Project LOKI ③

Chapter 48: Honor Thy Father II (Breaking the Ice)

A/N: The November rush continues as the updates keep coming!

LORELEI

THE DAY was about to end, but the mysteries kept coming. First, the possibility of Sir Friedrich Rivera being my biological father. Second, my dad Walter fetching me from the restaurant where I met the editor-in-chief of BEYOND Publishing.

Kung iba ang nasa posisyon ko, wala silang makikita na remarkable sa pagsundo ng ama sa kanyang anak. But for me, it's a big deal. This doesn't happen too often. This doesn't usually happen at all.

Kaya ang tanong ngayon sa isip ko: Ano ang nakain ni papa ko?

The feeling's still the same kapag magkasama kaming dalawa. May coldness akong nararamdaman mula sa kanya, literally at figuratively. Parang may katabi akong yelo. That may or may not be a fair description of him, but that's how I saw him in the years that I've known my dad.

Pero may kakaiba ngayon. He looked paler now than before. Matapang din ang amoy ng pabango niya. Parang nabawasan nang slight ang coldness niya. I still felt the shivers, but not so much. Maliban sa pagsunod niya sa akin sa resto, may iba pa siyang ginawa.

Nakapangalumbaba akong nakatulala sa dinadaanan namin. Alam kong preoccupied ang isip ko kaninang hinatid ako ni Sir Rich sa meeting place, pero may pagka-lively ang usapan namin. 'Yong mga nang-iintriga niyang tanong. 'Yong lame jokes niya. Dito sa kotse ni papa, kung nakamamatay ang katahimikan, malamang naospital na ako.

Then the usual silence was broken.

"How's your day, Lorelei?" My dad Walter asked me, putting down the magazine he was reading.

My eyes blinked as I slowly turned to him. Our gazes met. I didn't expect him to start a conversation. Certainly not a "how's your day" topic. We often sat in silence until we got home. Kung may pag-uusapan man kami, seryosong discussion lagi. He's a busy man after all. He had no time for small talk. For him, saying hi or hello was a complete waste of time.

"I'm... good." I was taken aback that it took me seconds to respond to a very simple question.

Something's really off about him. Sorry if I viewed my dad this way. Nasanay na kasi ako na hindi ganito ang pakikitungo niya sa akin. I couldn't help but wonder if he's feeling well or he's been replaced by a shape-shifting alien. No offense to aliens, by the way.

"How about you?" tanong ko. Out of courtesy, I thought I might ask him the same.

"Business as usual." Of course, he had nothing better to do than business. Kung ita-tally ang lahat ng mga salitang sinabi niya sa buong buhay niya, malamang "business" ang number one.

"You mentioned that you met an editor of a publishing house in that restaurant," he said next, averting his gaze to his left. "How did your meeting go?"