One Time Thing [Wattys 2021 Shortlist] ✔️

Chapter 35: Comfort

MIA

Refuge was one thing, but comfort was another. And this time, Mia was looking for comfort. No matter how much she tried to run away from it, there was only one place that offered comfort and shelter above everything else. Her family home.

Her heart was a mess, everything that has happened left her scattered. Not in a bad way, exactly. But in an unfamiliar home. Everything she knew has changed and she needed home badly.

Mia knocked on the door of the Victorian, two-story house, with a garage in front and a stony pathway carefully surrounded by flowery bushes. Her father opened the door, his huge chest rumbling with a happy chuckle when he saw her. His white beard was carefully trimmed to hide his double chin. He smiled with his entire face.

"The prodigal daughter returns!" He exclaimed, but his smile never faltered. Mia went in for a hug. No matter how angry she was at her father, once she saw him, she could not hate him. He was just a ball of positive emotion catching everyone in its roll.

"Hey, I told you I'd visit." Mia smiled and he moved from the door, gesturing for her to come in. The smell of her family home was still the same and she took a deep breath, savouring it.

"Your mother went to buy the hundredth dress for her collection." He led through the long hallway covered in beige tapestry, decorated with their family photographs, an occasional flower pot and a closet for shoes and jackets made of dark wood.

"I have time." Mia said, making her father's face lit up. They entered the living room. Mia enjoyed the smell of the books surrounding them, the shelves covered most of the walls, leaving only place for a dark, red-painted brick fireplace and a TV in the corner. The leather couches were deep brown, continuing the warm atmosphere. The window overlooked the backyard and the beautiful round pool there.

"Coffee?" Her father asked. "Although, since your mother's not around, are you up for a glass of Chivas Regal?" The devious smile appeared on his lips and Mia nodded.

"But make sure to put on coffee, too." Mia smiled while her father eagerly went through the liquor cabinet.

"Oh, you have no idea how hard it is working with old people." Father sat in the leather armchair. "One has high cholesterol, another has high blood pressure, the last cannot walk anymore. None of them can drink! I am the last man standing."

"I see you're handling it well," Mia laughed, "just make sure mum doesn't catch you."

"So," father leaned into his chair, "it's a weekday, you're here. Why aren't you at work?"

"Ah, it's a long story. But basically, Mathilda threatened to expose my privacy to everyone in the office so I held a little speech to let her know she's not God-given." Mia shrugged her shoulders, a little afraid of her father's reaction. But he laughed out loud.

"Oh, that old cow."

"Dad, she's twenty years younger than you."

"Yes, but she's as spiteful as any old man." Father chuckled in his double chin, proud of his joke. "But I am certain that working for you has taught you something."

"That lawyers are jerks?" Mia tried.

"That some people are the only thing standing in their own way. Mathilda is an amazing lawyer, she's knowledgeable, tough, hard-working and dedicated. But she's ready to downright sabotage herself because of her own insecurities." Mia's father sipped the whiskey, nodding wisely.

"You're right, she could really be something, if she takes her head out of her ass." Mia mumbled, making her father laugh.

"Well, yes."

"So, how does that apply to me?" Mia asked, knowing full well that her father was prone to giving lessons no one asked for.

"I think you've given up on a lot of things because of your fears. There were many risks you were too afraid to take. And I believe law is one of them. I know you went to law school because you wanted to prove to me that you can. But as soon as I began believing in you, you gave up." Her father frowned slightly, like the entire situation was still puzzling to him.

"Ah, you're not wrong. There is an amount of self-sabotaging going on inside of me, too." Mia nodded.

"I know you're mad at me for not helping you find a job." Her father leaned onto his knees, a slight smile dancing on his lips.

"I wasn't mad. But I was hoping I'd have your support. Parents of everyone I know helped them in ways you never helped me. And I understand the lesson, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt. It made me feel like you don't actually believe in me." Mia was surprised by just how honest her words were.

"I'll admit my tactics weren't always polished, but I believed in you more than any of those parents believed in the children whose careers they bought. I knew you could do it on your own, without my help. When you told me Jeff found you a job at Mathilda's, I was thrilled." Mia's father smiled widely, leaving Mia wondering where he found that source of positivity.

"Because you knew she'd be hard on me." Mia nodded.

"Yes. I knew Mathilda hated my guts and I thought it was a good opportunity for you to learn that connections tend to backfire. Somewhere, people are going to worship the ground you walk on because of me, in other places, you're going to get your privacy shared with everyone in the office." Her father seemed lost in thought for a moment before he found her eyes again.

"Well, consider the lesson learnt." Mia wasn't sure whether she should be grateful or not. She understood why her father did the things he did, but that didn't mean some of them weren't completely unnecessary.

"You fought for yourself, though. I know you think you aren't strong enough for it and that you doubt yourself every day. But you were thrown in the office of a person that literally hates your guts and you fought for yourself. That is an opportunity you wouldn't have gotten on any job that I found for you." Her father seemed satisfied with himself, but that was mostly the case, no matter what he did.

His tactics were questionable, but the main idea was still what was most important and that was the fact he wanted what was best for her. In his strange, frightening manner.

"I'm not gonna quit." Mia said after a while. "I enjoy watching Mathilda squirm too much to quit."

"That's my girl!" Mia's father smiled deviously.

"But, I won't give one hundred percept of myself." Mia warned him. "I'm gonna pursue my other dreams, I'm gonna enjoy my youth. And count on my dad to have a job ready for me if I ever need one."

"Oh, kid, you and I are starting our own firm. I have finally built a name for myself and I'm starting my own business." Her father laughed out loud, but his laughter quickly turned into a frown. "Law is a ruthless career."

"Yes, it is. But I'll have it easier since I have you for a father." Mia smiled gently and her father's face lit up with pride.

"I hope I'll see more of you, kid." He said. And this was the best moment to break down the news.

"You're actually gonna see much more of me, dad." Mia bit her lip. "I'm moving back in."

"What? Why?"

"I'm leaving Jeff."

Mia's father's eyes glowed brighter. It was so tragic how many people were happy once they heard she was leaving Jeff. Maybe they should've brought that up earlier.

A sound of the door opening interrupted them.

"Oh, good, your mother is back. You can tell us all about it. Quick, hide the whiskey!" Mia's father jumped out of the armchair and went to greet his wife.