Red INK
Ep 18: The act of tying a Knot 2
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~~Mr Springdam Point of View~~
When he saw Diana walking down the stairs with her sulky attitude, he sighed. He knew it was going to be a bitter morning. One daughter was like him, stubborn as a bull while the other... well the other...he didn't know where she got her attitude from. She was the direct opposite of everyone in his family, including his divorced wife. She was nothing like her.
His ex-wife was materialistic, yes, but was like Linda in all ways. She had kindness and generosity in her that the day she woke up and served him divorce papers was the day he thought he was living an illusion. He was confused. She said she didn't feel anything for him and that she thought she could bear it because of his money. She told herself every time that she could buy happiness with the money he had, but she couldn't put up with it any longer. She was not happy and didn't want to be here. He felt hurt of course, he pulled some tantrums for a while, but she wasn't budging. After he noticed she was resilient about it, he stopped fighting. He went silent for a while, giving her time, Diana was only two months old then, and Linda was six. She stayed till she was seven months when she could be formula fed and gave him a new divorce paper. He didn't hesitate, he signed it and told her to pack her belongings, they would meet in court.
Of course, Reba, his ex-wife was one who wouldn't leave without something. She asked for half his wealth in the divorce proceeding in which his lawyer beat her down to it. The judge ruled in his favour granting her only one quarter of his wealth because he was taking custody of the children.
After all these years, his business grew bigger, creating a more influential name for himself, while hiring a part time baby sitter for his kids. He created time to be with them. When his work schedule became tighter, five years after his ex-wife left, he hired Fiona who started taking care of the children full time. So they grew up with her.
He had tried to remarry, but he didn't want to marry anyone his children wouldn't bond with. So in all these years, three women he had brought home to his children were rejected. He gave up in the end. When his children became adult, he was already used to having Fiona around as their emotional support, so he kept her as the cook.
Linda was the filial child, yet unfilial in some ways. While Diana was the egoistic one, who really didn't care about people's feelings...but also cared in some ways that words could not describe. He understood his children well... so did Fiona.
He made Linda the CEO of his company, she read business management in college and was a very calculated person in it. And he didn't just put her there, he made sure she had experience. He made sure she started from the simple desk workers, before she was taken up to manager before executive and the CEO. She was so engrossed in her work that now that she was thirty, he found it disturbing that he hadn't seen her with any man. As a concerned father that he was, he figured he should take it upon himself to find a man fit for his daughter. Because at the rate Linda was going, she may end up staying in his house forever. She had been rejecting all his selected candidates. Yesterday was the height of it! So he gave her a punishment he thought was befitting. He smiled at his naughtiness.
Some seconds later, he was hearing their voices, he raised his newspaper farther up his face as if it could block out the noise they were making.
He saw the kitchen door open, Diana walking angrily up the stairs with a jar of juice and tumbler in her hands. She shut her door with a bang.
Mr Springdam removed his glasses, used the small cloth to clean it and put it back on. He sighed again. He picked up the newspaper and turned the page.
After a while, the kitchen door opened again, Linda coming out this time, a bottle water in her hand. He watched her walk slowly to the stairs, taking one step up with such slow pace it gave him anxiety. What was she thinking? "Can't you walk faster than that? If you want to climb the stairs, climb it quickly. I will have a stroke at this point."
He watched her look around, trying to find him. " I am up here stupid."
She looked up at him and exhaled heavily. "Father!"
"Walk up the stairs." He raised his newspaper farther up.
"I thought you didn't want to speak with me."
"That is your illusion." He grumbled to himself. He watched her from the corner of his eye walk up the stairs, and then faced the sitting room. She was coming to him. He readjusted his seating posture, picked up his tea, watched her enter. He was able to see her because the sitting room was demarcated all round by tinted glasses. It was where he loved to relax when home.
"Good morning father." She said, picking a seat for herself.
"Hm." He grunted, dropping the mug on the saucer. He went back to reading his newspaper.
Linda looked at him, smiling. Her father was a dramatic, shady man with cute attributes. "Did you sleep well?" He didn't reply. "I don't know how long you can keep this attitude but I can match your energy."
He didn't still reply. She opened her bottle of water and drank again, hoping that before she was done, he would say something. He didn't
She scoffed. "Seriously dad, you are acting like a child."
He dropped the newspaper on his laps. "Well excuse me madam thirty, I am free to act however I want!"
The water bottle was at Linda mouth when she heard what her father called her. She wanted to choke on her water. "Thirty!! Did you just call me—"
"Thirty? Yes."
She closed her water bottle. "Dad, I am twenty-eight!"
"I see no difference between that and thirty."
"Dad! I have two more years before turning thirty. What are you talking about?!"
"Like I said, I see no difference between being twenty-eight and thirty. They are synonymous to each other. Why are you talking like you are twenty years old? How can you be thirty and I haven't even seen you bring home a boy as your boyfriend?"
