The Art of Letting Go

TWO

THE ART OF LETTING GO
CHAPTER 2 – MR. & MRS. STEPHENS

SNAPSHOTS:

AMBER'S FATHER, RONALD, quickly took the opportunity in Oakland, he was willing to gamble money for it, "it's only for five days, the truck is fully fixed, we just have to make the machines work" he said from the dining table that night.

"Yeah, but you're going to trust it with just Felix? You know they need supervision, our expenses are at risk here if they can't finish it for five days" Lane, her mother, said in reply.

Amber's quietly eating but she was listening intently as to what they are talking about, because no matter what she does, she is involved in it at some point, the decisions that her parents make in their business will now include her too.

"Amber could do it" Andre, her little brother, said "I've seen her manage the business before and she could handle it pretty well"

Lane looked at Ronald for a brief moment "well, we could trust her. We've been trusting her with a lot of things, I'm sure she can look at this in a mature way"

In a mature way? Amber inwardly thought.

"She can take this seriously, I know Amber" Lane looked her reassuringly, but everyone was waiting for Ronald's reply, and he didn't seem too happy with that idea.

That evening, when everyone's asleep, she overheard her mother and father fight again over that idea her mother suggested, she has always thought of her father as a composed and a good man, but sometimes, he just loses it when it comes to risking a lot of money.

Amber's eighteen, and she's sure that she could handle that well, but as of now, as her parents are arguing about it, she has doubted herself more than she could have. She feels more confident if she decides to do things on her own than let the adult do their own evaluation of her,  because as soon as they start talking, all the confidence that she has gathered for herself instantly vanishes, and now it's just self-doubt.

She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep until she finally drifted off.

It will always be like that for her, she would always rely on what her parents think of her decision before finally making a decision for her, and it will always be based on what her parents think first.

She wanted to do the Oakland assignment, it was a step for her independence, and she wanted to feel how thinking on your own feels like, how not relying on what others think would feel like.

The next morning came and her father was the first one to get up, and of course, grumbling about how Amber didn't get up earlier than she should be.

"I always do everything in this house, why don't I stay here and I could let you find money for the family and pay our debts, how would that make you feel?" Ronald said with a loud voice. "Or you could get the hell out of this house, I'd rather not have children than raise irresponsible ones"

Amber gets what his father is trying to say, really, it was her fault. She just didn't see the point of saying it in a loud voice that all of their neighbours could hear, or try to banish your own children for one mistake.

What a good morning we are all having. She thought.

"Just don't mind your father, we're just having a rough week, that's all" Lane said while Ronald walks out of the kitchen "you've been saying that since the last two months mom, I know what's up, you don't have to hide it from me. I am silent and I don't say anything, but that doesn't mean that I am not observing" Amber said as her mother fell silent.