Angelica

Flashback Continues.

I wasn't able to believe the words my mom just spoke. She unexpectedly starts speaking about a man who was never discussed nor present in our lives till a while ago. I am still surprised unable to understand why this man suddenly becomes so significant and important in our life?

I hate his recreant nature and loathe admitting him as my father. He betrayed me and my mom and left us like a prey to this cruel world without turning a leap in our thick and thin times. Why does mom still believe in him to take care of us? Why does she still love him in spite of everything he did to us? There are so many questions flocking in my mind. As she was about to speak further about the crook the door bell takes a ring.

I walk inside our tiny living room to reach the entrance. Opening our creaking front door I meet the forest green eyes of a tall beardy man who was looking at me with so much affection if I was not mistaken. Something about this man feels too familiar.

He kneels down in front of me to match my height and inquires in his polite tone "I understand this as the house of Mrs Margaret Evans. Can I get inside my tiny princess?" A slender smile was apparent on his lips. I nod my head and move aside so that he can enter inside the house.

He steps into our bitsy living hall and looks around the scraping walls of our old flat. His vision then directs to our almost tattered furnishings. Our living room hosted a puny bit of furniture comprised of two worn out chairs and an old time center table which is almost ran shackled. "Your house looks compact yet comfortable." He comments but I did not miss the teeny bit of soreness on his voice.

I ask him to take a seat and hand him a glass of water. He sips the water in the glass and asks in his endearing voice. "Which class are you in Angel?" So this annoying intruder even knows my name. "I am in my grade four. Now if you could stop interrogating me I can inform my mom about a guest's arrival in our house." I answer him in acrimony getting irritated by his boundless nosiness.

I could see a flash of hurt in his eyes yet he complies with my statement. After I inform my mom about him he follows me to the bedroom. No sooner he goes inside my mom's eyes glisten in happiness. To my surprise she slowly eases herself from her lying form and embraces him.

He kisses her head and looks at her with so much fondness and hurt in his eyes. I felt myself an alien in facing their intimate state. As I decide to leave the uncomfortable atmosphere, I hear my mom call me. "Princess come here and meet your dad Mr Robert Evans."

I was bewildered by my mom's abrupt declaration and looked at her sojourner in disgruntlement. My dissatisfaction doesn't go unnoticed by him yet he bends himself and tries to lift me in his arms with a gentle smile on his lips. Involuntarily my legs move back avoiding his touch and I observe a tinge of disappointment in his eyes. He immediately conceals it with a slim smile and extends his hand forward for a shake. My eyes shift to his hand contemplating on the thoughts of accepting his invitation when I hear my mom's voice. "Princess go to your dad." She tells me in her fragile voice.

Unable to turn down my mom's request, I extend my hand forward to hold his and repent the next moment my skin made contact with his. His hands linger in place for a moment but I was quick to avoid the feel in bringing my hand back. A flash of discontentment was immediately visible in his green eyes but this time my mom took a grasp of it.

Princess I failed as a mom in connecting your dad in our life. Like I told you earlier he loves you so much and never failed in caring for us though we were away from him. You have to amend your abhorrent feelings towards him and accept him as your father." Her last words were commanding though she seldom uses that voice especially towards me.

So with everything going down the hill this vexatious interrupter had also succeeded in developing quarrels between me and my mom.

Now I not only hate my father, I averse his relation in my life.

Angelica

After saying those grating words to me, my mom struggles in her breathe. Within moments she began to pulsate immensely. Mom was never harsh and she was hurting herself for being sharp to me.

Robert wipes the sweat out of mom's face taking out a clean white handkerchief from his pant pocket. He hands her a glass of water picking up from the nearby table and urges her to stay calm. My mom welcomes his concern and after a few moments her breathe stabilizes.

My hands begin to tremble seeing my mom's agitated state. At that moment I declare to myself that I accept whatever my mom tells me to do though I detest Robert with my entire being. I can't see my mom suffer because of me. She slowly reaches Robert's hand and their eyes meet with a dim smile on each other's face.

My mom starts to speak ones again to him in her weakening voice. "Robert I have failed you as your wife but you were always there beside me to support us like an invisible Angel. I left you with arrogance that I could manage everything of my own but depended on you in every path I stepped." She cries hugging him. "I am sorry I couldn't hold you in a respectable position in the eyes of our only daughter. I not only failed you but also our daughter as a mom."

