The Change

“Looks like we’re in for a change,” said Dianne leaning over the kitchen sink and peering up through the window at the dark clouds gathering outside. As if to add authority to her statement, a flash of lightening illuminated the kitchen followed by a deep rumble of thunder.

Her daughter, Liz, slouched at the table toying with uneaten pasta, the remains of her dinner. It was almost 7:30 and the evening was humid. She was just waiting for her mum and stepfather to leave for their usual Friday night at the movies.

At 48, Dianne was beginning to show the advancing years though she was still attractive enough to turn heads in the street. Jimmy, her husband of just two years, was younger and he had been one of those ‘turned heads’ that Dianne snapped up. After divorcing her first husband seven years ago, Dianne had wasted no time in playing the scene and enjoyed many a night down at the local with her single friends. She had met Jimmy at Karaoke Night and soon they started dating and Jimmy eventually moved in.

Liz was only eight years old when the divorce was finalised and her birth dad had gone to work overseas leaving her with no father figure and just Di to raise her alone. The girl did okay at school and her mother had a good job in the head office of a local export company. But things changed when Jimmy moved in just four years later. There was a shift in the home dynamics that was different to how things were when her dad was there.

It wasn’t long after Jimmy moved in that Liz developed an intense loathing for the man. In fact she hated Jimmy and couldn’t stand to have him around. He gave her the creeps and she couldn’t bear the way he looked at her with that stupid half leer that her mother never even seemed to notice. She also didn’t notice how he’d put his hands on Liz’s shoulders as he’d stand behind her and say, “How’s it going kiddo?” his nostrils flaring as if breathing in her sweet pubescent scent and his eyes glazing over with that sleazy look of lust. He came in now from upstairs, all spruced up and ready for the movies.

“Hey, kiddo, what’s up?” again, those paws on her shoulders, ever so briefly. Liz recoiled and shrugged him off.

“Leave the dishes, mum, I’ll do them,” said Liz standing up quickly and moving away from the table with her unfinished meal.

“Oh, thanks, sweetie. I’ll just go and powder my nose then we’ll be off. The movie starts at eight.”

Liz stood at the sink where her mother had been rinsing the dinner dishes and could almost feel the eyes of her stepfather burning into her back. He reached for his half-finished beer and took a swig.

“So what are you up to tonight, young lady?” he drawled with his fake ‘charmer’ voice.

“Homework as usual,” she responded, wishing he’d just go away.

“Oh, no hot date then?” he leered. ‘You’re getting to be a big girl; bet it won’t be long before you’ve got yourself a boyfriend.”

He started to sidle over towards the sink and Liz felt her stomach lurch. She reached for the big kitchen knife that lay on the drainer and grasped it in her right hand as she turned to face him with the widest smile she could muster, a smile so wide it was almost a grimace. He stopped and smiled back but his smile was more a nervous twitch.

“No boyfriends for me,” she said in a level voice and raised one eyebrow. “I have neither time nor inclination for dating.” Jimmy looked at the knife in her hand and read the meaning in her steady gaze. He turned away with a forced laugh.

“Ah well, you’re still young; plenty of time for that sort of thing I suppose.”

Just then Dianne reappeared, purse in hand, and said, “Okay, Lover Boy, let’s go.” Then, turning to Liz, she said, “Don’t stay up too late sweetie; we may go for a drink after the movies so it could be a bit late when we get home.”

Liz heard her mum and Jimmy leave in the car then turned to the sink and finished the dishes before heading to her room. Flipping open her laptop, she started searching …youth shelter…couch surfing… …emergency accommodation… She needed to get away somewhere, anywhere. Sighing heavily, she realised that a feeling of desperation was descending upon her and she needed to escape – something had to change.

‘What can a girl of just fifteen possibly do in my situation?’ she thought. Just then an alert on her phone signaled an email arriving and she picked it up and lay back on her bed to read it.

‘Hi Liz, it’s me, your dad. I’m sorry to surprise you like this after all this time but you know I’ve been working overseas and I honestly have thought about you a lot during that time. I guess you’re all grown up now and hope you and your mum are doing fine. I heard she got remarried so I guess that has meant big changes for you. Your mum and I decided that it would be best for you if I didn’t have any contact with you as we wanted you to grow up without any baggage from the past. Well, things have changed for me and I’m returning to Australia soon. I thought it would be cool if we met and hope you feel the same but if not, that’s fine, I’ll stay out of your life. Please let me know what you think; I have so much to tell you. Lots of love, Dad…

Liz stared at the email in disbelief and read it again slowly. This was going to be her salvation, the one thing that could rescue her from an impossible situation. In all the years since her parents’ divorce, she had had no contact with her real father and now here he was, her knight in shining armour!

She started to sob uncontrollably and as she began to type her response there was a loud clap of thunder and a flash of lightening crackled in the darkened sky. It felt as if the whole world gave a sigh of relief and big drops of rain began to slowly pelt against her window. This, she thought, is it…the change has come...