The Perfect Family

Unloved

Matilda smiled as she shoved another bite of vanilla ice cream into her mouth.  This was the first night that her mother left her alone at the house, and she was more than content to eat junk food and watch a marathon of cartoons on Nickelodeon.

Her eyes remained glued to the television for a good thirty minutes before she decided to get a second bowl of ice cream.  This time, she decided to drown it in chocolate syrup and sprinkles.

She couldn't help but feel a bit naughty, since her mother insisted that too much sugar would give her a belly ache, but she figured it was worth the risk.

The bowl was heavy in her hands as she started to walk back into the living room.  She sat down on the sofa and watched more cartoons until she heard her name being called from inside the basement.

"Matilda..." The voice rang through the house.  "Can you please come down here for a minute?"

It was her dad! 

The smile on her face widened and she set her bowl of ice cream down, running towards the basement as fast as her little legs could carry her.

This was another first for Matilda.

In the few weeks that her dad had been there, he'd hardly spoken a word to her.  She figured it was because his brain was messed up from being asleep for so long. Whatever the case, he was speaking to her now and she was beyond thrilled.

She wrapped her hand around the doorknob to go into the basement, then hesitated when she thought back to what her mother said. 

"You are not to go down there for any reason."

Matilda frowned and looked back towards the living room, not wanting to get into trouble. She let go of the door handle and started to walk away, but her dad's voice called to her again.

"Come on, Matilda.  I just want to talk to you."

Matilda shrugged her shoulders and pushed the door open. It wouldn't hurt to talk to him for a few minutes, especially if her mom didn't find out. 

She turned on the lights and slowly walked down the stairs, her heart melting in her chest as she saw her dad smiling at her.  "Did you need something, Daddy?" She asked meekly, twirling a strand of her red hair around her finger.

"No, baby.  I just wanted to talk to you."

She hopped on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "About what, Daddy?"

"I'm sorry that I haven't been very nice to you since I got here." His lips tightened for a moment, then he continued. "I suppose I just needed a little time to get used to.....err, that is, get to know you."

She laid her head on his chest.  "I understand.  You were asleep for so long that you probably forgot how to act around people.  Right?"

"Umm, sure.  Something like that."

"Well, you don't have to be shy around me.  I've been waiting for you my whole life, you know?"

"Y-you have?"

"Sure, I have!"  Her grip around him tightened and his body tensed.  "Life is pretty boring without a dad to teach you how to fish or play softball."

"Couldn't your mother have taught you?"

She shook her head.  "No, mom is usually too busy or too tired to play with me when I get home from
school. She works really hard at the hospital."

"You know, Matilda, I could teach you all of that stuff right now if you wanted."

"You could!?" She hopped off of his lap and clasped her hands together in excitement, until she realized that there was one small problem. "Wait, but you're all tied up. How could you teach me anything?"

"You could untie me."

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea."

The smile faded from his face.  "Why the hell not?"

"Mom would get mad at me."

"No, she wouldn't." He insisted, quickly replacing the smile on his face. "Mommy knows that you and I need some alone time to bond. That's why she went to work at the hospital tonight."

"But she said not to-"

"She didn't mean it, Matilda. I promise."

Matilda shifted on her leg and stared into his eyes with uncertainty. Was it possible that her mom did want her to come down here? Maybe she was giving her some kind of test to see how much she loved her dad, to see how far she would go to spend time with him. Maybe she really did want them to bond.

"Okay."  She finally said, "I'll untie you, but you have to promise to back me up if I get in trouble."

"I promise."

She looked around the basement for something sharp to cut the duct tape. There was a small knife sitting on a wooden table, the same knife that her mom used earlier. She grabbed it and placed the blade against the tape, ready to cut it, until a wave of uneasiness washed over her.

She set the knife down. "I better call mom and ask her if it's okay, just in case."

"What!?"  Her dad's angry tone startled her.  "I'm telling you, your mom does not mind!"

Her eyes filled with tears and she took a shaky step back away from him.  "Why are you yelling at me?"

"I-I'm sorry."  He answered, "I just really wanted to hang out with you for a little while."

"We can still hang out, silly!"  She perked right back up and wiped the tears from her face.  "I can tell you about all of my friends at school and-"

"Actually, Matilda-" He sighed, "I'm getting a little tired.  Maybe we can talk more tomorrow."

Her heart sank.  "Oh.  Yeah, that's cool."

"Goodnight, Matilda."  He said, his jaw tightening as he looked away from her in disgust.

The tears returned to her eyes and she walked back up the stairs and turned on the light.  After closing the door behind herself, she sank to the floor and put her head in her hands. She stayed down there until her mom returned home, four hours later.

Stella immediately kneeled down beside her when she saw her sitting there. "Honey, what's wrong?"

Matilda's face was drenched in tears when she looked up. "Why doesn't Daddy love me?"