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He looked at me, "Now, I understand why… your mom said… I'm unreasonably stubborn."
"Of course, you are. If you let me help you with work…."
"Olivia, I did this because of you. It's what your mother would have wanted," he explained. "To have you not to work hard on anything else besides your academics and other skills."
"But Mom wouldn't want you to work yourself to exhaustion, would she?" I asked.
"True… but consider it… a father's pride," he replied.
"Dumb pride," I muttered and frowned.
The next smile he gave wasn't so tired as he touched my face and settled on my right cheek, "Like mother…. like daughter."
"What do you even mean by that?" I asked. "Just rest, Dad."
"Is this a good time to miss her together?" he asked.
I looked at him and that was the first time I saw him crying.
"She made such a beautiful girl," he said. "I don't know if I did a good job taking care of her creation."
"You did too much," I said.
"Perhaps…" he said as he let go of me and placed his hands together on his stomach, while turning his attention to the ceiling.
I didn't know what else to say. I was on the verge of bursting into tears, but Dad had once told me that my tears hurt the hearts of those who truly love me. His heart was already tired… I didn't want to do anything else.
"I'm thirsty," he said softly.
"I'll call the nurse," I said. "Nurse!"
"No, I want you to go get it," he said.
Oh…
"Coward," I bit my bottom lip.
"I can't sleep if I'm thirsty," he said while smiling again.
I got up and walked to the door and paused, "I love you, Dad."
"I love you, Olivia my angel," he said. "Take care on your way."
"I'll do my best," I said.
"Now get me the water," he insisted.
I stepped out of the room to look for the bottle of water. I asked a nurse to look after him while I left. I was already crying on my way back to the room. The nurse was with the doctor and the look on their faces said it all.
I brought the water to his side and thanked him for his hard work. After he was buried, I couldn't overcome the guilt. My mother had died giving birth to me, and my father had died raising me. I was clearly the problem and my relatives made sure I was aware of that.
I hadn’t expected any help from them. Deciding to study nursing because it was a shorter paramedic course, I made full use of the scholarship and the huge sum of money Dad was able to raise. At twenty-one, I was done with nursing and went on to practice at a hospital. The owner of the place knew Dad as one of the construction workers who helped build the place.
Why he decided to take me in, or what my father did to gain favor in his eyes, I'll never know. But even after death, dad was still taking care of me.
Relationships… were a problem. The amount of men ignoring me or not paying any attention to me made me wonder if something was wrong with me. I decided to focus on my career instead, hoping I would find someone. And I did, in the guise of a patient.
Jason had come to the hospital for a checkup. I was the nurse who assisted the doctor attending to him. Jason was a good person. At least when I first met him. He made me comfortable in my skin and made sure I always felt beautiful.
