The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie

by Rachel Linden

If I left, what would become of the diner, my father and my sister, and my family’s legacy? How would my father cope? The diner was what got him up in the morning. It was his way of carrying on without Mom, of holding us all together. I think it was what held him together too. He would be flattened if I left, and we couldn’t afford to hire someone to do all that I did anyway. The diner was our livelihood too. Without it I didn’t know how we would survive financially. And besides, leaving Dad and Daphne to fend for themselves was unthinkable. Daphne hated me trying to mother her, but she needed me more than she even knew. Dad was still mired deep in grief, and he had no idea what to do with a high-spirited teenage girl. Daphne pushed me away at times, but at others she clung to me like the scared child she still was inside. I was the glue holding my fractured little family together. If I left, everything would fall apart. My father and Daphne, our home and family and finances. It would be selfish and callous of me to leave. I couldn’t do it. It was impossible.

You mean the dad that was in the Navy, raised 2 kids couldn't fend for himself? We are told dad doesn't talk to his kids nor realize anything going on in his eldest daughters life? When is dad in grief everyday for 10 years? Is he drinking?Abusive? Depressed and never showing up to work in the restaurant that never closes except Monday? Shitty & unrealistic Lolly written by the author