Robert holds her firmly to his chest but doesn't speak a word. Holding back his tears he draws soothing circles on my mom's back and then whispers. "I excused you long back Margaret and I promise you I will take care of our daughter no matter she accepts me as her father or not."

After a few seconds my mom's moments stop. Holding her a few inches away dad perceives her and then the tears which he held since a while freely fall like a never ending rain. He looks at me with his dejected eyes and whispers "princess your mom is no more."

I run to my mom as tears well my eyes and circle my arms around her. I was not ready to accept what Robert said moments ago. "Mom, please open your eyes." I cry. "I promise to stay strong just as you want me to be. I will be a good girl and never disobey you and dad." I wail holding my mother. But she doesn't move. My dad reaches me to console but I distance myself from him and burst into a yowl.

...................

Wake and funeral of my mom were performed. Many guests gathered to express their heartfelt condolences. My mom held a special place in every one's heart being a kind and generous woman.

A few days later as promised to her I pack my stuff and get ready to leave to Robert's place. "Princess are you ready? The car is waiting outside." I hear him say and move to the entrance to find a white limo waiting for us. Looking at the scoring rich vehicle I understand he must be really loaded but who cares.

Two men dressed in black suits follow me with my luggage in their hands. One of them opens the back door for me to sit and the other transfers the luggage into the trunk. A few seconds later Robert comes out of the house and instructs something to one of the person with the black coat.

He opens the door on the other side and sits beside me. His securities lock the entrance and the engine of the car starts. I look back for one last time at our little home holding my tears where I and my mom spent the best days of our life.

After a few minutes we enter the private area of the airport on the backyard. On the plane were written in big bold letters 'The Evans'. My dad is a wealthy billionaire and manages a chopper of his own. Yet my mom had to work three jobs to support us for two meals a day. What a pity! I give a sarcastic smile to myself. The more I am coming to know about my dad the greater is my growing aversion towards him.

Bringing me out of the reverie he speaks to me in his overly velvety voice. "Princess get inside the chopper." I give him the dirtiest glare I can and sit inside one of the aristocratic extremely comfortable seats. He sits opposite to me and opens his laptop to work.

A few seconds later the announcement was made that we will be reaching New York in another five hours from now. So he lives in New York. I detest even his presence beside me so it is obvious I would never ask where he lives. A lady comes to us with a gentle smile on her face as soon as our plane begins to move. She asks us what we would like to have for our breakfast and my dad lists her with all the details of our menu in a language I don't understand. I had never been to rich homes and aristocratic places. I wonder what he had ordered for us and hope that tastes good as I am starving already.

As though hearing my inner voice he speaks with a soft smile plastered on his face "princess I have ordered everything you love. Orange juice, chicken sandwiches and your most favorite chocolate pancakes." My eyes go wide in surprise. How does he know my preferences?

Soon our breakfast arrived and I consume the food happily relishing every bit of it. This was the first time I was boarding a flight. My mom couldn't even afford a bus for us. A flight was a far way costlier transport for our living standard. We used to walk to all our destinations. On the contrary my father is freaking opulent that he could afford a private chopper yet never turned back even to look at us.

What a calculative delinquent that he is. I hate his guts to abandon my mom though she was foolish to leave him instead of leading an affluent life.

Angelica

After I savour a flavouring breakfast to my satisfaction my stomach was full within a few minutes. The plane slowly began to pick up its speed and seconds later we were high in the sky. As this was the first time I was flying I was starting to feel slightly anxious. I had a phobia towards flights right since my childhood but was never exposed to such a fear as me and my mom were a family always below the poverty line barely able to meet our ends.

With the passage of time I begin to feel more nervous and start perspiring. I did not want Robert to know my weakness and so I turned my face to the window with my hands trembling, covered between my knees. But unfortunately he seems to have already noted it. Within a second I was brought into an encapsulation of protective arms holding me to a hard chest. So, this is how a child is been taken care by a father? The feeling felt foreign to me as I was never bestowed to experience fatherly affection. Yet the blissful moment brought an unveiling delectation in my heart. After years of starving warmth I felt myself ones again as an infant lying completely shielded in the arms of my father. The sensation was anomalous, entirely strange, still it was ironically pleasurable.

