chapter nine
Dad and I weren't very close. I barely saw him. And he didn't want to see me either. I hadn't seen him in like a year or so. But sometimes it was okay to hang out together, he was my father after all. And he liked doing it, once in a while at least. Our relationship was very...informal. I could call him and we could hang out. I didn't hold any grudge against him for not raising me. I saw him more as an uncle than a father.
He owned a small restaurant in the outskirts of town. I used to go there a lot when mum and dad had just divorced. But he didn't pay much attention to me, he preferred being locked up in the kitchen scolding the chef. So in the end, I just went there to eat, because the food was delicious indeed.
A loud horn echoed in my head. I was slapped out of my flashback. The horn rang again. I hurried to grab a sweater and then run out of the house. I slammed the door and scudded towards the car. Dad was waiting and, as I climbed in, he smiled gallantly. He was good-looking, at least for his age. He had black hair and blue eyes, just like mine. The shape of our face was very similar too. When I was young, people usually told me I looked a lot like him.
I closed the door and the car sped out of the driveway.
"So again, why did you want me to pick you up? And why aren't at school?" He asked accusingly, his eyes stuck on the windshield.
I groaned. "Dad, I didn't ditch. I just wanted to get away from home. It's a mess in there." I whined, shaking my head, all the problems suddenly came rushing to my head. New York, pregnancy, step dad, my life sucked.
Dad's laugh echoed in the car. "I don't think you mother would allow the house to be a mess."
"Dad, mum's pregnant, marrying Fred, who happens to be a major loser, and she now wants to move to New York." I blurted out angrily, tilting my head back.
"Wow, I didn't know you were moving." The car stopped at a red light. I glanced at him, his face showed a hint of worry. "But you can't do that. I'm your dad and I live here."
"Yeah, I tried to use the same strategy. But mum's right, we barely see each other." I crossed my arms over my chest and curled up in the seat.
"You're right. But still, can your mother do that? I mean..."
"Yeah, she can." I cut him off, staring out the window. I realized we were arriving to the restaurant and the car slowly entered the parking lot. I smiled, I had so many childhood memories in there. It looked like a small house with wooden walls and trees around. A lame sign on top of the red roof read "Papa's restaurant". Yeah, the name of the restaurant wasn't very ingenious. Dad had never been good with words.
"You hadn't been here in months." Dad said, turning off the engine.
"True. Like a year." I climbed out of the car, taking a deep breath. The sky was covered by grey clouds. Not another rainy day. I heard a door being slammed behind me and I turned around. Stupid me, of course it was dad. It was just that I was hoping it was someone else.
Suddenly, someone tapped my shoulder. I spun around and shock crawled over my spine. Jonah was standing there, smiling handsomely at me. I jumped towards him and hugged him tightly.
"Oh my God, Jonah!" I gasped as he wrapped his arms around my back. Jonah was my childhood sweetheart. He was son of one of the chefs and he went to the restaurant very often. That was were I met him. Then we grew apart, because I stopped going to the restaurant. I was so happy to see him again. He had made my day.
"I knew you'd be surprised to see him." Dad commented happily. He kind of approved of Jonah, and he couldn't get over the fact I didn't like him anymore.
