Chapter 10 Horrible Dad

• DONALD
• “Avala, where are you?" I called out to her after looking at the staircase without any sign of her. Later on, I began to hear footsteps and she showed up smiling widely. Not too long after she showed up, Avala returned to the staircase climbing up again.
• “Wait for me, I'll be back soon. Wait for me, okay?.'’
• “We don't have all the time,” I glanced at my wristwatch. “What do you want to go upstairs to do?. We're running out of time.'’
• “Daddy I will be back soon, I want to go and take my bag!'’ Avala exclaimed, running up the stairs. Her little feet climbing each step.
• "But your room is not upstairs," I pointed out to her because i'm confused and I'm sure it's showing on my face.
• I stood there, dumbfounded, wondering what little Avala needs a bag for. Is there anything serious about this outing?, we're only going out to shop and it's mostly groceries. What is getting Avala excited?.
• The only thing that interests me now is that she's back on her feet, living her normal life like she always does. The happenings of the past few days occupied my mind, Avala's illness made me to panick. The last thing I want now is to yell at her for any reason, instead of calling out to her, I took a decision to sit on the couch. It was strange how Avala turned a corner after Tricia's visit. I wonder if it's just a coincidence, or Tricia's presence had somehow contributed to her recovery.
• Is Avala going to remain the same when i tell her?. I don't know what will happen, the day I'll finally break the news to her, telling her that Tricia is not her mother.
• I have to be honest with her. I can't let her continue with the believe that Tricia is her mom. I pray for Avala to understand when I finally tell her. It's not fair to let her continue to think, Tricia is her mother, and it's also not fair to Tricia, that another person's child is disturbing her every now and then, in all, my prayer is for the revelation not to affect my relationship with my daughter.
• The wait is getting unbearable, I stood up again, looking at the staircase if I'll see her. “Avala, what are you doing upstairs?. Avala, what's taking you so long?."
• “I'll be out in a minute.'’ I heard her say from a distance.
• Oh, Lord. The wall clock reads 4:52 p.m, this shopping is not supposed to take much time. I have to return on time and start arranging things for tomorrow.
• Today is my last day off, I'm going to use it to buy groceries and other essentials we would need. Avala is returning to school by tomorrow, everything she needs has to be ready for the week ahead.
• Who could be visiting at this time of the day?.
• I'm not prepared for any visitors right now, the door bell just rang and is still been punched. It should be one of my colleagues at the hospital stopping by to ask how I'm doing.
• The person I'm seeing is not my colleague, standing here is Tricia and it surprises me that she's here. What on earth is she doing here? I don't expect to see her again, at least not so soon.
• "You're back already?. Avala called me and said you went shopping for a long time and hadn't returned yet.'’
• I covered my face with my palm, shaking my head in realization. Now I know why Avala had been delaying all this while. She had been planning to call Tricia behind my back.
• "I'm so sorry, I didn't know my daughter had begun to lie. I feel like I'm failing as a parent, Tricia I think of myself to be a horrible dad right now.'’
• “You're not a horrible dad, as a matter of fact, you're doing your best, and that's all anyone can ask for."
• I appreciate her kind words, but I hate myself for raising a liar. And to top it up she's just five. Being a single parent is indeed tough.
• "I don't know, Tricia, some days I feel like I'm not doing enough and now Avala has began to tell lies ...it's just hard.'’
• '‘Stop saying such things. Look, you're doing great. I've always noticed that i have great effect on almost all the children who come close to me, it's not just Avala. I'm sorry.'’
• “Really?."
• Tricia nods her head before replying me. "Yes, i'm serious. You're a wonderful father, and Avala is lucky to have you."
• '‘Thanks, Tricia.'’
• I ushered her into the house, and we walked towards the living room. Avala was standing by the entrance door, looking at me with guilt.
• “Daddy, I'm sorry, I really like my mommy, and I wanted her to go with us."
• I didn't say a word, I've already planned how i will scold her later for telling lies. Instead, I turned to Tricia and said, "There's no need for us to go inside. We were actually going for shopping, you can join us if you wish, and I can drop you off afterwards."
• “Sounds great, I don't mind.'’
• “Yeh! mommy's coming with us. I'll sit with you at the back.'’ Avala said, tugging on Tricia's hand.
• “Avala!” I called out, shooting her a warning look.
• Tricia, on the other hand, ignored what was going on and began chatting happily with Avala as we walked to the car, asking her about her favorite stores and what she wanted to buy.
• Tricia sat in the passenger seat, carrying Avala on her lap. Avala was surprisingly quiet on like her, she would have been talking all through the ride, but because she knows trouble is coming later on, Avala remained quiet.
• "Tricia, how was work today?" I asked, trying to do away with the silence in my car.
• '‘I didn't go to work today. I went with my mom to the hospital instead." The way she sounded was soft, and I can sense worry behind those words.
• Tricia is doing a lot to be there for Avala, despite the fact that she's not her real mom, I'm curious to know if there's anything of great concern so I can see how I would be able to help. "Is everything okay?" I asked, taking a quick glance her way before returning my focus to the road.
• Tricia displayed a faint smile, then answered with, "Not really. All I want is for things to get better, and return to how it used to be in the past.'’
• I don't want to force her into telling me in details what is going on with her mom, or what the challenge may be. The way she gave her reply simply shows that she's not ready to disclose anything.