I'll bring it to work Monday. Victoria will love it. He hoped that was true. He hoped Victoria would be there on Monday. He hoped whatever she needed to tell him wasn't as bad as the fear in her eyes suggested.
He was wrong on all counts. Daniel didn't sleep that night. He lay in bed replaying their conversation, analyzing every word, every gesture, every flicker of emotion on Victoria's face. I need to tell you something about your daughter. What could Victoria possibly know about Lily?
They'd only met 3 months ago. Lily was 6 years old, adopted the daughter of Daniel's late sister, Rebecca, and her husband, Tom, both killed in a car accident four years ago. Daniel had been named godfather at Lily's birth, and had taken her in without hesitation when Rebecca died. There was nothing to know, nothing Victoria could have discovered. Unless No, that was impossible.
At 5:00 a.m., he gave up on sleep and went to the kitchen. He made coffee, burned toast, and stared at the refrigerator where Lily's drawings hung in a chaotic collage. One drawing caught his eye. Recent three stick figures holding hands, a tall one, a medium one, and a tiny one with yellow scribbles for hair. "That's you, Daddy.
That's me, and that's Miss Victoria." Lily had added a heart above the figures. A family. Daniel's chest ached. Daddy. He turned.
Lily stood in the kitchen doorway, clutching her stuffed elephant. Her blonde hair a tangled mess, her eyes still heavy with sleep. Hey, baby girl, you're up early. I heard you walking around. She shuffled over and climbed into his lap.
Are you sad? No, sweetheart. Just thinking about Miss Victoria. Daniel tensed. Why would you ask that?
Because you always get quiet when you think about her. Lily poked his cheek. Your face does this thing. What thing? Like you want to smile but forgot how?
Out of the mouths of babes. Lily, can I ask you something? Okay. What do you and Miss Victoria talk about when she visits? Lily scrunched her face, thinking hard.
She asks about school and my drawings and what I want to be when I grow up. What else? She asked about mommy Rebecca one time. Daniel's heart stopped. She did?
Yeah. She wanted to know if I remembered her. I said only a little because I was a baby when she went to heaven. Miss Victoria got really quiet after that. Her eyes got all shiny like she was going to cry.
Did she say why? Lily shook her head. She just hugged me really tight and said she was sorry. Then she gave me extra cookies. Daniel held his daughter closer, a terrible suspicion forming in his mind.
But he pushed it away. It was too crazy, too impossible. Daddy. Yeah, baby. Miss Victoria loves us.
She told me. When did she tell you that? Last time. She said she loved me very much. Ever since I was born.