“No problem. Happy I could help.”
“You have no idea.”
“Here.” I hold it out for her but she shakes her head, and I clutch my grip tighter around the soft mermaid.
“You should take it up to her.”
“Really?” I run my hand over my head.
Rosie pinches the sleeve of my flannel and tugs me inside. “Yes, really. You’re going to be her hero.”
“I’ve never been someone’s hero before,” I admit, not able to restrain the inflating of my chest at the thought.
“That’s not true,” she whispers quietly, almost like a confession. Like maybe she didn’t mean to say it out loud.
We make eye contact, and warmth expands beneath my ribcage. I have to force my feet to move down the hall so my mind doesn’t take a trip down memory lane. “Well, if you think it will help.”
“Are you kidding,” she says from behind me. “A hero moment for a dad has to be a big thing. I wouldn’t know, I don’t think I have one.”
I purse my lips, thinking about Rosie’s overachiever dad, in all areas except for being a father. We at least had that in common. We both had dads who would rather be anywhere than with their kids.
Charlie’s bedroom door is open about a foot, I peek my head inside and glance around. It’s not really decorated for a kid. Since framing the wall and separating the large room back into two like it used to be, Dottie decorated it in the coastal theme that matches the entire house. Dottie probably hoped Charlie or Rosie might sleep in this room if they came to live. There’s framed art of seashells and coral hanging on light blue walls.Mermaid and whale statues sit on the bookcase shelves among jars of seashells.
A pile of navy and white blankets sits in the middle of the bed, which I can only assume Charlie’s hiding beneath. I rap my knuckles on the inside of the doorjamb to announce my arrival, then shuffle into the room with Rosie following behind me.
“Um, hey, Charlie,” I mumble, clutching the stuffed mermaid in my sweaty hand.
The blankets rustle but she doesn’t come out.
“Are you missing something?”
The pile moves and Charlie looks out, her eyes red rimmed, her little cheeks blotchy, and her hair mussed. But as soon as she sees what’s in my hand, her entire face brightens. She shoots out of the bed and tears the mermaid from my grip. Bringing it to her chest, she hugs it and squeezes her eyes tight, smiling a huge toothless grin.
“Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you,” she repeats.
When she opens her eyes, she launches herself into my arms and I have no choice but grab a hold of her so she doesn’t fall. She nuzzles her little head in the crook of my neck and my chest expands. I inhale her sweet, just cleaned smell without thinking and it does something to my insides. Something I’ve never experienced before. It’s like a new emotion has unlocked. One I don’t have the words to name or explain.
Warmth travels through my arms and legs. “You’re welcome.”
“I knew you’d find her, Daddy. I just knew it,” she whispers into my neck.
I peer over the top of Charlie’s head at Rosie. Tears are filling her eyes, and she tucks her chin to her chest while she leans her back against the wall. My own eyes burn, and there’s a weird pinch underneath my ribs. Is this what just a smidge of being adad feels like? It’s suffocating but in the best way and yet it’s too much too fast.
I unlatch her small arms from around me and set her back onto the bed. “Okay, well, your mama says you were just going to bed. So, I’ll let you get to it.”
She smiles and tugs the fluffy navy blue blanket up to her shoulders after she lies down. The stuffed mermaid is still tight in her embrace. This thing has already become so important to her that it caused a big ruffle in her bedtime routine. I push her matted hair out of her face and when I see the dimple in her chin that matches mine, my heart balloons inside my chest.
“Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I mutter and back away. There’s an urgency hurtling through my body, making me want to retreat.
“Wait! Daddy, stay.”
“I—what?”
“Stay until I fall asleep. Please?”
I glance over my shoulder at Rosie. She’s chewing her lower lip but offers me no other options. At the very least, she could give me a hint of what I should do in this situation. But she doesn’t. So I take it as a sign that I gotta stay.
“Yeah, okay.” I pick up the chair that’s in the corner of the room and drag it near the bed. “I’ll stay till you’re asleep. But then I’m gonna go and I’ll see you tomorrow. Deal?”
