Chapter Thirteen
It was a nippy winter’s day, but the cold didn’t seem to bother me.
The bus had just dropped me off by my house from my middle school and I was glad the school day was over. And the best part was that it was Friday! The weekend!
I practically skipped through the front doors into the house. I was just about to make my way upstairs so I could quickly change and then flounce in front of my normal spot in front of the TV when I heard a familiar, husky voice.
“Bill!” I yelled excitedly. I flung my bag on the coat stand and flew into the kitchen. There he was, having a hot drink with Mum. My weekend was now becoming marvellous.
“Hello Precious!” exclaimed Bill. “I’ve been waiting for you!” From behind him, he bought out one of those fancy, gift bags. I grinned happily as he handed it over to me.
“Surprise!” he said.
“But it’s not my birthday.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t treat one of my favourite girls eh?”
I beamed at him as I opened the gift. Inside, was one of the new MP3 players that everybody was raving about. Sylvia had made fun of me literally this morning for not having one of these.
“Bill!” gasped Mum. “You shouldn’t spoil her so much!”
“Thank you thank you thank you!” I bellowed. I ran into him and gave him a huge hug. I didn’t notice that he held on longer than perhaps was normal.
“It was no problem,” said Bill sheepishly. “A guy was trying to get rid of them at work anyway.”
I couldn’t help but love Bill. When Dad had made friends with him two years before, it was like suddenly he had become part of the family. He was always around and he loved to give things to Bella and I. Each time he saw us, there was always something. Whether it was the newest craze or a basket of chocolate, he always brandished something that he knew would make us happy.
It wasn’t just that he bought us gifts. He was funny and kind and he was the only adult who treated me in the same way as Bella. Bella was eight, and was perhaps the sweetest eight-year-old you could ever come across. Everybody seemed to warm up to her and love her way more than they would with me. I liked that Bill treated us equally, gave us the same gifts, or at the least gifts with the same value. I liked how he called both of us ‘his gems’. Even though I was a teenager, it was nice to be treated like a child once in a while.
I knew that he acted this way because his wife had left him and had taken his young daughter with her. He didn’t talk about them often, but his eyes went all glassy whenever anyone ever mentioned it. I knew that Bella and I had become some sort of replacement of her; since he couldn’t spoil or spend time with his daughter, he fussed over us.
I felt sad for him and even though sometimes his gifts really were too extravagant; I let him because I knew how desperately he missed his daughter.
To me, Bill was like a Father Christmas. An alternative father. I loved him as if he was family. Perhaps I loved him too much.
“Rachel, your father and I are going out this evening,” smiled Mum. “You know it was our anniversary last week and well… Bill insisted that he would stay with you two here tonight!”
My heart jumped with glee. A whole evening with Bill without the parents! This was sure going to be a real treat!
“Yay! Yay! Yay!” Bella had heard the commotion and had bounced in the room. Her little ringlets were flying upwards and she looked positively adorable. I wasn’t hard to see why I would always turn out to be second. But with Bill, there was never any competition.
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