Seize The Day

Chapter Twenty Four

Sophie’s eyes flitted from one to the other. They looked older; her father’s shaggy hair was much greyer, her mother’s face more wrinkled. She tried to work out when she’d last seen them, and struggled.

Her mother stood there expectantly, was she expecting a hug? She wasn’t getting one, Sophie knew that much. Whatever succeeded or failed in her life had nothing to do with them, that was for sure. They’d been the worst example of parents.

Sophie looked at her hands and the two sandwiches, then at Bill, “here you go.” After handing him a plate she glanced at her parents, “we’re just having brunch, you don’t mind if we eat these? There’s coffee if you want some?”

They both nodded, but seemed a little surprised at her distance. Slopping coffee into two mugs she placed them on the counter next to the milk. The irony that she didn’t know how they took their coffee.

Sighing she sank her teeth into the thick fresh bread and continued to eat. Bill excused himself, slipping out of the room with his food. Coward! She wanted to shout, but she envied him...and to be fair, he was dressed only in shorts!

Her parents at her invite, sat at the table, their coffees in front of them. Sophie’s appetite had all but disappeared, but she managed to eat the food and not choke on it.  Slurping at her coffee she drained the mug then looked at her parents, still sat with the look of expectation on their faces.

                “I’m just going to dress, and then you can tell me why you’re here!” With a sickly sweet smile she left the room.

But the bravado didn’t last as far as her bedroom, tears poured down her face as she found a pair of jeans and pulled them on, and she was just fastening her shirt when a gentle tap preceded the bedroom door opening. Bill peeped in, he was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt that hugged his body, she smiled appreciatively then fell into his open arms.

He kissed the top of her head then murmured, “Look, it’s your chance to deal with them, tell them how you feel. We don’t need our parents, not know we’ve got each other, but, life is too short to be full of conflict.” She nodded into his chest and he added, “Just be strong. Get your point across.”

Nodding again she looked up at him, “I just want to scream. They’re spoiling our weekend!”

It was his turn to shake his head, “nothing will spoil this weekend...and it’s only half over!” He waggled his eyebrow knowingly, “and will continue once they’ve gone, ok?”

Taking a deep breath she nodded, “how do I look?”

Drying her cheeks with his thumbs, he smiled, “beautiful. I’ll be there, but I won’t say a thing, ok?”

In the kitchen her parents were relaxed talking quietly; both looked up when she entered the room.

                “So why are you here?” They didn’t need to know that Nick had already tipped her off that they were likely to return. She couldn’t begin to imagine how shocked she would have been to see them at her door without the forewarning.

Her mother gasped and her fatherN blurted out, “do we need a reason? You’re our daughter!”

She wanted to scoff, spray her coffee over them at the incredulous comment. “Am I? And yes father, you clearly do need a reason, you’ve never dropped in for an impromptu visit before!”

Her mother instantly looked upset and her father reached out to take her hand, “Sophie please. Don’t upset your mother; we’ve had a long day of travelling!”

                “Don’t upset my mother? Oh you have such a cheek! I’m trying to think when I last saw you two, and I can’t! How disgraceful is that? Christmases, birthdays, graduations - you didn’t come to any of them! There was never any regard for how I’d feel!”