Daddy Dearest: A Christmas Story

by Rachel Burns

  ~

  From her spot in the back of the limousine, Morgan looked out of the window and whispered in her doll’s ear that giants lived in the tall buildings.

  Martin smirked at that idea. He was only half-listening to what she was saying because he was on the phone with his secretary. He really couldn’t afford to be away from the office, but it couldn’t be helped. It was necessary to take a couple of days to get her settled. It would mean less work with her later if he did it thoroughly now.

  The car parked in the underground garage of the hotel. He got out, and Morgan was standing right next to him again. As she reached for his hand, he pulled his away, straightening his tie to make it look as if he wanted to move his hand anyway.

  Morgan’s head sunk down. He didn’t seem to like her.

  Her nanny took hold of her hand, so Morgan couldn’t make the same mistake again.

  When the elevators opened, their party went up to their suite. Morgan was impressed with her new surroundings. She was shown to her room by a maid. Her nanny went with her.

  Nanny scolded her to keep her distance from her father. She explained that he was a very busy man, and that he didn’t really have time for a child.

  Morgan was surprised that he was her father. He didn’t fit the picture of a father she had in her mind. Her friends’ fathers had all smiled and been nice. He wasn’t nice.

  When it was time to eat their food, it was delivered directly to Morgan’s room. She and nanny sat together to eat. He was nowhere to be seen.

  Morgan had always eaten with her mommy. At least, she had before Mommy got so sick that she had to live in the hospital. But she knew that families ate together, with the daddies.

  ~

  Nanny brought her to bed as soon as it got dark, but Morgan couldn’t sleep. When she couldn’t sleep, she crawled into bed with Mommy, but her mommy was gone now. She only had a daddy.

  Morgan slipped out of bed and quietly walked out of her room. She saw two men in the living room. They were whispering with each other.

  Morgan went to the room next to hers. She saw him sleeping in his bed. She went to the other side and slipped in under the covers next to him exactly like she had done with her mommy.

  Finally, she was able to fall asleep.

  ~

  Martin was awakened by a soft snoring noise. He couldn’t remember taking a woman with him to bed last night. He replayed the day, and the only woman here was the girl’s nanny.

  His eyes flew open, thinking that the woman was trying to pull a fast one on him. He sat up and saw a little form cuddled up on the pillow next to him.

  How dare Morgan come into his room and into his bed?

  Martin was furious. He ripped his blankets away from her body and pulled her next to him by her ankle. He spanked her hard while she screeched and cried.

  “You may never come into my room. Do you hear that? Never,” he scolded her. He spanked on until his arm was tired.

  Everyone in the hotel apartment could hear the girl, screaming for help. They were all unsure what to do. The noise woke her nanny up. She jumped out of the bed to find the girl. Bodyguards were blocking the door that held the girl.

  She had to stand outside of the door, listening to the child cry and beg, and the sound of his hand hitting the poor child again and again. A child, who had no one else in the world but him, was being abused by him.

  “Please, we have to stop him,” she begged the guards. Tears were running down her face.

  “Make sure you never come into my room again.” They heard him yell.

  “Yes, Daddy,” she answered in between sobs.

  Then they heard a high-pitched scream and more smacking.

  “You will address me as sir and never anything else.”

  Nanny folded her arms so her hands were laying over her heart. She just bawled along with the child.

  The door opened, and the little girl came out, holding her doll. She was shaking and sobbing. She closed the door behind her like he had told her to do.

  Nanny swooped her up in her arms and carried her away from him.

  Should she call the police, she wondered.

  It took a long time to get the child to settle down. She would get her tears under control, and then she would start in again. She clung to her nanny as if her life depended on it.

  The child could be heard in the entire suite.

  Martin had showered and gotten dressed in the meantime, and the kid was still going on. Breakfast arrived, and she still hadn’t stopped.

  He had been pacing before, avoiding the eyes of his bodyguards who probably thought that he was an ass to the kid.

  The thing was, he had no intention of being a good father to her. He wouldn’t clean running noses or lay his hand on her forehead to check if she was sick or not.

  Martin had arranged it so others would be doing that for him. He saw her like he saw his garden. He never trimmed the hedges, but it was his.

  Martin turned on his heel and went into her room. He snatched her out of her nanny’s hands and slapped her hard. “Knock it off. I don’t want to hear one peep out of you. Is that clear?”

  Morgan laid her hand over her mouth and nodded up at him. She was making her new daddy very mad, and he didn’t like her.

  “Get her dressed and feed her breakfast,” he barked at her nanny before he left the room.

  He went out and sat down at the table to eat his breakfast. He read the paper like he always did, in perfect quietness.

  ~

  The limousine parked outside of Morgan’s school. Her nanny had been fired the moment they were about to leave for school, and Morgan was alone in the car with her father. He was ignoring her, and she was backed into a corner, just holding onto her doll tightly.

  The doors opened, and he got out. She followed him out again.

