Mr. Sir's Daughter: The Only Girl At Camp Green Lake (Holes fanfic)

Chapter 8

     Mr. Sir took a handful of sunflower seeds out of the burlap sack and popped them into his mouth. He chewed them slowly, sitting back in his chair with his hands resting on his stomach. The radio was playing Miss Ashley's favourite country station and she was moving her head side to side, silently mouthing the words to the song that was sounding out through the speaker. She did this all through the chorus, then put her hands up and waved them around in a rhythmic motion when the acoustic solo came on. Her father watched with a warm expression.

"You've loved this song since you were a little girl," he said. His daughter smiled a sweet smile at him, remembering her early childhood. "It came out before you were even born, you know."

She nodded, trying her best not to ignore him, although she just wanted to listen to the music without interruption. Mr. Sir caught on and waited until the song had finished to speak again.

"It was your mother's favourite, too," he claimed.

Miss Ashley's eyes glinted when she heard him mention her mother. It was true, what she had told Squid; he didn't talk about her often. When he did however, she was all ears. She loved hearing his stories about their past relationship. The way he put it made it sound so perfect, that she had to wonder how it ever ended.

"Really?" she asked, leaning forward and resting her chin on her hands.

Her father nodded. "I remember how she used to dance around the kitchen whenever it came on. She'd stand on the table and twirl around, kick her legs and all."

Miss Ashley giggled, picturing what he had described in her mind. Mr. Sir smirked.

"You have her laugh," he said. "She was always laughing at something."

"Were you happy with her?" Miss Ashley asked him, pleasantly gazing at his face. It was times like these that she loved him the most.

"I was," he replied.

"And she wasn't?" she asked, beginning to feel confused.

She had never bothered to ask what had happened between her parents before, as she thought she might upset her father by forcing him to talk about it, and that was the last thing she wanted. Now though, she had become far too curious and she didn't see any harm in it anymore. She was getting too old not to know.

"Your mother was a free spirit. She got bored easily," he explained. "She was always looking for danger. That's how she ended up with a criminal like me. She was happy at first, I think, but after a couple years, it was time for her to move on."

"I was already born then, right?"

The more Miss Ashley learned about her, the more intrigued she became.

"Yeah, we had you during the first year of being together. She was holding out longer because of you. She loved you, but she loved her freedom more. She told me she was leaving one morning and by that same afternoon, she was gone."

Miss Ashley wasn't as shocked, or sad as she had expected to be. "Why didn't you leave me?"

Mr. Sir's eyes widened, like abandoning his daughter was the craziest thing he had ever heard. "Why would I? You were my baby girl. I never planned on having kids, but when you came along I never even dared to go in another room without bringing you with me. Even if your mother had wanted to take you wherever she went, I don't think I could've let her."

A huge smile grew on Miss Ashley's face. She had never heard her father say anything like that before. He was always endearing towards her, but the endearment usually came with a feeling of overpowerment. His words made her heart stop beating temporarily and she didn't quite know how to react.