.

"I found Mother."

Her breath caught as those grey eyes widened, then slowly softened again.

"I know," he replied.

Jane stared in disbelief. "Y-you know?"

Her father nodded, his hands crossing the table to encase her own. "I've known for a while that you've been trying to find her - you've never been able to keep secrets from me, dear. I admit that, at first, I was disturbed at this - but it is only natural you would want to know your mother, who she was, and what she did for us. My mistakes should not prevent you from that."

Jane sat frozen, her mind sending alarm signals as one word echoed in her brain.

"Was? You mean, you already know she died yesterday?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, her heart cried desperately to take them back. But it was too late. Her father froze, his hands stiffening drastically over hers as his eyes widened. Shock, pain, horror, despair - all were clear in the crystal glass of those depths, and Jane watched in terror as they slowly disconnected from the world.

"...Papa?"

The man sat frozen, his body unresponsive.

"Papa!"