Chapter 1
Nora stared out of her cab window as it drew closer to the house, her eyes darting past the sights of the sleepy Californian suburban town she had grown up in. For eighteen years, this place was home and now so much had changed that she barely even recognized her life here. She hadn’t been back home in seven years, but the town had barely changed although everything now looked much smaller.
The cab stopped outside her dad’s bungalow and the moment she stepped on to the driveway, memories of her childhood came flooding back. Not much had changed, it was the same red brick two-storied house with a sufficient porch and a well looked after front yard. Her father had been spending time on the hedges and keeping the lawn mowed. She even noticed two flower pots placed tastefully at the top of the short flight of steps, which she couldn’t remember being there earlier.
Nora’s heels clicked against concrete as she walked towards the house, and the screen door banged open.
“Dad!” she squealed, rushing towards him with open arms. Her father met her halfway, in the middle of the stairs, and she leapt into his arms and they were hugging.
“You made it!” he said, tightening his grip around her.
“Of course I did. I wouldn’t miss this,” she said when he finally released her and he bent down to pick up the two bags she had brought with her.
With their arms around each other, they walked into the house and Nora couldn’t stop smiling. She had stayed away from her hometown for all these years for several reasons, but her father wasn’t one of them.
“I didn’t think you’d be able to get away,” he said when they entered the house. Nora sighed as she looked around. The living room was the same, with the same paintings on the walls and the same photographs on the mantelpiece. The only difference was that there was now an enormous blown up frame of Nora in her graduation gown with her degree in hand. There was another smaller frame on the table next to the couch, which was a more recent one of her and her father together when he visited her in New York.
“Don’t be silly. I wouldn’t miss your fiftieth birthday for anything,” she said, walking into the kitchen to see if everything was still in its place. Her stepdad followed her in, watching her admiringly observed her surroundings. Nora whipped around to face him with a smile on her face.
“It’s like I’m fifteen again, dad,” she said and he was smiling too.
“I wanted to make sure that you came back to what you remembered as home, honey,” he said and Nora began pouring them two glasses of orange juice from the fridge.
When she heard him clear his throat, she knew exactly what he was going to say.
“Although, I was expecting you to bring that new boyfriend of yours…what’s his name?” he said, and she kept her back turned to him as she took a sip of her juice.
“Jack,” she said without interest. She wanted him to drop the topic but he wasn’t about to give up on it so easily.
“So, where is he?” he asked.
She turned to him with a forced smile on her face. She handed him his glass and then took a seat at the old wooden dining table, and another wave of nostalgia swept over her.
“He’s in New York,” she said.
“He couldn’t get away?”
“No,” she replied flatly but smiled nonetheless. This wasn’t the time and nor was she in the mood to explain to her him what was going on with Jack.
“Okay, do you have pictures of him at least?” he asked, joining her at the table now.
“Dad, we’re just dating…casually, you know, it’s not serious or anything,” she said, avoiding his eyes. She could sense that he was looking at her keenly.
“Just dating? Didn’t you start dating six months ago? Surely it should be serious by now…” he said.
Nora let out a huge sigh. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t allow all the questions about her personal life get to her. She knew that he was only curious in a good way, and that it was his job as her stepdad to be nosey. However, she had gotten accustomed to her independence and had forgotten what it used to be like living with an anxious single parent.
“No Dad, it’s not serious,” she said, trying to keep her voice even. He seemed to be thinking as he looked at her, cradling the glass of juice in his hand.
“Okay honey, I just want what’s best for you and from what you’ve told me about him, he sounds like a nice man,” he continued.
“All I’ve told you about him is what he does and where he lives and what his educational background is. That’s not enough to judge whether he’s a good man or not,” she said, in an enraged tone.
When she saw her father’s face scrunch up and turn a little red, she realized that she was only taking out her anger with Jack on him. Jack was the one who she should have really been mad at.
“I’m sorry Dad, I’ve had a long flight and I’m really tired,” she said, and reached for his hand.
“Yeah, maybe you should take a nap or something. The party starts in a few hours and everyone’s been dying to see you again!” he said, with a smile on his face.
“Everyone?” Nora asked, arching her eyebrows at him.
“Of course. I’m turning fifty and my baby daughter is visiting! It’s the perfect opportunity.”