Darcy Styles

02

"We will both have water, please. Thank you." Dad still orders my food. I don't fully think he knows I'm capable of doing things myself, hence why the only chores I have are to put up the dishes and sweep the floor. He don't like me to run to the small market to pick up a few groceries unless Bear goes with me. It's only a 1 minute walk from our house, and a family friend owns it. He only lets me go with Bear because he says "he's scary enough to scare off the paps, but still wear your disguise, please Darce." He always wants to protect me, but sometimes it's a little too much. Uncle Lou says he was the same way with mum, always making sure she wasn't overcrowded with paps. I think he treats me just like mum because I remind him of her so much. 

"Thanks, dad. This is so nice, as always." I give him a kind smile, knowing that he cut his busy work day short for me. "So how was your day at home, love? Did you finish your painting?" I love to paint, a common liking dad had with mum. "Oh yeah, I had a great day. I needed some extra paint, so I called Bear, and me and him went to the market to get paint and some snacks for tonight. I got some of your favorites, the chocolates mum used to by you when you two would go on dates." I know he loves me to give him things mum used to give him, he says it brings him good memories. "Thank you, Darcy. You know, Bear isn't too bad of a boy. He's your protection when you go out in public without me, and not to mention, he's no that bad looking. He don't get it from your uncle though, that's all from Cheryl." I've met Cheryl, she's lovely, but Maya is the best. 

Dad wants me to be with Bear so bad, it drives him crazy. I mean, I guess it could be worse. I could be a classic school girl trying to find a date the day before a dance or something, but instead, I always have Bear. He's my absolute best friend, we are even closer than me and Gianna, which is weird to our parents because the two girls are usually the closest. I have Bear, Gianna has Aunt Gigi's hairdresser's daughter, Whitney, who is absolutely wonderful, and Freddie has Connor. Bear is amazing, always there for me when I need him. Uncle Liam says that Bear's always had a thing for me, but I can't tell if he's just poking fun or if he's serious. I am closest to Uncle Louis, and he tells me I should go for it and date him. I'm not too sure yet, because I don't want to ruin our friendship. Uncle Lou's favorite phrase is "You're young, Darcy. You have plenty of time to fix things if they go wrong," and honestly, he's not wrong. I am young, and I do have plenty of time to fix things between me and Bear if things go to hell. I don't think they would, but time is there just in case. 

"Darcy, you have been staring into space for the past 5 minutes. Your food will be cold, love." I finally snap back into reality. "Oh, I'm sorry, Dad. I was just think-" 

"Thinking about Bear, wasn't you." He cuts me off before I can finish, saying exactly what I thought he would say. "Honey, you can deny it all you want, but I know the look. The look you get when you think about Bear is the same look I used to get from your mum. You have a twinkle in your eye, and a sparkle in your smile. It happens every time you are with him." He smiles at me, knowing he's right. 

"Dinner was lovely, Dad. Thank you." I stand up as he's taking his card from the waitress. Her name tag reads 'Elizabeth', which was my mother's name. Anytime he sees something that reminds him of mum, he gets what Uncle Zayn calls "fuzzy brain". He says that you get fuzzy brain when you are reminded of a very memorable event, and you sort of leave reality. Dad has been pretty good with fuzzy brain, not letting it grab him and pull him in too far. The nice lady asks for a photo, so obviously dad agrees and he gives the girl a hug, not letting go until she does. She tells him that she is very grateful for his talent, and that she's been a fan since 2010. Dad always loves to meet fans who have been there since the beginning, he says they seen him at his worst and watched him and the boys develop into the people they are today. 

"Your Auntie Gem and Grams are going to call later, so we should hurry and get our ice cream before they call." I absolutely adore Auntie Gem, she is like a big sister to me instead of an aunt. I guess you could say she's an actual gem in the flesh! 