“Princess, you are going to be okay. I hire the best pilots around the globe. There is nothing for you to fear.” Robert murmurs to me making soothing circles on my back latching me to his warm chest. He looked at my tearing eyes and wiped the liquid away with his fingers. Though I hated my dad for abandoning me and mom yet for this moment I want to forget everything and stay cocooned in his arms. Running his hands on my back he succeeds to calm me down. My eyelids drop automatically and my body unwillingly begins to accept his gentleness.

*******

Opening my eyes with the intruding rays of light peeping from the window curtains I look around and notice I was in a girl’s bedroom. Probably it was his daughter’s bedroom which she was generous enough to share with me. The foreign feeling brought a pit in my stomach with which I was not ready to come to terms. ‘He’ left my mom long back. He probably remarried and has a daughter. I wasn’t prepared to share ‘him’ though it was the dumbest statement that could have ever been made. Angelica, why do you keep dreaming and expect too much?

The room was extortionately decorated and screamed opulent designed in a princess theme which was my most favourite. The curtains were light pink embellished in a forest design. On the other side was a comforter with teddy bears placed on it in different sizes. The bed I was sleeping had a big golden crown as its headboard complementing the idea. A purple bed sheet covered the mattress with prints of fairies holding magic wands. Towards one corner was a huge reading table made of African black wood and the other corner had a massive doll house my best-loved part.

Staying with my mom, I couldn’t lead a rich life style but I was a big fan of Barbie. With the little money my mom saved, she often brought me Barbie and Betty dolls. After I finish my homework I often play with my dolls which are my dearest past time.

After taking some more time hogging the blankets, I rid myself out of sleep and feel the need to pee. I look around the room finally to trace a washroom. It was equally expensive and beautiful with lavish bathroom fittings and even a Jacuzzi. I complete my chores when I hear a muffled sound from the bedroom. Looking over I find an elderly lady smiling at me warmly. She was holding some clothes in her hands. Placing them on the bed she tells me in her motherly voice “Little madam, sir is waiting for you at the dining table. After you finish dressing up, you can come down and have your breakfast with him.

I take a relaxing bath setting the required temperature and filling my tub with bubbles. After the shower I look at the dress placed on the bed with a towel draped around my body. It was a beautiful yellow summer frock with red polka dots on it. Getting ready I go down the stairs to meet dad whose eyes were stationed reading the newspaper in his hands.

Noting me occupy one of the dining chairs he diverts his eyes from the paper and looks at me with a gentle smile. I greet him as a form of courtesy though nothing can change my aversion for him for betraying me and my mom. “Princess did you have a pleasant sleep?” He asks me tenderly. I nod my head to his answer and start to eat the mouth watering breakfast of bacon, fried eggs, toast and pancakes placed on the table. Watching me for a while with his guarding eyes he asks me further. “Did you like your room?” I turn my eyes from the palatial plate looking at him wonder struck. “Was that my room?” My voice almost in a whisper unable to believe the words he just spoke. He simply nods with a tender smile on his face. My lips slightly part. A slow grin was casually taking its place changing into a wide smile. “I like it very much.” I answer him with a bright smile. My eyes still gleaming in happiness like shining stars in the sky. . “I am glad you like it. I know you are a huge fan of Barbie and princesses. So I got your room decorated in your favourite core.” He speaks to me in a voice filled with affection.

Angelica, don’t fall for him. He is using all his grace to make you melt just like your mom did.... years ago.

Few minutes later after I almost finish my breakfast he begins to speak ones again “princess tomorrow will be the first day of your school. Get ready tomorrow by 8’o clock. I will be dropping you at school and then be going to my office.”

Hush Baby! It’s just tomorrow that I am even joining a school. He is cool and damn impressive in everything he administers. No wonder my mother fell for his charms.

Robert

Margaret my wife, she was the sweetest person I ever had in my life. I fell in love with her at my first sight but woefully it was the toughest struggle to have her in my life. She was a simple girl, very beautiful, hailing from a decent family and I on the contrary was the wretch of the dark world, the only son of the mob leader John Evans, who was brought up in the midst of knives and countless murders. Nothing was similar between her and me yet I couldn't help myself but to fall for her, a sweet and simple middle class girl who had the best smile in the world.

