Chapter 3
In the morning when he was driving his red truck to work, he was not drumming on the steering wheel like normally did in fact he turned the radio completely off. All he could think about was that damn dollhouse.
It was in perfect condition except for the now broken table the leaf. It bugged him just the same as a splinter in his hand. This table leaf was a splinter in his brain. If only he could replace it. And once the idea caught hold, it was all he thought about. He needed to get home and see if there was some sort of label on the dollhouse, then he could just order a replacement part. Even if it was fifty bucks for the replacement table leaf, at least the table wouldn’t be stuck open, mocking him.
He was really excited, plus spending money was half the point! Real dads provide for their kids, no matter the expense. If things were too easy to get, were they even valuable? He really wanted to make it perfect for Coralina, and Beth.
He want to make sure their lives were perfect. That they had everything they ever dreamt about, unlike him. Their childhood would be nothing like his own childhood. Work today was the same as every day, he had to carry heavy things, hammer things. Do construction work, usually sawing wood and hammering it together. It often made him in a good mood to use his body to build beautiful things, but today he was in a lousy mood. He was building a big, beautiful house for someone else to live in – again. Someday he be able to make something beautiful for his wife.
Mark wanted a 3800 ft.² house, he’d been staring at the floor plans for at least two years already. He’d never built one quite the same as the one he wanted to build her, but someday, maybe even after they had another baby. It was one of the things he dreamed about, and resented, alternating. Today he resented the man and wife who owned the house he was building.
Jealousy didn’t consume him too often, but he wanted to make his family happy. He want to live in the kind of house that made the dollhouse look cheap. It was quitting time, sooner than he expected, and he had built two new walls.
He found himself back in the red truck driving his sorry butt home, despite having plan to skip lunch he did eat two apples. He felt kind of like a jerk eating the only two apples left in the house, but sometimes that’s how it went. Sometimes you just gotta eat.
Mark didn’t go in the house and say hello to Kelly or to Coralina or to Bethany. And instead scurried to the dollhouse. He carefully looked over the shingles and walls, but didn’t see any a print mark. He lifted it with a strong mighty hands and held it above his balding head and saw… Nothing.
He scoured the pieces of furniture, looking for just any indication as to who made this house. But nothing. As he was scouring the inside, carefully looking for some indicator of who made this dollhouse, he noticed that a book on the bookshelf is sticking out just slightly. He touched it with his finger and it fell backwards and as soon as it did the bookshelf swung open. He was back to all grins, the bothersome table that he had broken suddenly fading into the background. It had a secret room!
Inside the secret room was three dolls. They were also wooden, and had blank faces with no eyes or mouth, and only the slightest carving that indicated where nose would be. They were very plain looking, and he wondered with this ornate house why the dolls themselves looked so unexciting. He carefully set them up so one was sitting in the library one was sitting in the kitchen and the final one was sitting in the bathtub up the stairs.
“Are you going to have dinner with us or what?” Said Kelly she was frowning at him. How long had she been standing there?
He felt like an idiot instantly. “Sorry, I broke part of the table I was trying to figure out if we could get a part for it.”
“Who cares, you can just make a different table.” Said Kelly, completely disinterested in the broken part. “The pizza is getting cold.”
“I can’t make one like this. It’s really… Difficult. It’s a crazy thing I just need to get a part.” He said running his hands over his thin nearly nonexistent hair.
“There is no way we can buy a part for this dollhouse. I bet it’ll cost hundreds, you dork.” But she smiled with a happy grin. “Pizza?”
He grabbed her ass and they both went into the house. Coralina and Beth were already at the table munching down pizza slices as if they were going to run out. In fact, they might at that rate.
Guilt immediately wrought washed over Mark. He stayed in the garage all day yesterday, and now today again? He was going to miss out on their entire childhood. “How was school today ladies?”
Between bites of cheese pizza Coralina said, “Good. I’ve been doing quite well in my class, and I am going to get a solo in the choir this year. I’ve already decided.”
Beth looked up at her dad smiled and waved, mutely not saying anything. She didn’t like talking out loud, as far he could tell.
“And you Beth?” He encouraged, trying to get at least a few words.
“Yep.” Was all she said, and then immediately shoved a giant bite of pizza in her mouth. As if to end the discussion.
“You know, you can’t just decide you get a solo Coralina.” Said Kelly, as she grabbed herself a slice and shoved the rest of the pizza towards her husband. “Your teacher gets to choose.”
“Yeah, but I can make her choose me. By practicing.” Said Carolina and she took another bite of the hot stringy cheese mess.
Mark thought about the little doll house again, and it’s shattered little table leaf. He frowned and chewed his lip a little bit. Maybe he should just give them the dollhouse as is, and he’d have to figure out the table later?
He bit his tongue quietly, contemplating. He didn’t want to be one of those dad to didn’t care that he broke something of his child’s. Never, he would never be like his father.
It was driving him crazy like a splinter he couldn’t get out of his skin.
