Afraid to Love
Episode 88
“Tricia, come lets have dinner,” David requested. He was in a good mood. He had a blissful day and was interested in spending the rest of it with his lovely daughter. He had specially prepared the meal, whistling joyfully as he did so. It was all for his darling, she’d definitely love it.
Tricia Cayson heard her father call her to have dinner. It was a good thing, she thought. Her dad was a great cook, though she never learned from him. She hauled herself off her mattress where she had been day dreaming of Jeremy Broderick. She was in a hurry to quench her desire to eat a special meal. But something her father said had not been right.
“That’s my darling,” David cooed, with a pleasant smile on his face, on sighting Tricia.
She in turn, smiled back and helped herself into the dining chair on the right hand side of her father. That was her permanent seat. It was her space and she began to cherish it so much after her mother had passed away – a tragic memory.
Tricia’s mouth watered as the aroma filled her nostrils. She smiled at her father as she sniffed into the tempting aroma of the butter nut chili. “This is great.”
“Shall we get to eat?” David patiently enquired.
“Sure,” Tricia agreed, picking up the cutleries neatly arranged on the table. They were meant for her.
David been eating too. He stole glances at his daughter, making sure she was happy. She was his source of joy and his priority. Nothing else mattered to him than putting a smile across her beautiful face which made her more pretty. He was contented, feeling her happiness.
“Father,” she called, wiping her mouth with a servette, “You seem very happy tonight. Why?”
“Its you, my daughter,” David grinned.
“Dad, could you do something for me?” she asked with a glitter in her eyes.
“Anything for you,” David replied, smiling. He was ready to do whatever she asks.
“Why’d name me Tricia?” she bluntly questioned, gazing into her father’s eyes.
That, he never thought she’d ask in her entire life. “What sort of question is that?” the surprise was much evident in his voice.
“Just answer me,” she desperately said.
David couldn’t get why she asked that. He sighed deeply. It could be out of sheer curiosity, he concluded. “It was your mother that gave you that name. Its what she wanted for you. Its a wonderful name. I love it.”
Tricia rolled her eyes, listening to her father’s explanation which she termed ‘boring.’ It wasn’t enough reason. “I no longer like the name. You’d have named me something else.”
“Why are you sounding like this? What’s wrong with the name? I’m your father. Your mother and I decided to give you that name. You can’t change that now. Its beautiful, like you are,” David pressed, sounding persuasive as he could. Something was definitely wrong with his daughter.
“I want something chaste, clean,” she insisted. “Call me ‘Purity’!”
“What?” he looked intently at her. “Purity? What’s up with that name? What’s wrong with ‘Tricia?’” he demanded, getting angry. He couldn’t believe she’d reject the name his precious wife had given to her.
Tricia couldn’t explain. She had no answer to give him. She could not even understand herself, why had she requested that? She thought her head was going to split into two. She nervously pushed her chair back and got off her seat. “i don’t know! Just do as I asked, make me happy!” she shouted at him and walked away.
“Tricia!” David called to her retreating figure, but she didn’t answer or even look back. He sadly stared at her unfinished food. He was sad he couldn’t fulfill her wish, he couldn’t make her happy. He had promised to always call her ‘Tricia.’ He wasn’t going back on his words. That was more important than fulfilling his daughter’s ridiculous request.
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Yes! It finally hit him. That’s the word she always used. It made her feel in a highly placed position. That was how she always saw herself. He rushed to Darren and snatched Purity’s cellphone from him. He looked at Darren quizzically and back at the phone. Darren had not even done a thing. That wasn’t the problem. He just had to punch the words that had come into his head.
He breathed deeply and typed the words into the phone. To his surprise, the phone chimed. He was excited. This was good. “Pretty princess,” he muttered, grinning. “Now lets get to business,” he said to his friends. “Lets see who this woman is.”
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