Daddy Issues

Though there are some that may claim to not have parents, it's safe to assume that we were all raised by someone. The grocer may have a ma that calls 3 times a day, and the doctor may have a warm house to visit every Thanksgiving with cold conversation at the dinner table. They may not like to admit it, but at least they aren't alone -- everyone comes from somewhere... Or rather, someone.

But as these examples show us, not any parent is perfect -- no father comes without a sin... And with each sin comes an unexpected consequence in the personality of their offspring.



In the sin of lust, a child can be grown with the yearning hope for true, lasting affection...



In the sin of wrath, a child will aspire to be the ultimate pride and joy, as to never again know the sting of harsh words...



But sometimes, on rare occasion, a parent is everything that their child wanted -- the perfect father, for the "perfect" daughter. Perhaps, on these rare occasions, there really is an example of true happiness in a father-daughter relationship...

... at least, until those sins finally decide to come out of the dark.

---

If Alesha Drudge had one secret that she tried to hide at school, it was that her father was a very childish, immature man with a nasty habit for philandering.



Although Alesha's mother had done her best to "forget" this fact on many occasions (claiming that Shamus simply couldn't help himself) their little girl had finally reached the end of her rope.

Well -- if she wasn't allowed to blame her dad, then there was definitely someone else who she was no longer going to tolerate.



"YOU!"

As Alesha barged into the room, both Shamus and Carolina Leman leaped from the bed in shock, staring at the young Drudge girl in complete dismay.

"You foul, evil woman! Don't you have any regard for anyone? I'm so sick of seeing you sneak into this house, so sick of seeing you sticking your tongue down my dad's throat when my mother isn't watching, so sick of hearing your voice through these cheap paper walls!"



"Oh yeah?" Carolina responded, as if trying to provoke the newly aged teen. "Why don't you take that attitude and stick it under your pillow where it belongs?! Your father is allowed to do whatever he wants to, you little twerp!"

"I don't care! I'm tired of seeing my mom suffer! I'm tired of neither of you caring! You both are-- are disgusting!"



"I want you out! NOW!" Alesha screamed, flailing her arm towards the door. "And I NEVER want to see your face again!"


With a dismissive shrug, Carolina swept from the room proudly, and out the front door of the house with a slam.

Before Shamus could even turn to his daughter to try to explain, she too was gone... and no where to be found.

---

If that is what the poison of Carolina Leman could do to a family on the other side of town, it doesn't take a far stretch of the imagination to consider what it was doing to her own.

And yet, while her poison ran deep, there may be at least one man in town that was immune: her husband.



"Look, sweetie, calm down..."

Thomas Leman tried to reason with his wife, although he sheepishly backed away in expectation that reasoning was not going to abate her temper just yet. "Can't we sit down and talk about this? You'll feel better with some drink in you."



"Feel better?! You think I'm going to feel better about this?!" Carolina's lungs carried her voice far beyond the room they stood in -- Thomas was just thankful they had plenty of room between themselves and the neighbors.

"You're telling me we need to sacrifice our one avenue into the Kane household because you can't stomach it, Thomas! I knew you were squeamish, but I didn't think you were a bloody coward!"



"I am NOT a coward!" Finally, Thomas broke loose. He may have grown accustomed to Carolina's promiscuous 'nature' -- of that they could both be considered sort of guilty -- but there were some things about her he simply could not take.

He continued, "I am only protecting our daughter from a choice that she is not old enough to make! You're abusing her love for you, and I'm not going to stand for it anymore! She got what you asked for... What else could you possibly want?!"

Carolina's nose shriveled, but with a long roll of her eyes, she muttered, "Fine," under her breath, and turned away.



As she passed the stairs, she finally caught sight of Naomi hiding around the corner.

At first, Carolina laughed: eavesdropping? How terribly clever of her. Still, it didn't take more than a moment for her to finally swagger up to her daughter and put on her most obnoxious expression.

"I suppose you couldn't handle it anyways, what with your Daddy babying you too much," she scoffed, causing her daughter's teeth to grit in anger.




"Carolina," Thomas interjected, pulling his wife away from Naomi. "Please, just go upstairs. We'll talk about this later, when you aren't so riled up. Now's not the time, alright?"

With another sigh, Carolina grumbled, "There's nothing else to say," before turning and swiftly walking up the stairs, and out of sight.



Once she had gone, Thomas's face suddenly fell. There was anger in his eyes, but also something more -- something that his daughter couldn't quite place.

"Dad... Dad, don't worry, I can handle it. I want to do this." Naomi tried to sound confident, but she failed, miserably -- her voice cracked strongly on 'this'.

"No, Naomi," he said, shaking his head. "Not anymore. You've already done too much. This isn't the life I want for you, and the last thing I want is for you to be stuck in it because you're trying so desperately for your mother to be proud of you."



