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“I’m not illiterate. I graduated high school, and thankfully, the Internet is an additional avenue for learning. What if I told you, sir, that I’ve been taking different courses online to enhance my knowledge in diverse disciplines? I’ve got big dreams, too, and I know my capabilities. I’m only limited by ill fate.”
“Well then, good for you. I’ve got no sympathy to give you. My daughter’s future will not be subjected to your crude learning methods.”
“Daddy, please—”
“I do not wish to get cross with you, June. Eat your food.”
June’s face turned into a scowl. She grumbled as she ate. I stared at him for a while, struggling to fight back my tears.
“What kind of a man are you, really? What exactly do you have against me? Why are you so bitter? It’s men like you that make me not miss having a father so much. I bet if I had one just like you, I would never wish to be home.”
Hudson stared at me wide-eyed and furious. The bell went off just then, and I seized the opportunity to walk away.
“Excuse me.” I left swiftly to get the door, feeling somewhat fulfilled that I had given him a piece of my mind and caused him an equal amount of pain.
I greeted Amy hastily and zoomed off into the kitchen, still very emotional.
“What’s wrong with her?” I heard Amy ask Hudson. Hudson wouldn’t reply.
“Could you excuse me for one moment?” I heard him say to Amy after a few seconds. The footsteps seemed to be coming in my direction. They became louder with each stride. He finally got to the kitchen and pushed the door open.
“What was the meaning of the stunt you just pulled?”
“What stunt?”
“Don’t you play daft with me! So what now? You want to encourage my little girl to leave home? You want to paint a picture in her head that I’m a terrible father, is that it?”
“That was never my intention.”
“It wasn’t your intention? When you conveniently said in front of her that you would rather be fatherless than have a father like me? Who the hell do you think you are? You think I don’t know what’s best for my daughter? Do you think you’re in any position to lecture me on proper parenting?”
“I’m so—”
“You’ll keep quiet until I’m done speaking. I employed you to do a job, and you assumed you could make it your sole mission to turn my daughter against me? Interfering in matters that are certainly not within your jurisdiction and shouldn’t be of concern to you!”
I couldn’t hold back the tears anymore. I let it flow freely while still keeping mute.
“Know your place in this house—I’m warning you. I won’t let anyone, least of all you, come between my daughter and me. Don’t test me, or I’ll have you thrown out of this house into the streets where you belong. Perhaps then, you’ll realize the importance of a father and wish you had one!”
That last statement had me crashing to the kitchen floor as soon as he left. I wept bitterly and audibly. He couldn’t care less.
“Was that really necessary?” Amy had confronted him with the question.
Hudson ignored her and said to June, “Come upstairs with me. You’ll finish your food there.”
I heard the sound of metallic spoons clashing against ceramic plates and glasses clinking together. Amy had come into the kitchen as soon as he went upstairs with June. She sat beside me on the floor and drew me closer to her. I rested my weight on her, crying uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry, Madison,” was all she could say at the moment.
I was still sobbing. She got up shortly after and got me a glass of water. I was done crying now; hiccups had followed.
“Do you want to talk about what happened?”
I shook my head. I didn’t see the need to. There was no way to take back all that had been said. I gulped down the water and handed the glass back to her. She placed it on the floor and took a deep breath. A pep talk was definitely on the way.
“I’m really sorry about my brother. He wasn’t always like this. He’s been through a really rough patch lately, and it’s changed him into this man I don’t even know anymore.”
“I don’t think I want to keep working for him. I want to leave. Perhaps he would get along with someone else better. I may be young and not well-to-do, but that doesn’t justify why he would treat me with so much contempt. It drives me crazy.”
