Page 26 of A Chance Fall

"Okay, love. Sounds good," April said, waving to the screen. "Be safe! Talk to you later!"

The screen went black as the call ended. "She's grown so much," Richard said.

April nodded. "She has. A full grown adult now."

It was clear they both knew the situation was uncomfortable. Her daughter had left so abruptly that it was obvious something was weird between them all. She couldn't tell her father that his own granddaughter definitely didn't want to speak with him.

So they all just pretended like everything was fine.

"Well, I just came in to say goodnight," Richard said as he walked back to the door.

"Thanks, dad. Have a good night. You're comfortable in your room?" April crossed her fingers that he would say yes. After all of his requests and changes, all she needed was for him to not complain for five minutes.

He nodded. "Yeah, ever since I got those new pillows I sleep great!"

Oh, great. The pillows again. At least he didn't have anything new to complain about.

"Good, I'm glad. Goodnight," April said as she watched him leave the room.

Once Richard was out of sight, April got up to tidy her room.

She straightened the sheets, fluffed the pillows, and picked up a few items that had been left out of place. As she worked, her mind wandered back to her conversation with Georgia.

She couldn't help but feel a sense of pride and joy for her daughter. Georgia was thriving in college and pursuing her passions, just as April had hoped. It was a relief to see her daughter happy and successful, especially after all they had been through.

As April began to set up her nightstand with her phone charger, she realized something was missing. Behind her small lamp, she always had her small blue elephant figurine. It was another one of the thrift store finds, except this time it was from years ago.

She'd picked it up at an expo after Georgia was born. It had some kind of sentimental value to it, but April knew she could live without looking at it each night. It was just strange that it was now lost when she knew she had it the night before.

April searched the room for the small figurine, but it was nowhere to be found. She checked under the bed, in the drawers, and even in the closet, but to no avail. It had simply vanished.

She sighed and sat down on her bed, trying to think of where else it might have gone. Maybe she'd taken it out of the room without remembering? Or maybe someone had moved it without her noticing?

She even checked the bathroom, but it was not there either. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

She frowned, feeling a pang of worry in her chest.

Had she misplaced it somewhere else? Or did someone take it?

The thought of someone stealing from her made her feel uneasy. She shook her head, trying to shrug off the feeling. It was just a small trinket, after all.

But then, a different thought crossed her mind. Could it have been her father?

He was just in her room. One of the few who had access to it. And he did walk away when she was talking about the Millers, whose room happened to be missing a trinket as well.

She quickly dismissed the thought, not wanting to think this way about her own father. But she couldn't help but wonder if Richard had something to do with the recent thefts.

No, it couldn't be him. That didn't make sense. What would her father have to gain from taking small objects from around the house? It's not like they were from when he lived here. They were completely April's.

He wouldn't steal from his own daughter, would he?

April shook her head, trying to push the thought aside. She decided to focus on the positive, like the fact that Georgia was doing well in school, and her father seemed to be content with his new pillows.

It was the simple things in life, wasn't it?

However, as she lay in bed, her mind kept wandering back to the missing figurine. She couldn't shake the feeling that it left a bad taste in her mouth.

April closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, trying to calm her racing thoughts.

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