DISCLAIMER: These stories are inspired by Felicia’s colorful 2017. If the reader prefers, the short stories/blogs or parts of it may be regarded as fiction. But as Ernest Hemingway said, there is always the chance that fiction may throw some light on what has been regarded as fact.
The One with Love at First Sight
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The One with Love at First Sight
Please turn on your AUDIO for a background music from Felicia's playlist. If it does not play on mobile device, click HERE
It was 6:09
am(PST) in the morning on a beautiful Monday in August of 1999. I opened my eyes
and found myself in a quite spacious maternity suite on the west wing of
the hospital my father drove me to about 5-6 hours earlier. I looked at my mom who
was at my bedside holding my hand. I smiled at her and I was teary-eyed. I
didn’t know exactly why. I just knew something wonderful happened. The last thing
I remember before I passed out was my doctor saying “You did good. She’s
beautiful.” I did not get the chance to see who it was she said was beautiful. I
guess they used a really fast-acting sedative in the delivery room.
The
right side of the double doors opened, and a nurse came in carrying what seemed
to be a big loaf of bread wrapped in a pink blanket. And there she was, my beautiful
Samantha. It was then when I knew what love
at first sight meant.
I chose
this hospital because Chynna, one of my girlfriends lived on the same street. Although
the suite I was in was big enough to accommodate many visitors, my very
supportive homegirls can get quite boisterous. So I figured, when they start getting loud, but not ready to go home yet, which was usually the case,
they can easily exit the hospital and continue the “party” at Chynna’s house. And then, I could see them from my window.
The next
day, I was surprised to see Samantha’s father arrived. My dad did call him before
we left for the hospital, but he said he could not leave his internship (which
was 3 hours away) until Wednesday. So I asked him how was he able to switch
schedules and his response was, “Oh, I actually left internship early yesterday.
I told my resident you were in labor. I celebrated a bit with my friends, but I was
too drunk to drive, so I didn’t leave until this morning.” He walked towards
the window and started to light up a cigarette. I was too tired to call him out,
but Chynna noticed and said, “ Are you really going to smoke in a room where there’s
a newborn baby?” He sighed and grinned, and went out instead. Two days later,
it was time to go home. I was still in a bit of pain, so my then 5-year old Brian helped me walked down a ramp, with a pace of 0.5 mile/hour on my way to pay my hospital bill.
- I am not going to stay long in this story. After all, that was 20 years ago. Despite what I’ve been through back then, believe it or not, it was not as “colorful” as my 2017. I am merely writing this to give my readers a bit of a background before I go back to another Samantha story in our John Smith saga.
Unlike
Brian, Samantha grew up to be a very chatty and crowd pleasing child. As for
their father, time and distance made us friends. We all talked on the phone and sometimes video chatted about
once or twice a month.
Years
passed and our communications with their father became less frequent. We continued
celebrating special occasions. I always bought a cake, they sang the Happy
Birthday (sometimes, Happy Father’s Day) song and blew the candles. I did this
for my children. I made sure they knew they do have a father, and that mom and
him were friends. Samantha became less and less interested talking to and about her dad up until we went back home for a vacation, when she turned seven. At first, Sam was
shy and felt awkward meeting her father. But then, the affable and bubbly girl
that she was, it was none too soon you could tell she was very happy to spend time
with him. Every single picture of her with her dad showed her tiny arms
wrapped around his neck.
We came
back to Boston and things were different. Their video chats and Skype messaging
became a regular schedule. Sam was always eager to chat with her dad, because he was no
longer just a name or a photograph. To her, he was now a real person. Sam even started
talking about her dad, mentioning his name at random conversations, whether around the family or around her
friends. It was almost like she wanted to keep reminding herself and show others that she does
have a father.
A few
months later, something quite life-changing happened. Samantha was
doing homework using my laptop and was sitting next to me on my bed. The Skype
notification came up and it looked like it was going to be another chat session between Sam
and her dad. So I minded my own business and let them talk using my Skype account. A minute later, Sam turned to me with an impassive look on her face.I asked her why, but she just took the laptop off her lap, placed it on my bed and then she walked straight to her room. I followed her, but she locked her door. I went back to my bedroom, and this was what I found on my computer screen.
I did not know what to do next. If I walked to Samantha's room and make her open her door, what would I tell her? Although I did not know about this, I was not shocked, but my heart broke for Samantha. I decided to leave Sam by herself, at least until I know what to say. I had to process this, because this was going to be one very important conversation. I looked at my screen again, and then my maternal protective instinct took over.
To be
continued…
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I did not know what to do next. If I walked to Samantha's room and make her open her door, what would I tell her? Although I did not know about this, I was not shocked, but my heart broke for Samantha. I decided to leave Sam by herself, at least until I know what to say. I had to process this, because this was going to be one very important conversation. I looked at my screen again, and then my maternal protective instinct took over.
To get updates on when the next "The One..." will be posted, click SUBSCRIBE above or follow Felicia on




Your COMMENTS are appreciated,and please SHARE with your friends and followers as well. Thank you!
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