"Hello?" Pt. 1

March 10th 2016

Things to know-

~ Sophie's father (or, her Da) is in this chapter. His name is James Delaney- but everyone knows him as Jimmy. And he's Irish. Oh, and portrayed by Pierce Brosnan (In my mind!) Image above.

~ 'Shite' is the same as shit. A lot of Irish people I know like to say this.

~ I sometimes want to slap Daniel across the face. Just because- sometimes- he needs a reality check... 

Sarah, xx

~*~*~

"Hey."

"..."

"Ok, I deserve a cold shoulder, I get that."

"..."

"Right, I'll do the talking."

"..."

"I'm sorry I freaked out yesterday when you told me that you're moving. I was blind sided, that's all. That in no way excuses how I behaved and there isn't enough time in the day for me to continue to tell you how sorry I am for how I reacted."

"..."

"I'm still annoyed, though. I mean... you're moving to New York, for Christ sake! You never gave me an inkling that you were even considering leaving. Did you know about this job opportunity when you went over in January? What am I saying, of course you knew, that's why you went."

"..."

"You could have told me then, you know. You should have told me then. If I knew you weren't going to be a permanent fixture in my life, I wouldn't have gotten so attached."

"..."

"Your silence is killing me, Sophie."

"..."

"Sophie!"

<<This isn't Sophie.>>

"Excuse me? If it isn't Sophie, who is it?"

<<My name is Jimmy Delaney. I'm Sophie's father.>>

"..."

<<You're Daniel, I assume.>>

"Yes, sir."

<<Sir? Haha, I like you already.>>

"Um, thanks?"

<<That's not a compliment, Daniel. If you saw some of the other guys Sophie has brought home with her, you don't have all that much competition.>>

"Uh, right. Is Sophie there, by any chance? I need to speak to her."

<<She's here.>>

"May I speak to her, please?"

<<-Sophie, he wants to talk to you->>

"-Tell him to leave me a message because I am not talking to him.-"

<<Daniel, did you hear that?>>

"Yes, I did. Could you relay this message to her, please, Mr Delaney?"

<<If I must.>>

"Could you tell her that I'm sorry for how I reacted-"

<<-He says he's sorry for how he reacted.->>

"But it came as a bit of a surprise that she announced- out of nowhere- that she was leaving-"

<<-You should have told him that you were leaving.->>

"Not exactly what I said, but continuing onwards. Please tell her that I'm going to try and be as  supportive as possible of her career choice-"

<<-He is all for your move->>

"Again, not my words. Still, I was annoyed about her dropping the bombshell on me like that because if she knew all those weeks ago that she was leaving, she should have warned me then-"

<<-Even though you're moving away for a little while, he's happy that he's gotten to know you.->>

"Mr Delaney, with all due respect, you're not quoting me accurately."

<<With all due respect, Daniel, I don't give a shite.>>

"Fair enough. Will you at least tell me if she's looking responsive to what I'm saying?"

<<Aye, she is.>>

"Will you also tell her that it's ok if she doesn't want to talk to me tonight, but when I call her tomorrow, it'll be nice to hear her voice."

<<-He's hopeful that tomorrow you'll talk to him because he misses hearing your voice.->>

"Finally, will you tell her that I am... that, no matter what, we will always be Danphie."

<<-Sophie? What the hell is a Danphie?->>

"-Danphie?-"

<<-He says he will always be your Danphie.->>

"-Damn it. Pass the phone here.- Daniel?"

"Hey, Sophie."

"Did you really have to pull the Danphie card on me? I'm a sucker for that!"

"Last resort. Look, Sophie-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard everything you said. Even if Da changed most of it."

"So...?"

"I wanted to tell you face to face, Daniel. Telling you over the phone was horrible and I feel like, if I had told you in person, you would understand it better, you know?"

"Are you at your place?"

"Yeah. I got home at around lunch time today and Da and Lucas have been chilling here with me ever since. Why?"

"You still want to explain it to me face to face?"

"It'd be nice, but you're busy and-"

"I'm not busy any more. I changed my plans."

"Why?"

"So that we could talk. In person."

"..."

"I'm at your front door, Sophie. If I knock, will you let me in?"

"You're here?!"

<<-Who is here?->>

"-Daniel is.- Are you knocking, then, or what?"

"Will you answer if I did?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm knocking. Just... do me a favour, ok?"

"I don't think you're in a position to be asking me favours, Daniel."

"Sophie, please."

"Fine. What?"

"Don't make a comment about how crap I look. I couldn't sleep last night and I've been preoccupied all day, so be gentle."

"You couldn't sleep?"

"I kept playing yesterday's conversation out in my mind and berating myself about how I reacted versus how I should have reacted, and... well, I'm still berating myself."

"Just knock on the door Daniel!"

"Gee, ok, ok. I am."

"On the count of three, I'll open the door, ok?"

"Just open the-"

"One. Two. Three..." 

"Hey, Sophie."

[Call ended]