Falling In Again

"Daddy, I think you're obsessing over mom." Mia whispered to her father who was sitting on the couch giving glances at his daughter's mother who was walking back and forth, her heels clicking on the tiled ground. "I have no idea what you're talking about munchkin." He said to her, not glancing as she made another round and he quickly changed his gaze to the television that was playing in the background. "You keep looking at mommy." She said smiling at him and he smiled back at her. "She looks pretty that's why." he whispered to her before winking and cuddling her. She laughed and said, "Do you just want to have s*x with her?" Roman stopped laughing and looked to his young teenage daughter, "Where did you hear that from? Do you even know what that means?" His daughter, his fourteen-year-old daughter, rolled her brown eyes and said, "Yeah, how old do you think I am? And I hear all the guys say it all the time." She explained to him and a surge of quick anger swept through him. He had to think twice before saying, “You’re right, I was a teenager once.” He replied thinking back to how he was when he was her age, and a boy as well. His hormones were off the chain and it brought him back to when he met Angelica a year later. Another year later and they were both experimenting with each other and low and behold, they were expecting at sixteen. Being young parents was not easy, they both were lucky enough to have good parents who helped and they both had to grow up really quick. They married with their parent’s consent at seventeen and unfortunately, they grew apart over the years and ended up divorcing. Now at thirty, he was wondering why their relationship broke apart, he knew she couldn’t stand him and he enjoyed poking fun at her and her dates. He looked quickly to his daughter who he didn’t realize was already a teenager and it really hit him how much he was trying to climb the corporate ladder and being as successful as he was, he let so much time pass him by that his daughter was already in high school. A surge of panic hit his chest and he watched his daughter intently as she focused on whatever reality show they were watching. Her brown eyes glued to the screen as a family of plastic surgeries and false beauty displayed their lack of intelligence. “Mia.” He said and she didn’t look at him as she said, “What?” “Have I ever told you I love you?” He told her and she glanced away from the show as it went to commercial and smiled at him, a dimple cratering her left cheek. She got that from her mom who also had dimples and he could see so much of her beauty in their daughter. “Love you too daddy.” She replied with a weird look creasing her brow. “You’re weird.” She commented as her eyes went to the television. “Okay, I should be back maybe by midnight. Please, and I mean it Roman, don’t let her stay up late. She has school tomorrow.” Angelica said as she walked up to them and Roman looked her from her pointed heels to the top of her curled brown hair. She looked good and he would be lying to himself if he said that she wasn’t beautiful. Her full lips had a pink rose color and her face in simple makeup. They both looked at her and she switched stances as she asked, “How do I look?” Roman didn’t say anything because he knew that the next words out of his mouth would be a compliment that she might not like. “You’re so pretty mom, but maybe change your lip color if you’re trying to get lucky. Your makeup screams, I didn’t put in the effort.” Mia said and Angelica’s eyes widened. She looked to Roman who shrugged. “I didn’t teach that to her.” “Where are you planning on going, just in case you disappear, I know where to send the authorities?” He asked with a grin and she rolled her eyes and he knew in that moment where his daughter got the move from. They were practically twins. “I’ll text Mia when we get there, you don’t have to worry about that. Honey, I will talk to you about that when I get a chance about what you can and can’t say.” She said putting a hand on her hips. “I gotta go, I’m going to be late.” Angelica said as she looked at herself in the mirror once more and grabbed her keys. “Your date is not picking you up?” He asked as he watched her open the front door and putting her arms through her coat. “Rule of thumb, don’t like my dates knowing where we live.” She told him, fixing her hair and collar. “Ah, got it. You’re a smart one angel.” He said, using the nickname he used to call her and she glared at him. He knew it got under her skin when he used the term of endearment when they used to be married but he for some odd reason enjoyed teasing her. “I think you’re still in love with mom.” Mia said and he looked at his daughter once more as the door closed with Angelica’s brown curls being the last thing that he saw before she disappeared to the other side. He wondered, if over the years that they had been apart, did he?