Chapter 19
“Come on guys. If we don’t get a move on we’ll be late for the game.” Eric called as he glanced at his watch once more.
“No need to be snippy.” Allison said as she came into the room. “Do I really have to go to this game?”
Eric grinned. “You made a promise to Chloe that you’d go.”
Allison huffed. “I know. And don’t think I don’t know this is your influence.”
Eric held his hand up in surrender. “Hey, I did nothing. Chloe asked if you wanted to go. You could have said no.”
She sighed. “You know I can’t say no to her when she looks at me with those puppy eyes.”
“Exactly.” Eric winked at her, making her shake her head.
Before she could say another word Chloe walked into the room wearing her LA Laker’s basketball jersey.
“Well, don’t you look great in your jersey?” Eric stated as Chloe walked into the living room dressed in the jersey he’d gotten her.
“It’s a perfect fit.” Chloe announced as she tugged proudly on the jersey beaming up at him.
“I’d say.”
“This is great,” Allison commented from the sidelines, “now you two really look alike.”
Eric laughed as he looked down at his daughter. They both had the same jersey on of purple, gold and white, the customary colours of the LA Lakers uniform.
“You do realise,” Allison continued, “that you do have a daughter and not a son, right?”
Eric shrugged. “She’s tomboy. She’ll grow out of it eventually.”
This was something he was dreading most. He knew one day Chloe would grow out of her tomboy stage only to move onto her girly phase, which Eric knew involved boys and short skirts. He shuddered. He looked at his soon to be seven year old girl and was glad that he had a couple of years before she started maturing to a young woman who’s most likely to give him grey hairs.
“Are we ready to go?” he clapped his hands together, getting both women’s attention.
“Do I really have to go?” Allison asked again this time for Chloe’s benefit.
Allison looked at Chloe and sighed when she saw the sad puppy dog eyes Chloe sent her way. She hated when she did that. It was so hard to say no to her simple request when she looked her like that. Allison’s gaze averted to Eric’s again and she grumbled at him.
Was he purposefully trying to get them to go out as a family? Seeing his smiling eyes, Allison had a feeling that was his exact aim. No, she reasoned, that was something he wouldn’t do, right?
“I hate when she does that.” Allison said trying to banish the unrealistic thoughts from her mind.
Eric sent a wink Chloe’s way when Allison had her back turned to them. He was silently grateful that his daughter could get her way so easily with Allison. Every moment he could spend with Ally was a blessing. She’d been distant since the day on the beach. He still couldn’t figure out why. One minute they’d been in quiet contentment and the next she was building a concrete wall around her high enough that he couldn’t climb it all in one day.
He’d tried scaling the wall a little at a time over the past fours days, but every time he thought he was a little closer to understanding Ally’s thoughts and how she really felt she’d shut herself off from him. Eric got it; he understood her unwillingness to be close to him. He had the same fear. But what scared him most was never having Ally in his life again.
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Something Worth Living For (Watty Awards 2011)
General FictionAllison Warner was head over heels in love with her ambitious sport journalist boyfriend, Eric Denton and couldn't picture life without him. But what happens when she is suddenly faced with the reality that she might have to do just that? All Eric e...