Suddenly, Naomi's thoughts broke loose."Why, dad?!" She couldn't take it, anymore. Bending down before her father's tired face, she looked up into his eyes with an unfakeable earnestness. "Why do you do this? Put up with her? Always do what she wants? You're so unhappy..."

"Because I do love your mother. And I love what I do. But..." He breathed deeply, closing his eyes. "I love you more. I want you to promise me, right now, that you'll get out of this, and you'll stay out. No matter what your mother asks, no matter how much you think you might want to."



"Are... Are you sure, Daddy?" Naomi raised her brows, nervous about her mother's wrath. "Because I'll do anything... anything... you want."

"Yes, sweetheart, I'm sure." With a weak smile, he continued to stare deep into his daughter's eyes. "Honestly, all I want now is to take back what we forced you to do. I... I just wish I'd been a better father."

"But you're a great fath--"

"Honey, a good father would have never have allowed you do what you've done. A good father would've stopped his wife from even asking his daughter to make that sacrifice." With a bit of a stronger smile and a chuckle, Thomas finished: "So... All I can do now is make sure it doesn't happen again."

---

Perhaps neither Shamus nor Thomas were the worst of fathers, and maybe there is something to be said of both  (though considerably more of one than the other). However, it is because of their mistakes that their daughters are who they are... One daughter a needy romantic, the other dying for a mother's affection; not the worst qualities, but still probably not the best.

It is a sharp contrast, then, that Amelia Kane found herself in -- oblivious to her best friends' troubles, oblivious to what it would be like to crave attention and affection...




... oblivious, because she got quite plenty enough without asking for it.

"Hey Mia-Bia," Jebidiah whispered as he knocked on the door to his daughter's room, carefully stepping inside as if the carpet were covered with sharp pointy things. "You got a minute?"

"Kinda in the middle of readin' a book," she mumbled, not even sparing her dad a glance up. "But sure, it can wait. What's up?"



Jeb's face broke out in a large grin, and his eyes wrinkled happily beneath his thick sunglasses. "It'll only take a minute, I promise," he said softly. "I just wanted to let you know, there's something downstairs in the living room for you."

"Huh? Really?" Amelia's face lit up with surprise. "Did my new CD come in the mail?"

"No," Jebidiah said with a small laugh. "I think you'll like this better."



A few moments of quick, loud stomps down the stairs later, Amelia froze in a sudden, overwhelming feeling of emotion. "D.... Daddy! You didn't!"



"No... I'm pretty sure I did," he responded cockily, still standing firm in the corner of the room, arms crossed, face telling of a job well done. "She's all yours, Mia."



"Oh... Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohm-- I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!"

There it was -- the guitar she'd been drooling over oh, since, you know... The day she was old enough to see pictures. The solid mahogany overlay, the yellow trimmings, the gold plated tuners, emerald plumbbob on the--



OOMPH!

"Oh daddyohdaddyohdaddy thankyouthankyouthankyou..." Amelia's voice had gone so high-pitched, that as she flailed and jumped at her unsuspecting father, the words that continued to pour out of her lips were no longer distinguishable. At this point, it sound more like a squirrel saying, "Enkoo enkoo enkoo!"



"I get it, I get it! You like it!"Although Jeb was surprised, he still was careful to catch her in his arms, and tried not to laugh at her sudden, ridiculous outburst. "I'm glad to hear it, sweetheart. You deserve it."



"Oh, daddy..." Amelia said-- though, muffled through the shoulder of his jacket. "I don't think there's aaaanyone on the planet who loves ya more than I do."



"I know, Mia... I know. I love you, too." Jeb's smile softened as he relished his daughter's hug, but after a long impatient moment of tapping his foot, he rolled his eyes and coughed. "Mia..."



"Oh, right, sorry, heeehee."

Amelia jumped down out of his arms, landing on the ground with the hard *thud* of her slippers, still clinging to his shoulders for support. "You're the best, dad. Really. I mean, I'll take out the trash for a week if you want me to..."



"Oh come now, let's not get that drastic," Jeb said sarcastically with another roll of his eyes and a laugh. "I just ask that you make good use of it. It cost a pretty penny, but, there's nothing I want more than to hear you following your dream. You hear?"

"Of course, daddy! I'll play it every day! Every night!"

"Well then... No better time to start than the present."



As he watched his daughter play, Jebidiah knew that there was nothing in the world he enjoyed hearing more than those first, painful, out-of-tune notes... She was his only daughter, and he was entitled to spoil her--



--and he knew, he'd make sure he'd be able to spoil her, forever... No matter what it meant he'd have to do.

---

Several days later, the bell on the Red Rendezvous' doors heralded the arrival of two teenage girls, giggling about Amelia's suck for a father -- "He really even got the one with the gold-plated tuning pegs? Holy cow!" They cranked up the stereo and ordered up a plate of hot wings -- but as they waited, Naomi turned her friend aside.

She had something a bit more serious on her mind.



