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 Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:39 pm
Aubrey took a deep breath and held it. At the least, her first instinct hadn't been to bolt from him, but what about when the intial shock faded? Having reached the side of the path, he eased them both to sit on the ground, him gently stroking her back like when they had first met, when she had been frightened at first and was soothed by the petting. "How... It's not very easy for me to explain to you. I'll do my best though." He looked at the sky a second, asking for strength.
When your mother and I met, we were both alone, looking for a place to fit in. We thought if we could fit anywhere else, we could fit together as, well, non-fit-inners. It worked at the time, but eventually, we realized we wanted different things. Very different things. She wanted us to isolate ourselves from the world that had seemed to turn it's back on us. I still wanted to get into the world, make friends... have a family." He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose as the pain he had felt back then came back to mind. Remembering the drinking, trying to drown their differences, and the resulting fight.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:06 pm
Mattie simply looked at her hands, interlacing them together, as Aubrey told her his history with Palladia. She stayed silent, feeling a sense of overwhelming sadness. "S-so..." she said finally after a long silence. "You...left Mama? Left...me?" the way she said the last word had an accusatory guilty tone to it. Mattie had never really thought twice about not having a father. But now, she realized what she had missed. First hunt, first fishing trip...the list was endless. She simply sat there, letting the tears fall freely down her face and onto her lap.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:19 pm
Aubrey winced at her tone, knowing he had to hurry to finish explaining. He thought it best to skip the drinking part of the tale.
"No. Once we realized our differences were too great to stay together in that kind of relationship, things changed. Your mother... lets say she's not the most patient. At least, not at the time. She felt I had cheated her." His voice turned a moment to urgency. "Know this, I never lied to your mother back then. Never. I thought it would work. That we were in love." His voice went back down, even sadder than before. "There was an arguement. It was a harsh, but mutual agreement to seperate." He let out a shakey sigh, this next admission being the most painful. "Neither of us knew she was pregnant with you. By the time she found out, we were too far apart, the fight still too fresh, for her to find me. Even if she had wanted to, she probably couldn't have in her state. Oh gods Mattie, if I had known-" He fought the tears that burned at his eyes, and his throat tightened.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:35 pm
Mattie nodded, her only reply was her constant sniffing. And here she had thought that 'Papa' well...whatever his name was a good friend of her mother's. She was so wrong. Extremely wrong. She turned to him, holding onto his arm with her hands that were wet with tears, "Then, then, come live with us! You're my papa!" Mattie clung to him, sobbing quietly on his arm, "I'm sure Mama wouldn't mind anymore! She won't hate you anymore! Please!"
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 4:48 pm
Aubrey wrapped his free arm around Mattie's shaking frame, holding tightly, protectivley, his face pressed into her hair. What had he done to deserve seeing himself give his own child such pain?
"I'm sorry my darling. If it was that easy, I'd have been living with you the moment I realized you were here. You're mother hasn't changed her mind since then, and neither have I. We still want different things. It would have been worse for you if I had tried to force myself into your mother's life again to be with you. So, I had to settle with your visits, seeing you in the market, babysitting, birthdays. I didn't want you to suffer watching us fight. I wanted so much to take you home with me, but, I couldn't just take you from your mom. She loves you just as much as I love you."
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 5:06 pm
"Then..." she continued to sniff, "Then...can I spend the whole day with you?" Mattie took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, her whole body shaking. "A-and...I'll come to visit you everyday from now on?" she half demanded, half pleaded. "I don't care if Mama yells at me and gets extremely angry at me Papa. I'm going to visit you whenever I can." Matilda looked at her father with her blue eyes full of determination.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 5:15 pm
Aubrey's breath came out in a heavy whoosh. She wasn't running off, she wasn't yelling at him. A happiness and relief spread through him, lifting a weight that he hadn't realized how heavy it had been on his shoulders and mind.
"I would greatly enjoy a day with you, my daughter." He chuckled gently, kissing her forehead. "You can visit me as often as you like, but we don't want to make your mother too angry." He pulled her into another hard hug before helping her stand. "Come on then. I have a lot to make up for, and the day is not getting any younger." He said with an encouraged smile, brushing the tears off Matilda's cheeks with his big hands.
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Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:13 pm
Mattie laughed, still sniffing and wiping her wet hands on her pelt. "So what should we do? Are you going to cook for me?" she questioned, getting straight to the point. Her ears had perked up again to its usual position, the laughter coming back into her eyes. Mattie rubbed at her eyes again to get the final remnants of tears out of her face before grabbing onto her father's hand. "I'm excited."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:26 am
"Well, lets see. We can stay in town most of the day. I was about to have lunch. We could eat at the tavern if you like, though I won't be cooking. Then we can go through the stalls and shops." He looked around to reorient himself, figuring out where the tavern was. "Then, I'll buy some food and I can cook you dinner at home. You can help pick out what we have." He smiled when she said she was excited. 'Me too.' He thought to himself, his eyes holding a new, more fatherly light as he lead Mattie through the streets.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 10:45 am
"I would like to meet some of your coworkers!" Mattie waited so her father could lead her. "Maybe...maybe..." she looked at him with puppy eyes, "We can have dessert for dinner? Like pie and tarts and sweets? Pleeeaaaase?" she tugged at his arm playfully, her tail swishing from side to side.
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:02 am
Maybe what? He looked questionly at Matilda, only to be thrown by the puppy eye. Not those! He quickly looked away, giving himself time to recollect by laughing. "You mean pie or tarts or sweets. You can pick one, not all. Besides, with the lunches at the tavern, you might not even have room for dessert."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:20 am
"Noooo." Mattie giggled, "I mean all of them!" she nudged her father, "You don't know how much I can eat. Mama gets so angry at me cause its unhealthy. But its so good..." she trailed off, feeling her mouth salivating.
"What's there to eat the tavern?" she questioned, "I've never really been to one..."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:29 am
Aubrey shook his head, giving Mattie's noe a gentle poke. "We'll just see about that."
He chuckled when the turned the next corner, revealing the homey and comnfortable tavern. "Why don't you find out for yourself?" He suggested, pointing at the building. "There it is."
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:46 am
Mattie grinned devilishly, "We will! I'll eat more than you!"
Mattie walked up to the door, looking back at her father, "Papa you work at such a lovely place! Is anyone inside?" she put her hand gingerly on the doorknob. And opened it peering inside curiously.
((Should I bring out Aimee now, or ask Sabra to join? o: ))
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Posted: Tue Aug 04, 2009 11:50 am
Aubrey laughed, pulling the door open wide. "Nothing to be scared of in there. It's just after lunch, so it won't be too busy." He headed in, finding a table near the kitchen door. "How about this one?"
(( You can bring in Aimee if ya like ^_^ ))
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