Page 11 of Twisted Fate

I decided to go in search of them before sitting down to dinner. Ascending the steps, I finally heard soft voices filtering out into the hallway. They were in Charlie’s playroom. I pushed the door open to find them both coloring; Charlie at her desk and Delilah sitting cross legged on the floor with a thick princess themed coloring book in her lap. The sight nearly stole my breath. It was so much like something Sarah would do, it nearly brought me to my knees. I swallowed thickly, trying to unclog the emotion gathering in my throat. It didn’t work, so I tried again. Finally, I found my voice.

“Hey, munchkin.”

Charlie’s head snapped up, and her eyes filled with joy. “Daddy!” she exclaimed and hopped out of her chair. She ran to me, and I scooped her up, kissing her cheek.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” she replied, hugging me tight.

Delilah quietly closed her book and stood, tucking it onto the shelf. “How did it go today?” I asked. She crossed the room and stood directly in front of us. It was still startling how much she looked like my wife. If her eyes were closed, I could almost believe it was Sarah standing in front of me instead of Delilah. I focused on her irises to keep myself grounded in reality. They weren’t that soft brown with a splash of honey surrounding the pupil, but a startling blue like the ones my daughter bore.

“It went really well. She knows her ABCs and can count to ten. We even practiced writing some of the letters.” She smiled softly, her eyes filling with affection as she gazed upon Charlie. Conflicting emotions rose in my chest. I wanted the person watching my child to care for her, but our situation was more complex than that. If she grew to love and care for Charlie, the daughter she’d given up, would she one day try to take her from me?

I cleared my throat, shaking away those thoughts. The adoption was final and legal, so there was nothing to worry about. At least that was what I told myself.

“That’s great. I was worried she’d fallen behind with everything that’s happened.” I didn’t elaborate on what I meant, but I didn’t need to.

“Nope, she’s right on track,” she assured me. “I’ll see you again Wednesday,” she said, shifting her focus to Charlie.

“You’re weaving?” Charlie asked, her bottom lip puckered in disappointment.

“Yeah, but I’ll be back. Don’t worry.” She stepped around us, preparing to leave.

“Thank you for making dinner,” I said as she entered the hallway. “I don’t know how you threw that together with what little I had in there. It’s been a while since I’ve gone to the grocery store.” Guilt suffused me at my negligence. How could a parent expect to feed their child if they couldn’t manage to drag themselves to the store every now and then.

“It’s no problem. Between the freezer and pantry, you have most of the staples. Although I would have preferred to use homemade alfredo, but jarred sauce works just as well.” My mouth watered at the thought.

It was on the tip of my tongue to ask her to stay for dinner, but I couldn’t make myself speak the words. I was already shaken by her presence and resemblance to my late wife. I didn’t think I could handle sitting across the table from her while we ate dinner like a family. The mere thought had my stomach twisting in painful knots.

“Charlie and I already ate, but there’s enough food to have leftovers the next couple days.”

“You got Charlie to eat broccoli?” She gave me a quizzical look. “I already peeked under the lid,” I admitted, and she chuckled.

“Sure did. She ate everything on her plate.”

“Wow,” I exclaimed looking at Charlie like she’d just won the Nobel Prize. “You did so good.”

“Bwoccowi will make me stwong,” she proclaimed, lifting up her arm in an attempt to flex her muscles. I made a big show of feeling her biceps and praised her for her unmatched strength. She beamed, puffing out her chest with pride.

We followed Delilah down the stairs and bid her goodbye, locking the door behind her. I put a movie on in the family room for Charlie to watch while I ate dinner. The food was still warm when I loaded up my plate with pasta and garlic bread. I nearly wept when the first bite hit my tongue. The pasta was creamy and cooked to perfection, the chicken expertly seasoned. Appreciation swelled in my chest. Delilah wasn’t contracted to make dinner, nor did I expect her to do so. That responsibility fell to me, but damn if a weight hadn’t been lifted off my shoulders. Now I didn’t have to think about it, and I didn’t have to feel guilty about feeding my child chicken nuggets yet again.

Was this how Sarah had felt always being the one to make sure everybody was fed? She made it look so easy. The meal planning, the grocery shopping, the cooking. She’d been a damn rockstar, and I’d taken her for granted.

Damn I missed her. I missed her sweet scent and tinkling laughter. The way she snorted when she got really tickled and the feeling of her soft curves in my hands. Our marriage wasn’t perfect, and we had our struggles, but everybody did. The good far outweighed the bad. Our love was strong enough to weather any storm, but now we wouldn’t get the chance.

10

Delilah

After only two days,I found that I missed Charlie and couldn’t wait to get to her house to start our day. Vance was ready to leave as soon as I arrived. Travel mug in hand and messenger bag thrown over his shoulder, he rushed out the door without so much as a second glance in my direction. For some reason, his brusque departure stung. He hadn’t exactly been warm toward me on Monday, but he’d at least been cordial. Today, it was like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

Pushing those thoughts aside, I climbed the stairs and peeked in on Charlie. She was sound asleep, so I went to her playroom and began preparing for the day. It wasn’t long before I heard her get out of bed. I met her in the hallway as she rubbed at her bleary eyes, her hair sticking up in all directions. She had the worst case of bed head I’d ever seen. My soft chuckle drew her attention to me. Her eyes were suddenly wide open. She ran to me, and I crouched so she could reach me. Her arms instantly went around my neck as she hugged me tightly.

“Good morning,” I crooned.

“Dood mornin’,” she returned, smiling up at me sweetly as she pulled away. Her sugary voice and toothy grin were a balm to the ache in my chest. It was going to be a good day.

After breakfast, I worked with Charlie for a couple of hours before taking a break to get some fresh air. Ensuring she had on warm clothes and a jacket to combat the lingering chill in the air, we went to the backyard to play. She had a swing set that was surely every kid’s dream. There was a little playhouse at the top with a sand box beneath and a substantial slide along with the swings. Vance and Sarah had spared no cost to make sure she had fun and entertaining equipment right in her backyard.

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