Page 78 of Tempt

When I sink into the darkness, it’s a good kind of dark.

23

DANIEL

The birds outside the window are incessant. Chirping and singing as if demanding they be let inside.

I don’t blame them. If I were on the outside, I’d want in, too.

I wrap my arms tighter around the woman next to me.

Kat’s asleep, still naked. Her back is pressed to my chest, her hips nestled against mine, the soft vanilla scent of her shampoo filling my nostrils.

As if I need a reminder of what we did last night.

My fingers graze her stomach and I think of the lines there. The ones that show me she’s strong and vulnerable at the same time.

I can’t imagine being in hospital as a teen, missing friends and milestones along the way.

There have been lots of times I didn’t want to talk about what we went through as a family. Not least because I knew people might look at me, at us, with sympathy or worse, pity.

Her shoulder rises and falls with her steady breathing.

I brush my lips across the back of her neck, the tiny hairs there, and wait for the rush of judgment saying this was a mistake.

It doesn’t come.

My phone rings from somewhere far away.

The temptation to stay is overwhelming. My fingers itch to stroke her hair and pull her against me.

I could do it.

Except…

I’m a father, and that comes first.

I shift out of bed, as subtly as possible to avoid disturbing her, and pad naked toward the living room.

“Daniel. Everything all right?” Mary asks when I answer on the fourth ring.

“Great.”

I rub a hand through my hair and stare out the back window toward the porch, the birds beyond.

“Shall we drop Andy off?” The bird stares at me through the window. “We’re leaving in an hour. It’s easy for us to stop by on our way.”

“No.” My eyes close. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

* * *

There’s nothing to bring you back to reality like your kid giving you a play-by-play of his entire sleepover.

“And then we played hockey!” Andy shouts from the back seat.

“Sounds like you had a good time.”

“I did my dance recital for them. Grandma counted ten pirouettes. And Grandpa wants me to come over again.”

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