"Listen, Amelia... I know you were really happy about what I told you the other day, but could you mind keeping it to yourself for a little while? I'm still feeling kind of bad about it, and... Well... I'd rather Alesha didn't know about it right now. I kinda want to wait until I'm ready, okay?"



Naomi didn't even have to finish what she was saying for a thick rock to sink fast in Amelia's stomach.

"... What," Naomi groaned.

"I... I sort of already told her," Amelia said in a guilty whisper. "I was just so excited, and, you know... well... I told her to meet us here."



"You. Did. NOT," Naomi hissed. "Ugh, I can't believe you Amelia!"

Amelia's face quickly disappeared deep in the palm of her hand. "I knoooww I knooooww...."

"I'm not ready for this! I only just told you yesterday, I expected you to keep your mouth shut for at least a few more days."



"Look, I'm sorry," Amelia pleaded, her voice getting screechy. "But you gotta understand, I couldn't help myself. Both Alesha and I have been waiting for this for ages. She doesn't know what's going on, but I swear, she's a total sweetheart, she'll forgive you... all you gotta do is apologize and get it off your chest."



"Alright alright." It was sighed, but Naomi's submission instantly overwhelmed Amelia with relief. "I guess it's better to just get it overwith, anyways. Just... give me a minute to go hide in the corner so I don't shoot myself the second she walks in the door."

"Yep, yep, no problem!" Amelia responded perkily. "I'll wave you over when she's here! You'll do great! I promise! Pinky promise! Super duper pink--"

"Ugh." Naomi said, cutting her off before walking away. What in Simdom had she gotten herself into...



A few minutes later, Alesha spotted Amelia chilling on the dance floor, staring at the front door hopefully.

"Didn't realize you were already here," Alesha said with a smile after she'd closed the distance between them. "I would've come a bit sooner. You said you wanted to go to the movies?"



"Wwweeelllll...." Amelia cleared her throat before beginning.

"See, that was kinda a fib, because I neededtogetyouherewithyouyoubeingsuspiciousandthatwastheonlywaythat I could--" Breath. "I'm not sure how you're going to feel about this, but... There's someone here that wants to tell you something. Just promise you won't run away or anything, okay?"

"Oh... kay?"




As Naomi approached warily from the side, Amelia shook her head and made a firm movement with her hand. "I promise, I had absolutely no part in this. What she's gonna tell you is totally from her own gut. I didn't even try to influence her. So. Just keep that in mind."



As Amelia turned to start walking away, hoping to give them some privacy, she suddenly saw the nervous look on Naomi's face.

"C'mon... Talk to her... She's not gonna bite, I promise."



"I, er... Yeah." Naomi wasn't totally convinced, but she was brave -- that and she could take a punch if one came her way. She realized that'd probably only be what she deserved, anyways.



Naomi's gut stiffened even more as she saw Amelia disappear out of the side of her vision, but, there was no point wasting any more time. Telling herself what she said earlier -- best to just get it overwith -- she cleared her throat and began.

"Look, Alesha. I've been realizing, lately, that ever since I moved here, I've been treating you... Well... Like garbage. And you don't deserve it. I was under a lot of pressure, y'see, between my parents, and trying to make friends at a new school, and... stuff... And I just saw you as a threat. I didn't really realize that we could share Amelia, and to be honest, I didn't even really know what friendship was. But I do, now, and... Well...'

'I'm sorry."




"Naomi," Alesha began, slowly. Her voice was calm -- so much so that it made Naomi wince painfully. Still, Naomi remained silent, waiting for Alesha to continue.

"You're a tough girl. To be perfectly honest, I don't totally understand you. But over the past few weeks, I've gotten a taste of what you've probably had to deal with your whole life. See..." She paused, her expression turning morose. "My parents... They aren't so great, either. At least, my dad isn't. And my mom? She just tolerates it. I guess what I mean to say is... I realize I hadn't really understood, before now. That you really didn't know any better. That you were just trying to deal with your life as best as you knew how. And... Honestly, I can forgive you, for that."



"You... You know my parents?" Naomi was surprised, caught up on that one detail. "You know what they're like?"

"Yeah, I do. Well... At least your mom. She... My dad... Well. You get the idea."

Naomi was still shocked, but nodded. Although she knew it wasn't her fault, she still felt guilty. "Yeah. I'm sorry..."



"It's alright, it really is," Alesha said, smiling. "See, it means we actually have something in common. Despite what we've been through, what our parents have been like, it's given us both the opportunity to connect because of it. There's no reason to hold grudges or ask for forgiveness for that. As long as you're ready to put the past behind us, so am I."

Naomi still wasn't sure what to say -- never in a million years had she expected this reaction -- but, in the very least, she nodded.



Although an awkward silence followed, deep down, they knew what each other was thinking:

"I guess there really is someone else out there with daddy issues."

Meanwhile, Amelia frolicked oblivious in a nearby bed of flowers... Tralalalaa...