Struggles of a Single Father (Book 1 of the Struggle Puff Series)

Chapter 47

Written – 6/23/2020

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"So yeah. I'm not going to open another café, but rather open this one for twenty-four-seven service."

I was sitting across from Claire, telling her about what Tilisia and I discussed. She hadn't had any kind of reaction, which scared me a little.

"I apologize if I got any hopes up about another location, but if I'm being honest, I felt really pressured in the moment to just say yes to whatever was asked of me." I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly until I heard her chuckle lightly.

"It's fine, Carter. I had a feeling that was why you agreed to it. I'm glad you went ahead and told me." She pushed her hair behind her ear, "I must say though, you seem to trust your daughter a lot if you're willing to change your plans based off of her advice."

I smiled and placed my chin on the palm of my hand, "She's very smart and thoughtful when it comes to what's best for people." I laughed and shook my head, "If only I could get her to be the same way about herself."

"She's fourteen, right?" I nodded, "Of course, she's not going to be the same with herself. Teenagers that are that young are going to be more aware of the people around them than they will be about themselves. It comes with the territory, really."

"And what's the territory, exactly?"

"Putting others before themselves." She pushed her hair back and looked off to the side, "You know, a lot of the victims I help are around her age. They tend to start off the same; concerned with the opinions and feelings of others. Then it progresses to being almost obsessed. I don't think that's where Tilisia is at in life, but I think it could happen. It's not good. These teens that I have seen completely forget about their own feelings so that they could appease friends, family, classmates, and even complete strangers."

"But she's always been like this. Does that make any difference?"

"I don't want to worry you, but I think it actually makes it worse." She finally looked back at me, "All that being said, I don't think you need to worry too much about it. From what I've heard about her, she's gonna work it out within herself soon. Honestly, it sounds like she has already started."

Somehow, her answer made me even more restless, "And what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Watch her from a distance?"

"Of course not." Claire answered with a small laugh, "You just need to support her however you can. Let her know you're there for her and be there to show her how to get up when she falls."

I rubbed my chin inquisitively, "What an interesting twist of words. Show her how? Not help her get up?"

"If you keep helping her get up, that's all she'll ever know, but if you show her how, she will become independent." She leaned in, "The question is, do you want her to be independent?"

"O-of course I do! Who wouldn't want their kid to be able to brave the world without their parent's help?"

Claire gazed at me, her head tilted to the side as if to challenge me, but nothing came of the look she gave. Instead, she blinked, shook her head, and chuckled.

"Carter, you will eventually figure out that you can't be her Hero forever." She stood up and started gathering her things, "Take my advice; If you both keep leaning on each other the way you do, neither of you will have a chance to move on in any relationships in the future. You'll eventually be each other's worst enemy."

"How so?"

"You'll either figure it out by following the same path you're on, or you'll understand when you've heeded my advice." With a final flip of her hair, she waved and walked towards the door, "I'll see you later. Think about what I said."

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November – fourteen-years-old

It was the day I was meeting Rosie's parents and I was getting the lecture of a lifetime, right outside of their house.

"And don't be scared of my dad. He looks big and scary, but he's honestly a teddy bear. You'll probably have good luck with my mom because your part Japanese, just keep to everything you were forced to do growing up. Bow, use proper honorifics, address dad first, and please-"

"Ro, I've got this." I cut her off with an impatient huff, "It's not my first time meeting parents. I'm sure they're not as bad as you think. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

"They could hate you, tell me that they forbid me from seeing you anymore, then I go off and see you anyway, only for them to find out and disown me, leaving me with a parentless existence and only you to blame."

All the sudden, I felt nervous, "You really had to say all that?"

"If it makes you take this more seriously, absolutely." She said with a serious face.

I ignored the new sinking feeling I had and pulled her to me. With my arm around her waist, I kissed the top of her head, "Don't worry about it, Rosie. If things do go south, I'll do what I can to turn it around. I'd do anything to keep you and your parents happy."

Her face turned red, so she quickly looked away, but I only pulled her closer until we were just a few inches apart, "Carter! We're right outside of their house." She whisper yelled, still not looking at me, "What if they see us?"

"If they see us, I'll apologize profusely, but for now," I used my other hand to redirect her face towards me, "I need you to know that we've got this. I'm being introduced as a friend for now, so there's so much they could say about us for now. Let's just go with the flow, okay?"

She stared at me for a moment before finally nodding, "Thanks for being reassuring." She said softly, "It probably won't even be that bad."

Just as she said that, the door of the house opened and a tall, dark-skinned, man came out. His glare was set on my arm around Rosie's waist.

"For a couple of friends, you're awfully close to my daughter."

We quickly pulled away from each other, looking awkward as ever. We shared a glance, and clearly thought the same thing.

We spoke too soon.