Catherine

2. Being Late Is A Blessing

Catherine woke up in fright when she heard the door of her room slam. She looked around to understand what was going on, then she noticed her window was open.

Her mother opened the door, wondering what happened.

" It was the window...it was the window mom... I mean, the wind. " she said, rubbing her eyes, recovering from the shock.

Her mother, Carine, sighed, came in and closed the window.

" I told your sister to keep it closed. Was it open all night? What did I tell you about that? " she said.

" It wasn't all night... Ellen must have opened it this morning. " Catherine replied.

" And why are you still here anyway? Your sister is almost done and you're still not ready to go to school? "

Ellen was in the living room, on the table, with her father. He was holding big coffee mug in his hands, with his name carved on it: " For the best father in the World, Gordon Retriever ".

" You could have woken her up. " he said looking up, as if waiting for his wife and daughter to come down the stairs.

" I did wake her. " Ellen replied. " She said she would be up in 5 minutes. "

" It's alright sweet-heart. Being late won't kill anybody. " he said as Ellen smiled at him. " Anyway, are you going to finish that? " he pointed to her food. " You look thoughtful today. Is everything okay? "

" Why do you ask? " She said.

" You usually eat way faster than that. But I guess it's a good thing if you're slowing down a little bit... " He answered.

" Wh-what? No, don't worry dad. "

" You know you can count on me right? I am your father. " Gordon said, suddenly thickening his voice, attempting to make an imitation of Darth Vader from Star Wars. His daughter smiled.

Before he could go any further, with more random references from movies that Ellen did not quite understand, Carine was coming down the stairs, complaining about the girls not having a drive for school in the morning.

" You know it's not a good idea. What if they miss it while we're out? They would stay home the entire day. " Gordon contradicted. " And beyond that, for some reason, the school bus is very expensive in the morning. "

" It would be way easier if they were in the same school Gordon. After all, they are twins. "  Carine turned off the TV. " Catherine, hurry up! We're gonna be late! " she yelled.

" I know honey, I know. But that's exactly why we're keeping them away from each other. People get crazy when they see twins, and this can be dangerous for them. " Gordon said.

" Well... y-you're right. " she stammered. " Oh my love, I'm just so nervous about the exam... I don't wanna catch the traffic. "

Gordon grabbed her hand, pulling her into his arms. " It's alright . You can do it. We know you can. " As always, Gordon spoke her out of her negativity, as he always did since he first met her. One of the biggest reasons why Carine loved him unconditionally, was because he was always able to calm her down and look at the bright side, no matter how bad the situation was. Along the time they've been together, they built a family and it all turned into something " reciprocal ".

Ellen stared at them, still on the table. Carine looked at her. " Okay dear, I feel more confident. Now, go get the car while Ellen is finishing her food. I'll take Catherine. "

" Are you sure? I can take them to school. " Gordon said as he approached the door.

" No honey, you'll be late. " Carine said.

He grabbed the car keys from the little table, next to the door. Ellen stood up and followed her father. He opened the door and turned to his wife, he said how much he loved her and left with his daughter.

Meanwhile, Catherine was coming down the stairs, but she didn't managed to say goodbye to her father and sister. She looked to her mother.

" Come one honey. I'll get you something to eat on your way to school. "