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Jaw tight, I shook my head.
“Sean,” Val warned.
“I ain’t lying to them,” I told her, watched Val shoot me a disapproving glare I was ignoring because I was dead-set on this, then I looked back to Caroline. “Baby girl, Daddy wasn’t on vacation. I did somethin’ bad, and I had to go away for it. That’s why I couldn’t see you. I was bein’ punished, okay?”
Her head tilted in my hands, and her little nose wrinkled. “What did you do, Daddy?”
“You don’t need to worry about that. It’s done. I can see you now. That’s all that matters.”
“You mean you were in time-out?”
“What?”
“You were in time-out,” she repeated, saying it as a statement now, like she’d figured it all out herself. She nodded slowly. “I go to time-out at school when I do something bad. I have to sit there forever, Daddy. Sometimes I have to miss free play. That’s where you’ve been. You were in time-out.”
I wouldn’t ever compare where I went to some corner Caroline has to sit in for five minutes for stealing some other kid’s crayons, but if that was how she needed to understand this, I’d go with it.
“Yeah, I was in time-out,” I agreed.
“Daddy, don’t do that anymore,” she told me, face serious. “That was the longest time-out ever.”
I chuckled and heard Val laugh softly too. “I won’t, baby. I won’t do that anymore,” I promised, then I wrapped my arms around Caroline again when she went in for another hug, and stood with her, putting my attention on Fiona now.
My shy girl. My thinker—she still had her face buried in Val’s neck, but she was peeking at me with one eye, and almost…almost smiling.
I got closer and closer, leaning in slowly until her there was nothing almost about it—she was smiling now. Then I kissed her soft cheek, and she reached out for me, both hands seeking purchase around my neck. I gathered her up with one arm, taking her weight on my elbow, and pulled her close. I whispered, “Baby girl,” and kissed her again on the forehead while she played with the ends of my hair the way she used to. Caroline was pushing up my sleeve and inspecting her drawing on my arm. She ran her finger over it. I smiled at her, then I looked to Val.
My ex was wiping tears from her eyes.
I stepped closer until she held up her hand, stopping me.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said, sniffling, rubbing at her cheek. “God, I knew I would do this…Just, show us the house. You girls want to see the inside, right?” Val forced a smile and blinked away tears.
“Yeah!” Caroline yelled.
Fiona pointed at the door. “I wanna see it.”
“Yeah? It ain’t much,” I told them, hoisting the girls up higher. “Still needs work.”
“Sean, just show us the house,” Val said, sliding Caroline’s book bag up her arm. “They do not care about it needing work. Trust me.”
“I wanna see my room!” Carolina squealed.
“Me too, Daddy.” Fiona grabbed my face and forced our foreheads together.
I thought about Shayla and what she’d said to me the other night about the girls only caring about seeing me, nothing else. Then I wondered why I didn’t ask her to be here. I should’ve.
“All right, you ready?” I asked, turning toward the door. “Inside first, then I’ll show you out back. I got a tire swing out there for you two. Playground is next.”
“A tire swing? Awesome!” Caroline punched the air, then wiggled down when I hit the porch and rushed inside, shoving the door open.
Fiona started squirming until I put her down, and ran after her sister, screeching in delight.
Their voices poured out of the house.
I stepped aside so Val could enter next.
She stopped in front of me, eyes soft, and put her hand on my shoulder. Her hair was tied back. There was pink on the ends, like Shayla’s. “You look good, Sean,” Val said.
“So do you,” I replied, meaning that. My ex was a beautiful woman. Sweet face. Pretty smile—she still had it. The hardened life I’d put her through hadn’t changed her.
If anything, it made Val more beautiful, just knowing what all she’d survived.
“Well, come on. Give me a tour,” she said. Her hand gave me a squeeze, then she dropped it and took a step, getting halted by Caroline, who popped her head out the door.
“Mommy, I have a ladybug dresser!” she screamed in one breath, eyes wide and making her look half crazy. She glanced at me before disappearing back inside in a rush.
Laughing, Val went on inside.
I walked in after her, thinking about Shayla, that pink in her hair, and how she’d be smiling right now and telling me, “I told you so,” if she were here.As promised, I gave a tour of the inside before showing the girls and Val out back.