Grams is amazing as well, always checking on me and dad everyday before we leave to take on our busy day. He says that she is the one who shaped him into the man he is today, and he wouldn't be where he is without her. He goes on and on about how she took a rowdy little boy and molded him into a man, and how he took all of her advice and used that in the real world when the band took off. "Your Grams is wonderful lady, Darcy. She is strong, confident, assertive, humble, kind, and a whole bunch of other things I can't even think about how to describe. She went through so much when she was raising me and Gemma, but she never gave up, just like I will never give up on you. I might be by myself, but I'll do my best, always my best for you, my Darcy Elizabeth. Always the best." All I can say is, if I turn out half as good as Grams, I can do anything.

"One vanilla with chocolate chips, and one strawberry shortcake, please ma'am." Like I said, dad still orders my food, no matter where we are. I hear my phone buzz, taking it out of my dress pocket to see Auntie Gem's face appear. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU WILD GAL!," she shouts in a very bad American accent. I laugh, and I hear Grams voice in the background. "Thank you Gem, I love you!" Grams finally gets over to the phone. "I love you too, you old woman. Oh here's Grams, she finally wondered over here." 

"Hush, Gemma! I'm trying to find the birthday girl! Happy birthday baby girl! I love you so much!" A huge smile spreads across my face, as I tell them I love them too. We talk for about five more minutes, and finally hang up. Dad is behind me, smiling because he hasn't seen his family in a long time. He's been very busy these past few months, so that means no trips to see Grams and Gem. I can tell he misses them very much, and it makes me so sad to see him like that. I'm surrounded by family all the time, the ones I was raised with and grew to know them as my family. But Dad, he sees these people as his family, but he still has his blood family back home that he longs for. 

We decide to walk back home, instead of calling the driver. Dad's driver, Mr Wallace, is a lovely older man. He always takes me wherever I need to go if I decide not to walk with Bear. If he takes me somewhere early in the morning, we always stop at the cafe that's run by his wife and sister. They are two lovely ladies, and they always give me a free cookie with every meal I get. Mr Wallace tells me stories of mum and dad, tells me that they were the most inseparable couple you could meet. He says mum was always the light in dad's darkest times. He tells me stories of the flower fields he would drive them to and how mum got a wild look in her eye because of her love for flowers. He also tells of the times where mum would ask him if he could just drive her and dad around for hours in the city at night to calm dad down from his long stressful days. 

"One time, I recall your mother riding around with me all day while I drove my two other clients around that day. She went on and on about how much she loved your father, how there was nothing in the world she wouldn't do for him. She gushed and gushed about how he made her feel alive in her deadest times, and how he cared for her when she fell back into those times. Your father was and still is a lovely man, but he was different with her. He truly, truly loved her. Paint this picture in your mind for me, Darcy. It was a rainy night, and your father had a solo gig to come to a karaoke night at a bar two towns down. He didn't want your mother to go, feared that he wouldn't be able to watch after her while he was performing. She obviously insisted that she go, so he caved because he always did what she said. They went, and from what I heard afterwards, they had a wonderful time. I pulled up to the bar, 5 minutes before I was supposed to get there in case they wanted to leave a tad early. I was parked where I could see the back door where they were supposed to come out, but they couldn't see the car unless I pulled up further. Like I said it was rainy, and it kept falling harder and harder. I seen the door open, and two people walk outside. They didn't realize that it was raining until they came out, so they both started laughing. Of course, be the romantic your father was, he started humming 'So This Is Love' from Cinderella. They danced the exact dance from the movie because your parents were absolutely obsessed with it. All that I could see was two drenching wet silhouettes dancing in a back parking lot of an old bar under a streetlight, and it was more magical than any movie ever dreamed of being. They ran to the car after they got done and giggled all the way back to your father's apartment. That, my Darcy, is love" 

That memory floods my head, and it's all I can think of on the walk back home. 

She sits beside me like a silhouette, hard candy dripping on me till my feet are wet, and she's all over me it's like I pay for it... 

It's about mum. That lyric is about mum....