My Father Is My Mate

Robin birds peck insects on the branches of plum trees, dropping a few petioles among the clumps of daffodils coiled underneath. One of the stalks fell on top of the famous classic comic of French origin in the lap of a girl sitting on a long bench. The campus is located on the left, while the right is the publishing company. Separated by a park roughly the same width as a quarter of the length of a football field, the two buildings are part of the famous Fox Group.

Several times the girl arched a smile accompanied by a blush on the face. She looked cool, unsettled by the winter wind that flew a few strands of her hair. Maybe it's because she likes the comics on her lap so much.

The bang of a woman's slender and blond shoes distracted the girl for a moment. The girl stared intently, like reflecting on a grain of dew. The blonde woman stopped right at the door of the room that became the center of all activities in the company. The room was inhabited by a single man who had modeled for a fashion magazine as a teenager and became the most successful young entrepreneur in Europe when he was in the middle of thirty years old. Aaric Fox, his name.

Immediately one of the two door leaves connecting the room from the outside world immediately opened, hitting the wall until it shook. The girl in the park was aghast as if awakened from her sleep at four o'clock.

"Solve this! Revision in ten minutes!" snapped Aaric as he slammed the pile of files in front of the woman. It caused a noise that grabbed the attention of the employees who passed around him. Some of them whispered, some others walked quickly away wisely.

Aaric Fox turned around and was swallowed by a carved door similar to the lace decoration typical of the gothic style that used to be popular in medieval times. The girl immediately got up with a frown. She helped the woman reassemble the scattered files.

"No need to bother, Miss. I'm used to it," said the woman with the names of Ashley William on her chest. The fast tone of speech indicates that she is always in a race with time.

"It doesn't matter. Instead of me just waiting for the driver to pick up," the girl replied. Her two ration lips formed a smile.

"It's really good for you, Miss Mary Rose." Ashley returned the smile while rubbing the sweat on her forehead.

Mary just responded with a smile. She moved nimbly to collect the papers. Her face was furious every time she found a dirty sheet. It seems that she is good at empathizing with the distress of others.

"I made a fatal mistake. That's why Mr. Fox snapped. It's not usually like that," Ashley continued. There was a strange vibration at the end of each sentence.

Mary laughed revealing a row of white teeth. Then, "What do you say, Mrs. William? Every day I wait for the driver in the park and every day I see Mr. Fox angry with you. Tell that to the media of the time, I don't need to."

Ashley smiled stiffly, like being caught stealing a broomstick. In the next second her laughter blared, although her face still looked tense.

"Mrs. William, it seems that you will have trouble. Look at this!" exclaimed Mary as she grabbed a piece of paper floating in a pond decorated with andesite rocks.

The wind kept the pool water moving until Mary had trouble picking up the paper. The starving fish thought the white thing was fine dining. The further the paper is out of Mary's reach. Just as the girl was about to pick up a dry branch as an extension of her hand, she was aghast to find Aaric Fox already standing behind her.

"My job is already messed up and you're adding to the problem by dropping important reports into the pool, Miss? So, you're a hero of the fun for my secretary. I see?" Aaric's slur made the girl stammer.

Mary was torn. A snare of panic radiated clearly on her face. Her mouth opened to say something before she returned to silence as Aaric said again, "Show your responsibility by retype the report and give it to me tomorrow. I have been very generous to give you that much time."

The man's blue eyes flashed into Mary's face, as if a lion saw a deer. The tip of Aaric's lips is slightly pulled upwards, odd. Mary cast her gaze on the wet grass, avoiding the tall man's gaze. Moments later she accepted Aaric Fox's order.

"Ashley, what's my schedule after this?" asked Aaric as he passed arrogantly leaving Mary. Ashley, who had been silent, was shaken following the long steps of her superiors. She mentioned some of the activities that the man responded to in a small nod. The two people disappeared at the end of the corridor leading to the parking lot.

Mary was glued while pressing her chest. In her eyes was a look of hope as well as restlessness. Staring at the wet paper she smiled sweetly, as if she had lost all the burden.

***

With a light step, Mary approached the driver in the campus court. The middle-aged man was talking to the security guard before noticing the presence of his young lady. Soon he rushed to open the door of a black limo parked not far from them.

"Mrs. Ellena Jenkinson has been waiting for you at a salon not far from here, Miss," said Tommy, the driver, as Mary was already sitting in the backseat.

The girl flinched. Throw her face away from the man who has worked for her family almost twenty times this winter. Her eyes were pus staring at the court of the campus that was arm-length accompanied by clashing teeth. Tommy focused on driving, entering the traffic crowd of London.

"What am I fulfilling that invitation for, Tommy?" said Mary looking at him from the rearview mirror.

The man glanced also through the rearview mirror before saying, "For parents, children are pride, Miss. The child is a part of the parent himself. I imagined that my son would one day oppose me. I don't know how I have to go through my life if that happens."

"But me and your son are different, Tommy!" argued Mary visibly upset by the remarks tending to defend the mother thrown by the old man.

"Both of your child's parents are whole and pour him out with affection, as for me? I never even knew who my father was. The man who made me born from a sixteen-year-old teenager and my mother, what kind of woman who doesn't even have the slightest maternal nature. I'm a wasted biological child more than a stepdaughter. This dinner invitation is nothing more than to trick me into getting into the trap," Mary added.

Flames flashed in her eyes. Her marble face flushed perfectly. Mary took off the knit jacket she was wearing and threw carelessly at the empty passenger seat on the side. It was as if with the jacket she was throwing anger.

"Someone must have a reason for every decision he chooses, Miss. Mrs. Ellena just didn't say it." Tommy's expression did not change. He remained focused on splitting the streets, alert to the traffic signs that mushroomed in the city.

Mary leaned her head roughly on the car seat wrapped in a soft brown velvet cloth. She closed her eyes, let out a long sigh. The sunlight infiltrating through the car glass that fell on her pointed nose did not dilute the tension on the girl's face.

*

"Finally we arrived after waiting in the salon for hours. I'll show you how good I feel, Mary," Ellena boasted as they entered an Italian-style restaurant.

"You spent my money on unnecessary things. Haven't you been deterred, Mom? Grandpa has kicked you out without a penny of inheritance. You should be sorry and no longer in front of men," Mary said softly in between their steps.