Page 57 of A Chance Fall

April was determined to make this bed and breakfast a success. She had to remain strong and resilient no matter what came her way.

As she started to work on cleaning the rooms, a part of her felt incomplete. Something wasn't right after everything she accomplished.

Everything had worked out in the end, she thought. But maybe it hadn't. There was something itching at the back of her mind, a feeling she couldn't get rid of. It was a kind of emptiness, as if she needed more closure.

Almost instinctively, she walked out of the room she was cleaning and instead headed right towards the room her father had stayed in.

She hadn't gone in there since he left, but for some reason, she felt like she needed to now. April took a deep breath and turned the doorknob, pushing the door open.

After she told her father to leave the house, she thought maybe he would come to see her again. But he hadn't. He'd left things to sit and fester inside of her.

She wanted him to leave, to figure himself out before coming and asking her to live up to his unreasonable expectations. But she also wanted to make amends, like he said he was here for.

They didn't get many chances to spend that time together like they said they would. And the few chances they did have ended horribly.

Sitting on the bed, she wondered where he could be right now. The island was small, but he could have left already. Would he have had the time and money to book a plane ticket or rent a car?

April couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to find him. She needed closure, and the only way to get it was to talk to him.

She stood up and left the room, determined to find him. She walked out of the bed and breakfast and onto the street, scanning the area for any sign of him. A part of her hoped she would magically remember the exact car he left in, its license plate number, something to identify him.

Then she remembered. When he asked to use her computer, he logged into his email. It was still saved and probably open. Though it wasn't the most ethical, it was the quickest way to find him.

And that's how she was able to find out exactly where her father went.

When she parked at the tiny airport, she wasn't sure if she would make it in time. It was just off the island, but it was nothing like the other airports in the state. Less than a hundred cars were parked outside, which she hoped would work in her favor of finding him.

As April walked into the airport, her heart was pounding in her chest as she scanned the small crowd of people. She knew he was leaving the island, but she didn't know where he was headed.

She only saw the departure time and name of airport in the subject line.

The airport was so small there were only a few gates and a handful of people milling around. It didn't take her long to spot him, just like she thought.

He was sitting at a small coffee shop, sipping on a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper.

April made her way over to him, trying to keep her breathing steady. She didn't want to start the conversation with anger or disappointment.

Her heart leaped with joy and relief. Just as she approached, her father looked up and saw her. Slowly, he set down his newspaper and April to meet her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, brows furrowed. "How did you know I was here?"

"Email," April replied. "I'm sorry. I just needed to see you before you left."

April should have guessed before that he was leaving her again. It was what he did when things got hard. He came to remind her that she had a father, and then he left again to remind her that he wasn't that good at being one.

They sat down at the coffee shop, and April ordered a cup of tea. For a moment, they sat in silence, neither of them quite sure what to say. Then, her father spoke up.

"I overheard what you said about Georgia's tuition."

It was a strange place to start, but April wasn't surprised he was bringing up her downfalls as a mother. "I have the money somewhere, I was just planning to use it for something else. I'm going to"

Richard interrupted her. "I paid the tuition for the semester."

April's eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her father had paid for Georgia's tuition? She didn't know what to say. It was a kind gesture she'd never seen in him before.

"How did you-"

Again, her father spoke up, explaining before she had the chance to ask. "I have money saved up. I know you all think that I'm broke and struggling, but I do have a little nest egg. It's usually just for my travels, but I knew that you needed it more than my trip to Thailand."