"I might have a lover secretly."
"Lies!" He pointed at her. "You are not very good at lying. You? A boyfriend? I don't believe you. No! I can't believe you."
"Why do you sound so sure like you've followed me to his bedroom?"
"Because I followed you!" He announced, he didn't seem to be shocked by what he said.
Linda looked at him, folding her hands. "You followed me? To where?" ಠಿ_ಠ
Mr Springdam readjusted in his chair. "Don't look at me like that. I didn't follow you to your spiritual boyfriend's bedroom. I was concerned for you. I wanted to know if you had someone and was keeping him a secret from me, so I had you followed after work. You surprised me instead! Damn! How can you not have a boyfriend at your age? That's disappointing!"
Linda was tired. "When I was a teenager, you chased all my male friends away."
"Were you dating your male friends?" '_'
"Father!"
"What? What do you want to do now, scream at me like the way you screamed at your sister this morning? Go ahead. Mother of the house."
Linda was taken aback by the statement. But her response was one she didn't see coming either. She laughed and stood up. "I can't with you." She picked up her bottle. "I can't with any of you!" She began walking away.
"Hey! Come back here. I am not done talking with you." Mr Springdam told her. "Come and sit. Where do you think you are going?"
Linda looked at him. "To a more sane environment, because it seems like I am the only normal one around here." ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ
Her father pointed to the chair she sat on before. "Sit down."
She rolled her eyes, walking back slowly to the chair and sat down. "What sermon do you want to give to me this time, sir?"
"How was the opera last night? Did you meet someone fancy?"
Linda was not following. "Someone?"
Her father jiggled his brows, smiling.
"I didn't...I just watched the opera."
"Yes. I know. I am asking if you met your type. I heard there are fine men your age who hang around there."
Realizing what her father was saying, w(°ｏ°)w "No way! So you didn't send me to the opera house because you thought I hated opera but because you wanted me to meet a guy I would like?"
"Of course! It's both ways. Why not kill two birds with one stone?" Her father said it so confidently. "I mean, what is wrong with you serving your punishment and still meeting the love of your life at your punishment ground?"
Okay. Linda could swear she was really exhausted. She was babysitting a lot of children.
"So how did you find him?"
"Who?"
"Pete Spencer of course."
She tried to remember who that was, she couldn't nail him. "Who is that?"
Her father sighed. "I didn't know you were so dull, madam thirty."
"Stop calling me that!"
"Until you bring a man home as your boyfriend or fiancê, that will be your name." He picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Come to the glass living room." He said into the phone and ended the call.
A minute later, Gregory was walking through the door. He bowed to Mr Springdam.
"Dad! Really?" Linda yelled.
He ignored her. He faced Greg and pointed at her. " This girl...are you sure she went to the opera house yesterday?"
Greg looked at her, she was flushed. "Yes sir."
"She attended all programs?"
"Yes sir, she did."
"Did you tell her that her other option was to go with her sister to Deeper Height gala?"
"Yes sir."
"And after all that, she refused to see Pete Spencer, the nephew of the man she stood up yesterday?"
Greg didn't reply.
Linda was bewildered. "Pete Spencer is the nephew of the Mr Dumber?"
Her father turned to her. "I told you to wait till the closing after which Mr Spencer would have met with you. You stood up the nephew too?!"
"I didn't know!" She said. "I thought you were linking me with Mr Dumber. I got offended and left."
Mr Springdam stood up from his seat, picked his newspaper and went to Linda, hitting her with it. "You—won't— kill—me. I will kill you first."
Greg ༼⁰o⁰;༽
Linda blocked it with her hand. "What was I supposed to do? The men you've been linking me with these days are either fifteen or twenty years older than I am."
He stopped hitting her. "But never have I linked you with an old man like me. Idiot!" He was breathing heavily.
Linda stood up. "Try carrying me along with your plan next time, so I won't ditch anybody."
Mr Springdam looked at her. "I know Diana is a headache but you..." he shook his head. "I can't!" He threw the newspaper on the table. "I will arrange a meeting with him again, so you can take your apologetic ass there. And I don't want to hear that you don't want to go. I will drag you there myself!" He walked out of the glass room, leaving Linda with Greg. Seconds later, he came back to the door and looked at her. "You do remember that you have that Agio meeting by next tomorrow right?"
She stood up. When her father was talking business, he demanded she focused. "Yes sir. I don't ditch my work."
He nodded. " Fine. I heard Mr Shaft will be flying in himself for the meeting. I have never met him, but I he is a fine young man based on the newspapers I have read. I have seen pictures of him."
Linda rolled her eyes because she knew where he was going with this.
"Unfortunately, he is not one I would want my daughter to fall in love with."
She was surprised, because this was the first time her dad was deciding against a handsome young man he might have thought would be a good match for her.
"I am telling you so you won't go catching feelings for the wrong person." He said and left.
Linda was left speechless at the turn of statement.