Pride

23

"Charlie, you have to get up," I said.
"No!" she whined. She buried herself underneath her duvet and shouted.
"Charlotte–"
"No, daddy!"
"Come on, you don't wanna go to school?" I pulled the duvet off of her head and knelt down next to the bed.
"No!" She buried her face into her pillow.
"Charlotte, come on, get up."
"No!"
"Enough of this," I mumbled.

I peeled the blankets off of her and snatched her up in my arms. Whenever I manage to trap her, she immediately goes boneless.

"Oh, Charlotte," I groaned. I heaved her over my shoulder and carried her to the breakfast bar. "Do you want Lucky Charms and Crunchy Nut?"
"Yes, please," she pouted.
"Here y'go."

I set down the boxes on the bar and slid her a bowl. She angrily poured her cereal before slamming the boxes on the counter. I handed her a cup of milk to pour in her cereal as I closed the boxes.

"Spoon, daddy."
"How do we ask?"
"Spoon, please..."
"Thank you," I smirked as I handed her the utensil. "What do you wanna wear today?" She shrugged. "How about your pretty purple dress that Phil gave you?" She shrugged again. "Come on... you look very beautiful in the dress. Why don't you want to wear it?"
"Cause I don't wanna go."
"You have to, sweetheart."
"But why!"
"Cause if daddy has to go to school, so do you."
"Darcy's mum doesn't have to go to school," she pouted.
"Yes, she does," I said, not focusing on the technicalities. "I'm gonna go grab your purple dress, okay? Just yell when you're done with breakfast."
"M'kay," she mumbled.

She rested her head against her right hand as she ate, brushing her curly locks out of her face every once in a while. As she ate, Phil walked through the door with some old textbooks in hand.

"Daddy!" she yelled.
"Yeah?" I yelled back.
"Hey, Charlie," Phil said.
"Hi," she whispered.
"Why're you yelling for your dad?"
"I want juice, please."
"Apple, grape, or orange?"
"Apple."
"Where does your dad keep the cups?"
"I dunno..."
"Never mind, I found them." He quickly poured her a glass. "Here y'go, princess."
"Thank you," she mumbled.
"Charlotte, what do you need?" I yelled.
"Nothing, daddy!"
"So what's up?" Phil asked. Charlotte shrugged. "Excited for school?" She shook her head. "Why not?" She shrugged again. "C'mon, Be excited!"
"Why?" she whined.
"Because maybe you'll have me as a teacher next year. Isn't that exciting?"
"No..."
"Why not?"
"I see you a lot. Why would it be any different at school?"
"I don't know, honey."
"Honey, I found your dress, so when you're– oh, hey, Phil," I said.
"Hey, I dropped off some of my old uni text books. I thought you'd like the hand-me-downs, rather than the new, £250 ones."
"Yeah, thanks," I chuckled. "Hurry up, Charlie."
"I'm almost done," she said.
"I better get going. I have to be at the school by seven."
"See ya later. Say bye to Phil, Charlie." She waved goodbye to him.
"Bye, princess, have a good day at school."
"Mhmm." She rolled her eyes.
"You too," he said to me. "Kay, now I really gotta get going. Bye."

***

"Hi, I'm here to pick up Charlotte Howell," I said to a random teacher.
"What's your relation to her? Brother?"
"Sure," I sighed.
"Really? Because you don't sound so sure."
"I'm her dad, kay?"
"Oh... okay, I.D. please."
"Here." I handed her my drivers license.
"Thank you," she mumbled. "Okay, just sign the pick-up sheet and she's all yours."
"Thank you," I said.

I walked down the hall and awkwardly stood around with all the other parents waiting around to pick their children up. I started down at my phone, trying not to speak with anyone.

"Hey, stranger," Louise tapped my shoulder.
"Hey," I whispered.
"You okay?"
"Tired."
"Why?"
"Long day. Back to back classes, y'know?"
"Sorry to hear that, darling."
"Daddy!" Charlotte cheered as she ran down the hall.
"Hey, silly goose," I laughed as I picked her up. "How was school?"
"It was fun! My teacher, Miss Daisy, is super nice!"
"Yeah?" I chuckled.
"Yeah!"
"Glad to hear it." I kissed her cheek. "Say bye-bye to Louise."
"Bye," she waved.
"See you later, Lou," I said.

I carried Charlotte to the car and quickly buckled her into her car seat. I played some Disney soundtracks over the cars speaker as we drove home. Once we got to the flat, I raced her up to our floor; of course, I let her win.

"You lost again, daddy," she giggled.
"It appears I did," I smirked.

I unlocked the door and carried our stuff in. She ran to the kitchen for an afternoon snack and tried climbing onto a stool.

"Honey, wait for me," I sighed.

I threw our bags onto the couch and lifted her onto the stool. She tapped her hands on the counter as she waited to be fed.

***

A few months went by, and sure enough, Charlotte was still somewhat enjoying school. One morning, as I was getting her ready, she wanted something special done to her hair.

"Daddy..."
"Yes, honey?"
"Jessie's mummy always does Dutch braids in her hair. Can you please do those for me?"
"Oh, sweetie, I'm not good with hair... how about a nice ponytail? Huh? Does that sound good?"
"But I want braids..."
"But I don't–"
"Does my mummy know how to do braids?"

I fell silent. I continued brushing her hair as I grabbed an elastic for her ponytail.

"Daddy?"
"Yes, goose?" I choked out.
"Does my mummy know how to do braids?" she repeated.
"I-I don't know..." I muttered.
"Do I have a mummy?"
"Of course you do."
"Then where is she?"
"I don't know..."
"Why doesn't she live with us?"
"Because she doesn't want to."
"Why not?"
"Just because..."
"But why?"
"Why do you care about your mother?" I yelled. "You've never cared about her before? Why do you suddenly need her? Jesus H. Christ, you don't need a mother, Charlotte, because you have me! Understood?"
"Yes, daddy..." she pouted.

I let out an angry huff as I slammed her hair brush down. I tied her curly, brown hair up into a high ponytail and stuck a big white bow in to add some brightness.

"Make sure you brush your teeth for two and a half minutes, okay? I wanna see you have nice healthy teeth so they don't chip on apples like mine, alright?" I awkwardly chuckled.
"Alright," she whispered.
"Thank you..."

I started cleaning up the mess I make every morning while doing her hair. As I placed everything back in their respectful places, I gave Charlotte a hug.

"I'm gonna talk to Louise and learn how to do some Dutch braids, okay?"
"Okay... thank you..."

A few tears dripped down my face as I held her in my arms.

"I love you, goose..."
"I love you too, daddy."
"I'm sorry I yelled at you..."
"It's okay... sorry I brought up mummy..."
"Don't be, love." I pulled out of the hug and dried my eyes. "You're as curious as George..." I lightly pinched her chin as she grinned. "And that's just the way I like you to be..."