THEY CALL IT 'DADDY ISSUES' -CHAPTER 7

   George and I stuck to going out on dates like we always did before I went to his house. Gloria and Princess were worried the night I came back, but I had to reassure them that he didn’t do anything wrong. 

The day after the visit to his house, I tried to avoid him and not pick up his calls because I was embarrassed, but I eventually gave in to the thought of seeing him, and we ended up not talking about it. The conversation started with an uncomfortable silence, then he started talking about random things, which made me laugh. I soon eased into the conversation as well, and everything felt normal again. 

  We went on a picnic date, and he brought pancakes, peppered chicken, and small chops, and I brought the drinks and snacks. It was a Saturday afternoon, and there was a park thirty minutes away from my hostel, plus the weather was cool, so everything was in favour of the picnic. While I placed our mat on the grass, he connected his phone to his wireless portable Bluetooth speaker and ‘Blueberry Skies by CHIRAI’ started playing. That was the first day I heard the song, and it felt like peace.

“I was thinking of you when I was curating this playlist” He said as he set the plates on the mat.

“Really?” I asked, smiling. He pulled his phone to show me the Spotify playlist he was playing from, and the cover image was a picture of me.

“When did you take this picture of me?” I had never seen that picture. I was smiling, and I looked happy. Nine-year-old Daniella never had a smile as wide as that on her face, and thirteen-year-old Daniella thought the world would be a better place if she stopped existing.

“One of the many I’ve taken that you didn’t notice. You rarely ask me to take pictures of you, Dee. I love taking pictures of you” He said with the softness in his eyes I was now used to. The next song playing was ‘Make You Feel My Love by Anendlessocean’.

“I didn’t realise that I didn’t take a lot of pictures”

“I really like your face, Daniella. I really like you, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to love you every day”

“I really like you too, George” George was the good thing in my life, and I was scared that he would see beyond my face and find the chaos I was. He poured so much into me, but I didn’t have anything to pour into him.  

We started with the pancakes he made, and it was so good; they tasted like every ingredient was mixed properly in the right amount.

“You really need to start teaching me how to cook” I said as I closed my eyes, savouring the taste of the pancake.

“Just say the word, and my kitchen is all yours” He said, laughing. 

He brought out a photo album from a bag. 

“I watch all those movies where the mother of the boyfriend brings out photo albums with his childhood pictures and shows the girlfriend all his embarrassing childhood pictures, but in this case, I want to do it myself” 

He opened the album, and the first picture was his baby picture in black and white. The picture was taken a week after he was born. He looked so tiny and cute. He had pictures for every month till he turned one. The picture of his first birthday showed him sitting on his mother’s lap, holding a toy, with his father looking at him in a way I have never seen my dad look at me. I held back the tears threatening to fall. There were family pictures too. His first sibling was a girl, then a boy, then he, and the last was a girl. In most of the family pictures, they all wore the same pattern of ankara; the father and the boys wore long-sleeved shirts and a pair of trousers with the same ankara material, while the mother and the girls wore short-sleeved ankle-length gowns. In some pictures, he looked more like his mother, but in others, he looked more like his dad. However, one thing was palpable in those pictures: they were happy.

“I can’t wait to see yours.” He smiled, waiting for an answer. How was I supposed to tell him the first picture of me was a family picture of when the twins were born, and I was two years old, and I was crying while everyone else was smiling? Elizabeth’s hand was on my shoulder, and her other hand was carrying one of the twins. My father, with a broad smile plastered on his face, carried the other twin. Before Dad married Elizabeth, my grandmother, my father’s mother, said I stayed with her and my grandfather, but I wasn’t told if my father ever came to see me. My grandparents rarely visited as I grew up. There weren’t many happy memories to relive through pictures. 

“I told my mum about you” George bloated out that big piece of information like it was nothing. I stood to my feet, my heart now practically pounding out of my chest.

“Why would you do that?!” My voice was high-pitched and shaky. He stood up in confusion.

“Why would I tell my mother about the girl I’m dating? Daniella, are you listening to yourself?” I just stood there in silence “This was not the reaction I was expecting. Daniella, I told her because I’m serious about you. Sometimes, it feels like I’m trying too hard to show you that I love you and…and it’s not working” I noticed his eyes get teary, but he quickly blinked the tears away. Was he finally realising how much of a mess I was? 

“I’m sorry” I just stood there, waiting for him to speak. My phone rang, Elizabeth and the twins were calling. I declined the call. This was not the time.

“Of course, you wouldn’t pick the call. You wouldn’t tell anyone about me. At least, a sibling, Daniella. Show me you’re excited about being with me the same way, I am about you” 

“It’s not…not like that” I wanted to cry, but the tears didn’t come. I walked to where he stood and held his hand.

“I guess this date didn’t turn out the way I hoped it would”

Another day, another awkward ending. I went back to my hostel, and he went to his house. I honestly didn’t know why I reacted that way. Maybe I was scared that something would go wrong, that my final bubble of joy would burst soon, and my father would be right again.