Her smile bloomed instantly, wide and bright, and she shouted happily, “Yeah!”
Sloane and I chuckled softly, our laughter shaky from holding back tears.
After that, Harper couldn’t stop talking excitedly, telling us all about the day’s events and everything she’d done with her friends.
Sloane helped her change into her pajamas, then stood by while Harper brushed her teeth on her own, while I prepared the bed, rolling down the covers and arranging the pillows.
Just like we used to do.
When she was done, Harper ran to the bed, jumped onto it, and settled right in the middle.
Sloane and I lay down beside her, facing her, all of us under the same cover. I took her tiny hand in mine and gently rubbed the back of it with my finger while Sloane softly played with her hair.
Together, we watched her drift off to sleep.
Iwoke in the middle of the night with a dreadful feeling, like I’d just had a nightmare but couldn’t quite remember it.
I glanced over at my daughter. Harper was already sleeping soundly, and by the look of it, so was Sloane.
Suddenly, my throat felt dry. I decided to get some water.
Carefully, I slid off the bed and tiptoed out of the room.
In the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and took a few sips. As I closed the lid and shut the fridge door, I heard footsteps behind me.
I turned to find Sloane standing there.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, instantly on alert.
She shook her head. “No, nothing’s wrong,” she said softly. “I was just wondering where you went.”
“Oh.” I blinked at her. “I was thirsty. Just wanted some water.”
“Can’t sleep?”
“I did, but I woke up for some reason.”
She nodded, her eyes dropping to the bottle in my hand.
“Can I have some?” She pointed at the bottle.
“Sure.” I walked over and handed it to her. She opened the lid slowly and took a sip, then passed it back.
“Are you coming back to bed?”
“Of course,” I said, a little puzzled by her reaction. “I promised Harper.”
She nodded again.
Then we fell into silence, just standing there, looking at each other.
Being this close to her, I wanted so badly to hold her. To kiss her again after all this time. I missed her so much.
God, I wanted to kiss her.
Without realizing it, my eyes dropped to her lips, and hers to mine.
Still, neither of us spoke.