  Morgan felt that she was attached to him because she didn’t have anyone else in the whole world. She needed him. She didn’t understand that her time with him was coming to a quick end for now.

  He took her up to the headmistress’s office. The woman was beaming at him. “We are so honored that you chose our school for your daughter. I am certain that she will be very happy with us.”

  “I have been assured that your school is the best. I wanted to speak with you about her extracurricular activities. I want my daughter to excel in all areas.”

  He listened to her listing off the activities that the school offered. He picked out several things for her to take part in.

  “Mr. Swift, she is only six. One or two things would be enough, but ten different things would be too much.” She smiled at him kindly.

  “We are obviously misunderstanding each other. She is my daughter, and she will be required to have different accomplishments in life. Either she can learn the things she needs here or not.”

  Sensing his power, and that he wouldn’t back down, she conceded. “As you wish, I will see to it that her schedule will allow her to do all these activities.”

  He nodded and left then.

  Morgan was left confused. She looked at the teacher, wondering why he hadn’t said goodbye to her.

  The headmistress wondered the same thing. She gave the child a smile that was full of pity.

  Chapter 3

  Morgan looked out into the crowd. The parents were all packed into the auditorium to listen to their children perform their Christmas program. She didn’t see him. Her eyes darted around everywhere, but she couldn’t find his face in the many faces here.

  The children performed their little concert for their parents, and afterwards, they called their children to them and praised them.

  Morgan walked among the others, watching them being hugged and kissed while she looked for her father. She hadn’t seen or heard from him the past two months. She had dutifully written to him once a week like all the girls had to. But he never wrote back or sent her a package.

  It had been almost impossible to think of something to write to him. She
didn’t know him, and he had hurt her a couple of times, and it was hard for her to understand why. Her mother had been so warm and nice. She had hugged her a lot. She missed her so much, and she cried for her every night. That didn’t make her popular with her roommates.

  The parents were leaving with their children. Morgan stood with her doll and her bag in her hands, looking around and wondering what she should do. The room was almost empty, and she could easily see that he wasn’t there. He didn’t want her. She could tell.

  “Miss Swift?” a man walked up to her and asked.

  She looked up at him and didn’t say anything.

  “Are you Morgan Swift?” he asked her.

  She nodded and bit her lip. He was probably here to tell her that she was now an orphan because her father didn’t want her.

  “I’m your driver. I’ll be taking you home.” He took her bag in one hand and took hold of one of her little hands in his other hand. He walked her out to the limousine and helped her in.

  Morgan sat in the back of the limousine all alone for a couple of hours. She was a little scared, and she had to go to the bathroom.

  ~

  The car parked in front of a huge house. It looked like the museum that her mother had taken her to at the beginning of summer vacation. Mommy had already been sick then, but she had tried to do lots of things with Morgan, and she made her promise not to forget her, but it was getting so hard to picture her in her head.

  The driver opened the door and walked her up the gray stone steps to the door. Gray stone pillars were left and right of her, making her feel smaller than she ever had before.

  The man rang the bell, and Morgan braced herself. Would he end up spanking her again? She held her doll close to her heart.

  A woman opened the door, and Morgan tried to peek around her to see if he was also there. The driver gave the woman Morgan’s bag and left.

  “Well, hurry in, Miss Swift,” the woman scolded her after she looked her up and down.

  Morgan bit her lip and then pulled her courage together and walked in the door. She saw a huge stone staircase and lights that were hanging high over her head from the ceiling a couple of stories above her. From here, she could see several other rooms, but the woman was walking up the stairs, and Morgan followed her, not wanting to do something wrong.

  She turned to the right at the top of the stairs and peeked over her shoulder to see if the child was really following her. She smiled because the girl was right behind her and looking around impressed. It took more than this immaculate house to impress her father, the housekeeper thought to herself.

  They walked down the long hall. At the very end of the hall, the woman stopped and pointed inside a room. “This is your room, Miss Swift.”

  Morgan walked in and saw a huge canopy bed with a kind of sofa at the end that didn’t have a back. There was a fireplace, and the fire was going strong. Next to it was a cradle for her doll. She stopped looking at her room and laid her doll in the cradle and hummed to it.

  “Miss Swift, you also have a bathroom in through here.” The housekeeper just pointed, and then she started to unpack Morgan’s things. A bit later, the girl got up and went into the bathroom.

  “I will come and collect you when dinner is ready.”

  “Where is my father?” Morgan dared to ask.

  “Your father is a very busy man. I don’t know if he will be home in time to eat with you.”

  The woman left while Morgan played with her doll. There were several things there for her doll. A blanket, dishes, and a bottle so she could feed her, and a toy closet full of doll clothes so Morgan could change her doll’s clothes.

  She played until the woman came to get her. Morgan followed her into a room with a huge table. This whole house was somehow cold. The floors were all out of stone, and even though rugs covered most of it, the floors were still so cold.

  Morgan had noticed that the table was set for two. Would he really show up? Did she want him to join her?

