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Chapter 2
Asher
I hate my new neighbor.
“Daddy! Hurry up; I’m gonna be late for school!” A smile grew on my face as I slipped on my shoes, slightly rolling my eyes. What kind of five-year-old worried about being late for day care?
“Did you finish your breakfast, sweetheart?” I asked as I exited my bedroom while pulling on my jacket, and she kept quiet for a while before her muffled voice responded.
“Yes!” I heard the spoon scrape the bowl before I saw her shove the last of her food into her mouth.
“Sweetheart, what did I say about shoving that much food in your mouth?” I asked her as I grabbed her recently emptied bowl and washed it as she cleaned herself up.
“To not shove that much food in my mouth,” she spoke softly as she zipped up her jacket, looking somewhat ashamed as she looked everywhere else but me. “Sorry,” she grinned, and I chuckled, leaned forward, and kissed her forehead as I grabbed her bag and held onto her hand.
“Are you just that excited to go to day care?” I asked her, and a sound vibrated from her chest, confirming her excitement.
“Today we’ll be doing ballet with Ms. Helen,” she said while simultaneously standing on her toes, proving her excitement.
“Do you want to become a ballet dancer?” I helped her twirl on her toes, and she giggled when she only did half a spin.
“Hmm, no,” she answered almost immediately, and I tilted my head to the side as I closed the door behind us after making sure that my stove was off and most of the electrical appliances were unplugged. “I don’t want to become a dancer.”
“Then what do you want to be?” I certainly knew that in a year’s time, right up until her college years, she would change her careers biannually, and, if I was lucky, by the time she came back home tonight, she would have a new interest.
We passed by my new neighbor’s door, and I noticed that she had gotten her door fixed, this time opting for a grey painted two panel oak, and I immediately rolled my eyes. How could Thomas allow such a careless person like her move in?
I need to have a talk with him.
“I want to be a fireman!” she shouted with a tiny jump, and I chuckled. “I want to be cool like you, Daddy.” We entered the elevator, and I greeted the people who were in there.
“Really? You think I’m cool?” I asked her as I gently clutched her hand in mine, and as a response, she squeezed my hand back.
“Yup!” She popped the “p” and jumped out of the elevator as soon as the doors opened. Anne was always jumping, very energetic and always said whatever came to mind, and I appreciated her honesty.
We walked out of our apartment building; the sunlight almost immediately blinded us, but we both had our caps on. It was a bit chilly today, but our colorful surroundings looked amazing, regardless. I should buy Anne flowers after school.
We began our walk to her day care, which was close by; I enjoyed our morning walks, and I had every reason to believe that Anne did, too, because of how excited she’d become just from seeing an insect and how much she would try to convince me to let her bring it back home with us so that it could be her pet.
These morning walks with my daughter were my saving grace. Every single day, my mind felt like a battlefield, and no matter how hard I tried to win the war in there, it was futile, but I had to keep on trying for Anne.
She was the only reason why I was still around; I had to watch her grow up into the person her mother believed she would be. I owed her that much.
“Daddy, look at that beetle.” Anne pulled me out of my thoughts as she pointed to a beetle that was innocently crawling on the pavement and not disturbing anyone. It made its way across the pavement into the grass, and Anne followed it closely with her eyes, probably wishing I would let go of her hand to let her follow it.
“Yeah?” I answered cautiously; I knew very well what was about to come next, and her cheeky smile proved my theory.
“I like beetles.” She looked up at me, and I nodded, agreeing with her wild statement.
“Uh-huh,” I nodded, and she tilted her head to the side, almost succeeding in her antics, but I knew my daughter, just like how I knew what was about to come out of her mouth.
“It would be nice to have as a pet.” She looked me dead in the eye, her smile growing because she knew what I was about to say. “You can’t say ‘no’!”
“Okay, then I decline your petition to adopt this beetle as a pet,” I said, and she groaned as she ran toward the double doors of her day care.
“One day, I will also say ‘no,’” she raised a finger, and I nodded, wondering where exactly my daughter had adopted her attitude because it certainly wasn’t from me.
“Do that in your own house,” I told her as I helped her take off her jacket and packed it into her bag. “You’ll be going over to Granny Elise’s apartment today when I fetch you after school, okay?”
