Losing Him

The Beginning

Chapter Thirty-Two

The Beginning

It was a lazy summer afternoon.

Savannah was in the backyard with her two brothers.

Mike was shooting some hoops as Ben lay snoozing beside Savannah underneath the ash tree after losing a quick game of basketball against Mike earlier.

Savannah was on the last page of the notebook Leon had given her for graduation.

She had been writing poems and her thoughts in it for close to two months.

She couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Leon would be so proud of her.

There was also a sense of excitement lingering in the air.

She was dressed in her nicest clothes and was wearing the nicest smelling perfume she had.

She was expecting a special someone that afternoon.

Savannah had been the happiest she's ever been in a long time.

Over the summer she spent a lot of it down at the pier where she watched Ben skate at the skate-park and caught up with Emily when she ran in to her once.

It was their regular meeting spot.

Savannah was glad to find a friend in Emily, she'd always admired her character, but had never been outgoing enough to make friends with her.

She'd often go out to the cinemas with Mike, surprisingly, they have a similar taste in films.

Savannah and Mike had grown closer than ever, she wondered how she managed to go a year without contact with her brother when now she could barely go a second without talking to him.

She often received letters from Grace and Mark Thompson who now reside in Venice, Italy, wishing her well and she'd do the same.

Savannah was letting the lazy sun drift her away when Ben suddenly jerked awake.

"I'm gonna go sleep inside," he said groggily, his eyes barely open.

"Okay" sang Savannah, trying to supress her giggles as he got up and stumbled inside.

She watched as Ben disappeared and all of her sudden her father was standing where Ben was.

He smiled at Savannah and approached her.

He looked and Mike as if to say, 'could you give us a minute?'

Without a word, Mike obliged, retreating inside.

"How are you, Savannah?" he asked sweetly sitting closely beside her, his back leaning against the ash tree.

"I'm great Dad," smiled Savannah.

He heaved a heavy sigh, clearly he had something on his mind, but what?

"You know; you remind me so much of my mother... she was a... wonderful woman. When I lost her, I thought I lost everything.

"And then I met your mother and then she gave me you...

"We named you 'Savannah', after my mother, 'Sehana',"

"Yeah, I remember you told me that a few years back, Dad," said Savannah comfortingly.

Her father always wore his heart on his sleeve, but she wondered why he was getting emotional all of a sudden.