  A maid came in with only one plate and set it in front of her and left. Morgan was all alone. She ate everything up quickly.

  Once she was finished, she was unsure again. Should she clean away the plate like they had to at school, or just leave it and go back to her room? She wished that she had brought her doll with her. She felt lonely in this big room, and the fire wasn’t on in here.

  Morgan stood up, and at that moment, a maid came in. She took the plate and just left. Morgan went up to her room to play with her doll.

  It had been dark out for a while, so she changed into her pajamas and changed her doll into one too. In the bathroom, Morgan brushed her hair and teeth.

  Once she was finished, she went to the big bed and crawled in. It was really high, and she was a little afraid that she would fall out while she slept. She was very careful not to break the glass lamp as she turned it off and went to sleep.

  ~

  Martin had taken his time about going home. He knew that she would be there. He still didn’t know how to deal with her.

  Martin had been very lucky that Stephanie had taken care of her all of those years without complaining. She could have reacted differently to the whole thing.

  He had been clear that he didn’t want the child, and she was clear that if she had to choose between the two of them, she would choose the child, and she had.

  It was cliché, but she truly had been the only woman that he had really loved. Nevertheless, he had made lots of mistakes with her. However, they had parted as friends. Friends that were never to see each other again.

  He should have visited her while she was sick and in the hospital, but he had pushed it off again and again until it had been too late. Now he had a daughter that he didn’t have a clue about. He hoped that she would be in bed when he came home. He hadn’t gotten a nanny for her this time.

  Martin hoped that wasn’t a mistake. He really didn’t want to be bothered by her. Besides, his household staff could take care of her.

  His driver had informed him that he had picked her up from school today and dropped her off at home.

  Martin had his secretary get her some doll stuff, so she had something to play with. The idea behind that was so she would leave him alone.

  He went into the house, where the head of staff greeted him, taking his coat. “Good evening, sir.”

  “Good evening. Is the child still awake?” he asked.

  “No, sir. When I went up to put her to bed, I found the dear little thing already sleeping. She put herself to bed. Before that, she played with the things you got her. She is a very quiet and well-behaved child.”

  “Fine.” He went on to quiz her about what the girl had eaten and the rest of the happenings in the house. He went into the dining room and ate his dinner all alone. Maybe he should make a point to see her tomorrow?

  He worked in his office at home for a couple more hours before he went up. Instead of going to his half of the house, as he now saw it, he turned right and went to hers. He quietly opened her door and stood next to her bed and watched her sleep.

  She looked the same as the last time he had seen her. People usually went on and on about how much children had grown, but she looked the same. She had her doll under her arm, and her mouth was slightly open.

  He threw another log on the fire before he left.

  ~

  Morgan still hadn’t seen him, and today was Christmas Eve. Would they be celebrating Christmas together? She had made a couple of gifts for him at school. They had even made cards for their parents.

  This was the first Christmas that she could remember when she didn’t make something for Mommy. She wanted to talk to her mommy so badly, but if he was never here, then she couldn’t ask him to take her to her grave.

  The servants were always bustling around doing this and that. They ignored her for the most part, just looking for her when it was time for her to eat.

  She asked if she was allowed to go into any of the other rooms. The maid hadn’t lo
oked too pleased with that, but she agreed that Morgan could look at the tree in the living room if she didn’t touch anything.

  Morgan sat next to it and stared at it. It was big, and it smelt so good. Now that it was dark, the lights were on again. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen on this earth besides her mommy. She laid her Christmas presents for her father under the tree. They would be there tomorrow morning when it was time to open presents.

  The kids at school had said that Santa Claus wasn’t real. She knew that they were right, but she wasn’t one hundred percent certain.

  It wasn’t so much about the presents but about the attention. At school, there were so many children that the teachers didn’t have that much time for an individual student. Morgan was a little lonely. She hoped that she wouldn’t be forgotten. She wasn’t at home with Mommy where she belonged anymore. If there were a Santa Claus, how would he know where to find her?

  Morgan heard a commotion in the hallway. It was him, coming home. She was unsure again. Should she go to her room, or would he want her to be here? She listened to him asking about her.

  The woman in charge here told him where she was.

  Morgan could hear him sighing. He wasn’t pleased. She desperately wanted to hide. He would hit her again. When he hit her, it felt like her heart would break. She wanted to die when he did that. It wouldn’t be a bad thing. That way she could be by her mommy.

  She could hear his shoes on the marble floor. He was coming closer.

  He stood in the door and looked at her a moment. She looked so sad. She didn’t like him. He could see that. “Well, you’ve seen the tree now, so out.”

  She nodded and rose to her feet. She had to pass by him to get out of the room. Her heart was beating like mad as she hurried past him.

  “Wait,” he called after her.

  She stopped and looked up at him. “Yes, sir.”

  “I expect you to greet me properly, and when you leave, you are to say goodbye. I expect perfect manners from you,” he snapped at her.

  “Yes, sir. Hello, sir. Goodbye, sir.” She was fighting against tears as she spoke.