Chapter 6 Something fishy

• Aria watches Jimmy fall asleep, she is still surprised with what happened tonight at the Dining table. How on earth was Jimmy able to eat a lobster and not be in the hospital by now? She even had to feel the breath from his nostril to make sure that he was fine.
• She has known Jimmy for nearly six years and they have been engaged for six months, in all of that time, he has expressed his displeasure towards Lobsters relentlessly. The family still had it for dinner at times but they made sure to keep it far away from him, he wouldn’t even dare to look in the direction of it and sometimes, he wouldn’t have dinner with them because of it.
• Aria walked out and closed the door. She headed to the balcony on the second floor. That was her favorite spot in the building, it was not only calm and beautiful but had a nice view of the city.
• Aria dialed her father’s number the moment she was there, she had questions that she needed answers to, and since her father was a doctor, she expected to get the answers from him.
• Luckily, her father answered at the second ring. Well, he wasn’t always available on the phone because he was a very busy doctor. He owned a private hospital downtown and so he had to perform the tasks of a doctor and a CEO as well.
• “Hey sweetie, I heard what happened with Triple J, how is he doing now?” her father asked immediately, even before she could say hi.
• “Nice to hear from you too, Dad,” she replied in sarcasm.
• Her middle aged father chuckled from the other end of the phone. “Come on dear, you know how work is… things are very hectic here, I am always busy but that doesn’t mean I have forgotten about you,” he said in his defense.
• “Oh really? Because I think that is exactly what happened. I mean, isn’t it why you encouraged me to come stay at the Queen Empire, you know… get married and be a regular housewife regardless of my potential. Because you were too busy to worry about me, you thought I would be safer here where you wouldn’t have to divide your attention, right?” she asked coldly.
• The truth is that she was hurt by his actions, not because of the actions itself but the motives behind it. He just wanted to escape his responsibility as a father and that is why he proposed having her married to his best friend’s son. That way he wouldn’t have to bother about her anymore; yes, he would be assured that she was safe because he trusts the Queens but what about her happiness? Did he not bother about that?
• She wasn’t mad that he was getting her married without knowing if it's what she wants, rather she was upset because he was doing it to escape the troubles of being a father to a young lady, he wanted to focus only on work and nothing else.
• “Come on sweetheart, let's not argue over this again. We have done this more than two dozen times in the past six months. Let's talk about your future husband, how is he doing?”
• Aria sighed and decided to let go of the issue. It didn’t matter how long she dragged the matter anyway? He was her father, she couldn’t hate him for choosing his work over her. She just wished he had cared a little bit more about her than his job. Yes, saving lives was important, but so is family and relationships.
• “Jimmy is fine, the doctor said it is a temporary memory loss. He must have hit his head hard during the accident, and it is related to why I have called you. Father, something doesn’t check out, I mean something is really off about the whole thing,” she began.
• “Huh? What could be wrong?” the Doc asked from the other end.
• “Dad, is it possible for a memory loss to cause a change in a person’s character, taste, style or preference? I mean, let's say someone used to hate chocolate, and after a memory loss, they begin to love it or they suddenly have no problem with it. Is that possible?” she queried.
• There was silence on the other end for a few seconds and then he spoke. “Um… yeah, I guess so. I mean, it is possible if the person had chosen to behave in that manner or avoid those foods because of past memories attached to them. Maybe they are not really affected by chocolate but the item is tied to a bad memory that stops them from having it, so they just make up a belief that it is toxic to them and soon they forget the real reason why they hate that item and believe that they are just allergic to it. Does that answer your question?” he replied.
• Aria sighed and scratched her head, she didn’t know if that was the case with Triple J. But why would he pretend to hate lobsters? What memories could be behind it? Also, why would he be rude and toxic to everyone like it is just the way he is when he actually knows how to be nice and appreciative; it was all just confusing to her.
• “I don’t really know, Dad… but thanks anyway. I appreciate the fact that you answered your phone.” She teased.
• Her father laughed softly from the other end of the phone. “Goodnight sweetheart, it is late already, you should get some rest.” He advised.
• “Come on, don’t act like you care.” She blurted and then she ended the call.
• Aria sighed and looked up to the sky. If her mother never died, things would be very different. Aria had lost her mother to cancer, her father had done everything he could to save her life but he failed, he blamed himself for not trying hard enough and so after she died, he threw himself into work. He swore to save as many lives as he could and that was why he made his job his priority, but poor Aria had to pay the price for that sacrifice.
• To be continued!!