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She laughed. “It’s a lot.”
“A lot,” Maura agreed, turning back to her dad. “It’s a lot, Daddy.”
Her mama excused herself as her dad strolled over to the counter, stopping in front of Maura. She gazed at him with her big green eyes, hesitance with a tinge of fear lurking in them.
She thought she was in trouble.
“You know, you scared your mother,” he said. “She hates it when she can’t see you. She’s afraid you’ll go missing.”
“Forever?” Maura asked. “Like those other people Mama talks about that no one sees?”
He nodded. “She’s scared you’ll disappear.”
Maura stared at him, her forehead scrunched up as she processed his words. “Where would I go if I disappear?”
“Don’t know,” he said. “You’d just be gone.”
“And I wouldn’t be able to see you and Mama?”
“Nope.”
“I don’t wanna disappear, Daddy.”
He chuckled. “We don’t want you to, either.”
“But why do people?” she asked. “Why does anyone disappear? Why don’t we find them?”
“They’re hidden,” he said. “Sometimes it’s forever, but sometimes, after a few years, someone finally sees them and makes it their mission to save them.”
“Like Mama!” she declared, her face lighting up as she put together the pieces. “Grammy Maura saved Mama, right? That’s what you say!”
“Right,” he said. “And before that, your grandfather saved your grandmother.”
Her bright expression dulled a bit. “But then they disappeared again.”
“They died,” he said. “That’s different. We know where they are.”
“Where?”
He sighed exasperatedly. “I don’t know. Heaven, I guess? But they’re still with us, too. That’s what I meant. We carry them around in our hearts.”
“Are they with Grammy Miranda?”
“Yes. They’re all together up in Heaven, doing whatever the fuck people do there.”
Maura’s eyes widened as her mouth formed an ‘o’ in shock. “You owe money for the swear jar! Four quarters!”
His brow furrowed. “How do you figure?”
“You just said a swear! And outside you said two swears! Four quarters!”
“Bullshit,” he said. “That’s only three.”
Maura smiled, whispering, “That was four, Daddy.”
He grabbed her when he realized she had tricked him, tickling her sides. Giggles erupted from her, filling the kitchen with the sound of carefree, childish laughter. She grasped at his hands, kicking her small feet, and nearly nailed him in the crotch. He clutched her tightly, pulling her off the counter and swinging her around in a circle before setting her on her feet.
Taking her small hand in his, he led her outside and pulled her over toward the giant tree at the corner of the house. “Your mother used to climb this tree, you know.”
