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"She did. And she said she expects another package delivered before dusk tomorrow," I replied.
"That is all. You have done well, son," he muttered.
"Anthony… what is my daughter like?" he asked and my jaw dropped.
What was I supposed to say? She was decent? She was such a nice woman? She was feisty? Of course, what I wanted to say was that she was a devil's prawn but with sex appeal. I really needed to stop sexualizing everything these days. I was clearly deprived.
"Umm… she's well," I replied cautiously. I heard a chuckle at the other end of the phone.
"You always play it safe, Anthony. Tomorrow, you heard her, before dusk. See you tomorrow, son," he said and hung up.
I stared down at the phone. Things were definitely getting weird these days.
I needed to get my daughter. The engine roared back to life, and I took off.
I drove up my driveway and got out of the car. I needed to apologize to Mrs. Tom as I had clearly overstepped the boundaries. She's such an angel, and I would be in trouble if Mrs. Tom got angry. It was way past 11 p.m.
I walked swiftly towards Mrs. Tom's house.
"Anthony, is that you?" I heard a muffled voice behind the front door.
"Yes, Mrs. Tom," I said as I heard the door being unlocked.
"Come in. Amanda has been asleep for a while now," she gestured towards a bedroom. "She had a long day and wanted her daddy so bad," she continued while gathering up my daughter's belongings and handing them to me.
"I am so sorry. I didn’t intend to stay out this late," I said, but she waved her hand in dismissal.
"It’s fine. I know the trouble of raising this beautiful child on your own. I have a few of them too, you know. They are all my pride and joy." She moved toward the bedroom to fetch my daughter.
She reappeared with my sleepy daughter in hand and gave her to me. We walked out of her home together, and she muffled a yawn while waving us off.
After putting my daughter to bed, I went around the house double-checking the locks on windows and doors. It had been a long, weird day, and I was faced with many questions that still needed answers. All I knew was that I had to be more careful from now on.
As I lay in bed, I couldn't help but think about how much my life had changed in the past few years. Everything that had once made me happy seemed to have been stripped away, leaving me with nothing but a suffocating sense of emptiness. The only good to have come from all of it had been my precious daughter, who was now my sole motivation in life. I tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position, but nothing seemed to work. I stared at the ceiling, feeling trapped in a nightmare I couldn't wake up from.
Eventually, I decided to get up and try to clear my head. I made my way down the hall to my daughter's room, her soft breathing providing a small sense of comfort. I couldn't help but smile as I looked at her sleeping peacefully, her favorite doll clutched tightly in her arms. I gently shut the door, not wanting to disturb her, and continued to the kitchen.
I grabbed a cold beer from the fridge and spotted a dirty lunch box around the corner. I ignored it and sat down on the living room couch, taking in a deep breath as I tried to relax. Regardless of the joy my little girl brought me every day, I couldn't shake the rock of sadness that had settled inside of me. It was as if I was carrying the weight of the world on my shoulders, and no matter how much I tried to escape it, it was always there, haunting me.
As I sat there, staring off into space, memories of Christine flooded my mind. She had been my everything. We had left our hometown to search for freedom from our alcoholic and unstable parents. But then Christine shattered every hope I had left within me.
We had been together for years, and I thought we had it all figured out. I thought all we needed was ourselves and that the universe had placed me and my soulmate together. We had planned to get married, start a family, and grow old together.
But then, everything fell apart. It was as if she had never shared the dream we had nurtured for years. She just up and left without any warning or explanation. I was devastated.
I looked for her everywhere, but all I got in return was a call. She was pregnant, and the baby was mine. She didn’t want to keep the baby, but I pleaded, as her last favor to me, to please go through with the pregnancy.
However, once Amanda was born, Christine wanted nothing to do with her. The woman I had loved for so long turned out to be someone I never really knew at all. She was willing to sacrifice anything to get herself to the top. Suddenly, my heartbreak was compounded by a whole new set of challenges. How was I going to take care of a baby on my own? I had no idea what I was doing.
But as the months passed, something shifted in me. Maybe it was the fierce protectiveness I felt for the tiny, helpless creature that was now my responsibility. I started to embrace my new role as a father, learning everything I could about baby care and taking pride in the little victories—a successful diaper change, a nap that lasted longer than twenty minutes. Slowly but surely, I started to feel like I could do it. I could be a good dad, despite everything that had happened. Days turned to months to years, and now my baby was five.
I knew that I wasn’t completely alone in this. I had my little girl, and I had my own strength and resilience.
I took another sip of my beer, feeling the cold liquid soothe my throat. But no matter how much I drank, I knew it wouldn't be enough to erase the pain I felt inside. I was trapped in a cycle of grief, worry, and uncertainty about how to live in the present. Lately, this feeling of dissatisfaction had been growing stronger. And I didn't want my daughter to grow up like me—someone who couldn’t be proud of their father. I wanted her to feel I had done everything in my power to give her the best life possible.
I had to admit that Laura, the boss's daughter, in spite of her surly personality, clearly had everything sorted. She had freedom and protection, and her father had power. She could do anything she wanted at any time. That was the life I want to give my daughter—the ability to transition without obstacles.
But where was the vision? How did it start? I didn’t even have a ladder to climb. I had heard the Mafia treated their own as brothers, so I applied to become a driver. I thought the best way I could break free would be lobbying to get to the top, but it was much more stagnant as a driver. Safe, but stagnant. Climbing a promotional ladder that didn't even exist was a daunting prospect. Still, it was the best chance to achieve my dreams. I knew the world outside was tough, but I was willing to do whatever it took to protect my family and give us a better life.
