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Carter shot me a grimace and put his hand on Sofie’s unruly hair. Bending down on one knee, he got eye level with my daughter. “Honey, don’t you want to see your dad? You tell me every day you want him to come back.”
Shaking her head, she leaned in and whispered in Carter’s ears. Pulling back, he took her hand. “He didn’t want to go away. But sometimes we don’t have a choice.”
“Sofie,” I said, my voice cracking. “I missed you so much. I’m so sorry for leaving.”
She made no move to come closer, instead leaning into Carter.
Everleigh stepped forward. “Hey Sofie, remember me?”
She nodded at Everleigh. “You’re Ever. And you said you’d play Uno with me again.”
Laughing, Everleigh took another step forward. “That’s right. You up for a game now?”
“I’ll get the cards,” Sofie called out, racing out of the room.
Carter got back up, facing me. “She’ll come around. This is a lot for her. She missed you every day. Asked for you all the time.”
I couldn’t respond, afraid my voice would waver.
Sofie came back, taking Everleigh’s hand but stopped when she noticed Santino hovering at the entry to the kitchen. She shrank back behind Everleigh’s leg, her excitement from seconds before replaced with wariness.
She’d never been good with strangers, though I thought she must have grown out of it from the way she greeted Everleigh. But maybe it was just Everleigh doing what she did best, putting everyone around her at ease, no matter the nightmare she’d endured herself.
Everleigh hugged Sofie to her side. “This is Santino. He’s a friend.”
But Sofie didn’t react.
Instead of forcing a response or getting frustrated, Everleigh took her hand and led her to the living room. “Maybe we can say hi later. How about that game of Uno you promised me?”
Sofie whispered something in Everleigh’s ear, which made Everleigh grin at me. “Of course your dad can play with us. If he dares.”
Not wanting to appear too eager I forced my steps to slow down instead of running into the other room.
Carter joined in as well, and we even convinced Santino to play. Turned out he was a terrible loser, his tantrums making Sofie giggle.
Everleigh had gone to the kitchen to help Carter with dinner, and Santino was outside, licking his wounds—and hurt pride—for losing to a seven-year-old, when I sat down with Sofie.
“Are you going to go away again?” she asked softly.
“Never again. I promise.”
I’d never had a problem talking to Sofie, but now the words failed me. Her constant chatter was also absent, my regret over leaving her growing with each silent minute we spent together.
Everleigh broke the silence when she came back into the room. “You guys ready for dinner?”
Jumping up, Sofie grinned at her. “Will you sit next to me?”
“Of course,” Everleigh responded, waiting for me to join her. “I’d love to.”
I took her hand, her touch a lifeline.
“How did it go?” she asked, walking slowly to put more distance between us and Sofie.
“I don’t know if she’ll ever forgive me. Maybe I broke more between us than I’ll be able to fix.”
Stopping me with a tug on my arm, Everleigh scowled at me. “Your daughter loves you. She just needs some time.”
Leaning down, pressing my lips to hers in a soft kiss, I took a deep breath. “Maybe.”
