She looked at me. “How are you?” she asked. “It’s been a while since we talked.”
It had.
She’d started going to the hospital and back on her own. And when I picked up or dropped off Harper, our conversations were brief, almost transactional.
She told me she needed to know if she could stand on her own. To find her own strength.
I tried to give her that space. I wanted to respect it.
I just hoped she didn’t think I’d given up.
“I’m good,” I said, smiling at her. “And I can see you’ve been doing great too, Sloane.”
“I am,” she replied, looking happy. “I never thought I’d feel like this, like some of the weight had finally lifted off my chest. It was hard at first, trying to talk to people again. But once I decided to let go and stop resisting it, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.”
I looked at her, a little stunned.
That was a conversation I never thought I would have with her.
She chuckled suddenly, and for a moment, I just stared in awe at how light she sounded.
“You look surprised,” she said, still smiling.
I nodded. “A good surprise,” I said. “But yeah... I am.”
“I think I’ve come a long way,” she said.
“You have,” I replied. “I’m proud of you.”
Her smile grew a little wider. “I know.”
We finished our burgers in silence after that, but it was a quiet kind of easy. Comfortable.
Then my mom called her inside to help with something.
I watched as she stood and walked away, my eyes following her until she disappeared into the house.
It was pretty late when I drove Sloane and Harper home after the party. The last guests didn’t leave until aroundthree, and by then Harper had fallen asleep on the sofa, too tired even to move.
We waited until she woke up, got her into the shower, fed her dinner, and then headed home.
Harper held my hand, tugging me gently to follow her. I stepped into the living room with her and Sloane. She stopped, standing between us, looking back and forth between me and her mom, then back again.
“It’s my birthday,” she said softly. “I wanna sleep with both of you tonight.”
Sloane and I looked at each other, eyes wide. For a moment, neither of us said a word.
Then Harper added softly, her eyes pleading, “Please. I miss it a lot.”
God, my emotions overwhelmed me. I scooped her up and held her tight against my chest, burying my face in her temple.
My little girl.
This was all my fault.
I pulled away and glanced at Sloane, waiting for her reaction. She was just as emotional as I was, covering her mouth with her hand. Our eyes met, and she nodded slowly.
I looked at my daughter, her eyes full of hope and anticipation. I smiled back. “Okay,” I said, feeling the corners of my eyes sting.