My family, my friends and every person from our gang cautioned me to stay away from her but my heart wouldn't simply listen. I knew she was like a candle that would bring brightness in a person's life but I am a Badger who needs to stay in the dark to hunt for its prey. Both of us could never be one we are people from two different poles who can never ever stay together. Still knowing everything I swept her out of her feet, took away every inch of her innocence and made her mine forever.

I remember the first time that I saw her. She was sitting in the college cafeteria with some of her friends. A girl beside her spoke to her something in the ear and her pink lips curl into the most enigmatic smile that I ever saw. My heart went crazy. An immediate feeling to haul her and make her mine evoked inside me like a gravitational pull. She looked around with her sparkling icy blues that shined like stars in the dark sky. Her eyes stationed on someone standing on the other side of the hall. Pulling on her long slender legs she walked forward like an alluring femme fatale. "Hey Xavier, it's been so long since we have met each other." She went and hugged the man who was talking to someone.

His eyes caught hers and his hands immediately moved around her back returning her embrace. Jealousy strikes me all of a sudden. She was mine and mine only to touch and have. She took hold of his hand and dragged him between her groups of friends to introduce him. I couldn't turn away my gaze but to look at the walking beauty in front of me. Her long chestnut hair swayed along her sides in wavy curls by the chilled breeze blowing inside the open hall of the cafeteria on the mid November evening.

I hid the truth from her and married her eloping from both our families. She was the light of my life attracting me towards her like a moth. Two years after our successful romantic marriage we had a beautiful baby daughter. She looked just like me but had the eyes and hair of her mother. For a few more months I could continue my charade with my wife but ultimately she came to know the truth.

There were fights initially often times leaving her cold and unloving towards me and ultimately she ended our marriage. I pleaded her for years and made endless phone calls to let me into her life. I told her not to deprive our baby of a fatherly care but she couldn't welcome the request though we didn't divorce each other. She felt the life of our baby was unsafe with me as one of her parent. I couldn't convince her anymore and left her but always prayed God to keep her and our baby sheltered.

The light of my life was gone forever. From that day forward I did meaningless relationships and abused sex. I became a man whore. I was always drunk and did drugs ruining my body and mind. My parents tried to amend me but couldn't reap a good result.

Though everything changed inside me there was one thing that I would never forget. Every year I bought gifts for my daughter on her birthday. Some were flaunting wealth while others were purchased just keeping in mind of her growing necessities. I promised my wife that I would never re-enter their lives until the day she desired of it. The gifts would reach my daughter through some of my wife's employers or some mutual friends. Sometimes I bought gifts just like that leaving them at their doorstep.

I saw to it that my wife and daughter were never deprived of a roof over their heads. I took care of Margaret's growing medical bills. She was a woman of lot of self pride. She would not allow me to spend too much money on them. She wanted to take care of Angelica totally on her own but became unsuccessful in the end. When the water reached above their heads I had to force myself into their lives. I was always there for my family like a shadow watching them from behind so that they do not break and fall apart.

Present

Today my daughter will be reaching our home. I am very enthusiastic about her arrival. It is the place where I and Margaret built beautiful dreams, cherished and nurtured.  The happiness that I presently hold cannot be described in words. It is like a child getting his favourite ice-cream for the first time in his life. I do not know much about my princess's tastes and fashion but from the little I heard from Margaret, I made every necessary preparation for her entrance into our home.

I got her bedroom designed in her favourite princess theme. I know she is a huge fan of Barbie. I loaded her closet with dresses I personally bought according to latest trend and fashion. Of course I will never buy her outfits which are revealing. I had already loaded my TV shelf with princess movies. I informed my chefs of her favoured cuisine and gave them a list of her best loved dishes.

I could not sleep peacefully yesterday night always attentive of any sound from her room. I was anxious about her health. She was perspiring in the flight yesterday. I did not know she had a phobia towards flights. Margaret never informed me about it. Probably she never knew as they never travelled by a flight. I wanted to hold my daughter to my chest and let her sleep in my arms so that she doesn't have any bad dreams. I wanted to make her feel secured in my embrace but our relationship was unfortunately not in the best terms.

I sent the maid to her room with a yellow sundress which I handpicked a few days back for her casual wear. The dress caught my sight at the first glance itself exhibited in the display box and I knew it was made for my beautiful daughter. I am now eagerly waiting for her at the dining table yearning to ask if she had a good night's sleep and see her in the dress I loved the most.

Will Robert be able to win the heart of his daughter?