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"Can you take off like that?"
"Miraculously, yes."
"Okay," she agrees, and I can practically see the weight lifting off of her chest as she becomes less stiff.
"Ellie bear, come here," Hanna shouts, and I grab her hand in mine, squeezing it reassuringly. She doesn't pull away like I thought she would, and when Ellie enters the room, her eyes fall directly to our hands.
Her face twists in confusion as she sits in the chair next to us.
"Why are you looking at me weird, mama?" She asks, her eyes bolting between the two of us.
"Well, sweet pea, we wanted to talk to you about some things."
I don't speak, letting Hanna handle this how she feels appropriate.
"My surprise?"
I chuckle a little under my breath. She's about as impatient as I am, "Not yet, babe."
"Well, honey, I just… well…" Hanna struggles to get the words out, her eyes darting to me for help.
"Mama?" She questions, sitting up straighter in the chair crossing her legs.
"Well, Ellie bear, it's about your dad."
Ellie's eyes go wide, "You found him?"
Hanna doesn't speak, turning her head in my direction.
"You are my daddy?" Ellie questions, her eyes landing on her mom's hand gripping my knee.
"How would you feel about that?"
"We knew it!" She shouts, standing in a swift motion.
Hanna's face twists in confusion, "Ellie, what?"
"JC and I guessed it," She shrugs, "He said I have your face."
"You knew?" I question, shifting around uncomfortably in my seat.
"I'm five. I'm not stupid."
"Ellison James! No one ever said you were stupid. That's ugly."
"Why did you leave me? Did you not want to be my dad?" She continues rambling, hardly taking a breath, "Families are supposed to stay together."
"Well, my job requires me to be away a lot," I roam.
Hanna's stern voice interrupting me spontaneously, "He didn't know."
Her smile slowly tilts downward, "What?"
Hanna sighs, "Honey, Jameson didn't know about you."
How on earth do you explain this to a five-year-old?
"When you were growing in my tummy, he was away learning to fly, and we–" she pauses, thinking of the right words, "lost touch. So he just found out about you when he came back to town."
