A piece of nothing......continued.

 Continued from a previous article.......written in real time from the top of the head.....I still don't know what I am writing about or where it is going yet lol!

Seeing her standing there at the front of the room shook him.  He grabbed the back of the chair and gripped it tightly to regain his balance.  He had not expected this.  He had thought she was going to meet him here and discuss something of imtportance but was at a loss as to what it could be.  Now, he was even more confused?  Curious, yes, but until now, he never imagined his daughter could be one of these people?  He never imagined she would be playing a pivital role in the scene he was even now wishing he could escape. 

What did any of this have to do with him?  She had stressed that she wanted to meet him here.  He thought back to the brief conversation he had had with her on the phone a scant few days before.  She had seemed excited, and had said she wanted to meet him at the gala opening of a new facility.  He could not recall what it was for, or even if she had said, but.........wait?  No! His mind did a double flip.  Not meet him! He sighed heavily.  Now that he thought about it, she had said she wished he would come!  That she expected to see him there.  He had only interpreted it that he was to meet her!  What could the opening of a new facility have to do with him?  What part could she, his daughter be playing in such an event?  Sighing heavily again, he pulled the chair out and plopped down into it with an akward thump.  It seemed he was about to find out.  Even now, the room began to quite as the hiss of the air conditioning replaced the loud chatter which had filled the room only minuets before.  Glancing tward the door, he thought, I could leave.  I could go right now and tell her I was feeling ill.  He looked tward the front of the room again. All thoughts of leaving snapped like a silken thread as he saw her scan the room, until at last, her lovely gaze fell upon him like warm sun after a heavy rain.  There it was then, he was at her mercy.  She smiled and inclined her head tward him as if to say glad to see you dad.  He returned the gesture and straitend up a bit in his chair.  No, he was stuck, a deer in headlights so to speak.  There was nothing to do now but find out what this was all about; Find out why she had asked him to come?

Alise' Spangler scanned the room nervously, this would be her first public speaking performance, and giddy butterflies were already dancing rampantly within the core of her being.  She was glad to see her father had come and hoped he did not condecend her part, or his for that matter, in this event.  She knew how he despised crowds and how he felt about the people who orginized and attended things like this, but this was for a good cause and was something benificial.  She wanted to surprise him.  Alise' fought down the butterflies and inwardly reminded herself why she was here.  Reflecting, her father In truth, was the reason for all of this being possible as he was soon to find out. The center which she was about to cristen with the a cut of the red ribbon and an unveiling of the center's name, (which was etched in stone above the grand entrance), would signify its official opening.  It was her brainchild, yet he had been the one who unbeknownst to him had also provided most of the funding.  It was decided that a plaque in honor of his contibution be part of the opening ceremony.  Even now, her father could have no knowledge of her work and the time she put into this project.  She had intentionally kept it secret and over a period of three years and had emassed enough money from various other sources as well, to finalize and fully realize her aperation.  Her father however being the biggest contributor, was not a wealthy man, no, the funds came from several life insurance policies he and her mother had set up years ago.  Upon the sudden death of her mother four years ealier,  several of those policies were cashed in.  Grieving, and still Unable to cope with the loss of his wife, her father had instructed Alise' to handle the affiars.  He was not intrested in the money.  In fact, he was unaware of how substantial a combined sum it was.  He only asked that enough be set in a fund that he could draw off of and help supplement his retirement and that his daughter do as she would with whatever was left. According to his wishes, she had deposited 2/3 into an account for her father and opened a seperate account with the other 1/3. This was the source of her father's contribution.

The eruption of polite and rigourus clapping abruptly snapped Alise' back to the present.  Having just had her introduction, it was her time to take the podium.

Fighting back another sudden rush of panic, she smiled brightly and stepped up.  Grabbing the podium for added support, she adjusted the mic, took a sip of chilled water to wash down the chalk which had suddenly gripped her tounge and introduced herself again.

Good evening!  I Thank all of you for coming.  As many of you know, this center has been three years in the making and tonight, we are pleased to announce it's official opening, but first, I wanted to personally thank those of you who, without your contribution, help and support, none of this would be possible.  Glancing tward her father, she continued.  One person in particular help substantially to fund this and I hold this individual very close and dear to my heart.  True, this facility was my idea, but without the aid of this individual, we, and more importantly I, would not not be here today.  Watching her father, she was pleased to see him straiten up a bit more and took notice as a look of dismay and shock settled upon his face.  Tonight, I wanted to personally thank this individual and present him with a plaque in honor of his considerable contribution.  The individual I refer to as you may have guessed by now is my father Mick Spangler.  Dad?  Would you please come forward?

Reeling from the sudden attention and the shock of just learning that his daughter was the individual who was responsible for the development of the facility he even now was within, Mick numbly stood and started tward the front of the room.  His daughter Alise' continued to thank others for thier part in the work as he made his way to the rosterum.  Mick could have killed her if he did not love her so damn much!  How had she kept all of this secret from him?  Ack!  She knew he hated attention too!  Remembering to smile, he arrived at his daughter's side and gave her a tight hug.  Taking the opportunity to wisper how insatiably sneaky she was into her ear.  He was rewarded with a chuckle and quiet retort that she learned from the best.  Some of his questions were at least answered, and he supposed he could put up with a bit of public display for his daughters sake, but still, there were other questions now.  Such as what did she mean he helped fund this especially since he knew nothing about it?  What was this facility and why did he know so little about his daughter!?