8.70 Pretty Girl Problems

One night, Roland was in his office finishing up some business calls before retiring to bed. As he was leaving the office, he saw the dining room light still on. When he went to turn it off, he saw that Cienna was in there doing homework.

“Hey, precious. Why are you still up,” he asked.

“I just have a lot of problems.”

“Oh. Do you need help?”

“No. They just take forever. The teacher wants us to do them without a calculator.”

“Ok. Want some company?”

“Sure!”

Roland sat down and admired her while she worked. There was no doubt that he loved both his daughters, but they were only expecting one baby, and Cienna was born first and was his mother’s namesake. She was the one he always wanted. Sydney was a beautiful surprise. Of course, there were times when she frustrated him, but she always made him happy.

“Daddy? Do you think I’m pretty?”

“You are beautiful just like your mother.”

She smiled and went back to her homework for a few minutes.

“Do you think other people think I’m pretty?”

“Of course they do,” he said wondering where all of this was coming from.

She went back to her homework just like before.

“When do you think I’ll be in love like Devan and Leliana?”

He gave her a cold, blank stare.

“When you get some longer pants!”