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“God Maggie, it’s too early!” Tom groaned as he pulled on his coat while his daughter merely laughed before she grabbed the picnic basket and walked outside to the car.
“Come on, Dad! Stop whining and get in. I don’t want to spend all day on the M25,” the 20-year-old shouted with a twinkle in her eye and, grumbling quietly, he followed his daughter outside.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” His tired, blue eyes watched the city pass by outside. London was only slowly waking up and he loved the city in the morning, the sky still grey and dark, the pavements and buses still empty. He had gone running many a times at this time of day but not in a long while now. He had almost forgotten how beautiful it was.
“No, I won’t,” Maggie smiled, her eyes fixed on the road as she steered the black Jaguar through the capital’s streets towards the motorway. “Go to sleep, Dad. I’ll wake you up when we get there.”
Briefly, she glanced at her father and noticed the slowly greying hair and the more prominent wrinkles around his eyes. He still looked handsome and younger than he actually was but he had aged in the last years nonetheless. Being a single parent has left its marks.
***
The sky was shimmering in all shades of blue when Maggie steered the car onto the parking lot. The sun had finally risen just as they drove past Bournemouth and by the time they had arrived at Studland beach, she was already shining brightly from the summer sky. Taking a deep breath, the young woman turned off the vehicle and looked at her sleeping father. He had used her jacket as his pillow and his curls were tousled and partly pressed against the window. Gently, she nudged his arm.
“Dad? Wake up, we’re there,” she smiled, watching his every move. He furrowed his brows and mumbled something incomprehensible but showed no actual signs of waking up yet. “Daaad, come on. Wake up. The sun’s up and it’s warm and wonderful,” she tried again and this time he blinked before opening his eyes fully.
“Hm? Where are we?” Confused, he looked around, taking in the beach, the car park, the restaurant, all of which should be all too familiar. “Oh.”
“I know how much you liked this place and how much Mum liked it. So,…I thought you’d want to come back here. I’ve booked a hotel for us and if you want to we can go horse riding and we can go to Corfe Castle. If you don’t that’s fine, too. But I hope you like my little surprise. Happy Father’s Day, Daddy.” Maggie’s smile was loving and hopeful yet also a little insecure. She wasn’t sure how he’d react.
Ever since she could remember her parents had gone to Dorset for a weekend in November celebrating some kind of anniversary she wasn’t aware of. She hoped it was a good one because she wanted to make him happy. Louise had always wanted him to be happy and Maggie was like her mother in so many ways.
For a moment, Tom stared at her and then at the sandy, off-white beach in front of them. A single tear rolled down his cheek as he looked at her again. “Thank you, Maggie. That is the best surprise ever! Thank you so much!”