Deadpan and Frivolous

Chapter 13

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KYLIE POV

"Happy tenth birthday!"  My family yells.

I jolt awake and open my eyes to see my mom holding a camera, my dad holding a cake, and my brother smiling at me.

I grin. "Thank you!" I give the cake my attention. "Does this mean I get a piece of cake for breakfast?" 

My dad chuckles and my mom glares at him. "I told you she would want a piece for breakfast if you brought it in here." My mom turns to me. "You can have a piece after breakfast." She kisses my cheek and leaves the room.

My brother ruffles my hair and grins. "Happy birthday, brat." He leaves as I roll my eyes.

 I look at my dad and he pulls out a butter knife, two forks, and two napkins from his pocket. "Shh. Don't tell your mother." He whispers.

I laugh as he sits down on my bed and cuts us both a piece. "Thank you, dad."

"No problem, princess."

We eat our cake and my dad gives me a kiss on the forehead. "Happy birthday." He goes to leave the room, but stops and gazes at me. "I was going to wait to give you this, but I can't." He grins.

My dad strolls over to me and hands me a golden locket. I open it and find a picture of my dad and I that was taken when I was six. I have my head turned to the camera smiling while I pinch my dads' nose as he makes a funny face with puffed cheeks.

I smile and get up to hug my dad. "Thank you, dad."

"Do you like it?" He asks as he looks down at me.

"I love it." 

"Good." He says. "I hope you're still hungry because your mother cooked a big breakfast for your birthday."

"I don't know what you're talking about daddy. I haven't eaten yet this morning." I wink.

My dad chuckles. "You're something else, Kylie." He hugs me tighter. "I love you. princess."

"I love you too, dad."

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I open my eyes and sit up, unable to help the tears from escaping my eyes.

There's a knock at my door and I use my sleeve to wipe my tears away as I sniffle. I clear my throat so I don't sound like I was crying. "Come in," I say.

My mom walks in with a smile and a plate full of food. "Happy seventeenth birthday, Kylie." 

I give her my fake smile. It's really not a happy birthday without my dad. My tenth birthday was my last happy one. "Thank you, mom." I take the food from her and begin to eat.

"So, have anything special planned for today?" My mom questions me.

I shake my head. "No, just going to school, going for a run, then coming home." What she doesn't know is my 'run' is going to the cemetery to visit my dad. 

I would tell her where I'm going, especially since I hate lying to her, but my mom gets upset when she hears anything that reminds her my dad is no longer with us. She hates going to the cemetery. It's not that she doesn't want to visit him. She does. It's just so hard for her to go. 

I worry about her. She can reminisce about things we did as a family and things my dad did but seeing and hearing certain things upset her. Over the years, my brother and I have picked up on those said things and try to avoid the topics and hide any objects that will upset her.