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“Mom?”
The light touch of a hand resting on Jenna’s shoulder woke her. She jerked in the chair where she’d drifted off.
Early afternoon sunshine sliced into the bedroom through the slats of the drawn shutters. Jenna squinted as dust motes floated toward her. “Baby, what are you doing awake?”
Janie climbed into her lap. “It’s almost two.”
Jenna hugged her daughter, the pressure so firm Janie balked. “Mommy, you’re crushing me.”
“Sorry.” Jenna eased her daughter an arm’s length away to study her. There was a ring of red around her throat and the space below her eyes was clearly tinged with a darker hue than the rest of her pale skin.
“Baby, how do you feel?”
“Kind of tired considering I’ve been asleep all weekend. Is Uncle Kyle still here?”
“No, he left this morning.”
“Oh.” An unspoken inquiry hung in the air before Janie spoke again. “Anyone else?”
“Do you mean Eric?”
As Janie’s blonde head lowered, she bobbed a shaky yes.
“He slept on the couch, but he left this morning, too.”
“Is he coming back?”
Jenna nodded. “He wants to, but we both thought it would be best for you to get some rest first.”
“I guess he knows, huh?”
“Yes.”
Jenna gave her child a reassuring smile and swept strands of pale-yellow hair from her eyes. Janie was sure to have questions; but silence lay like a layer of fog, complicated and difficult to maneuver through. They sat quietly for a long while before she spoke. “How did he find me?”
“I don’t really know.”
Jenna’s mind slipped back to a night she’d never forgotten. She could still see the mix of people laughing and drinking, music shaking the air, and a girl collapsed on a floor, her heart silent. Closing her eyes, Jenna could see Eric hurtling the bar to save her.
“He’s smart, and he’s very brave. I once saw him give CPR to a girl who wasn’t breathing. If he hadn’t helped her, she would have died.”
Almost rounding into a ball, Janie settled even deeper into Jenna’s arms. “Now that he knows I’m his daughter, do you think he’ll want to see me…or anything?”
“Are you asking about visits…custody?”
“Both, I guess.”
Jenna rested her head against the back of the chair and glanced up at the ceiling. A faint shadow of phosphorescent stars glowed. She’d glued them there when Janie was five, and she wondered how long her baby would want to continue sleeping under the fairylike constellations.
“He’ll want what’s best foryou. Always. Maybe we could start small and have him come here to see you. Would that be okay?”
“I guess.” Janie tugged at her bottom lip and asked earnestly, “Mommy, what am I supposed call him?”
****
Eric drove slowly. A casserole only Ina could have thrown together so quickly was warming the passenger seat. Jenna had called and invited him over. His daughter wanted to meet him, and Ina theorized all problems could be solved over a good meal.
By the time he reached Jenna’s, the food had cooled enough so he didn’t have to meet his daughter wearing mitts with black and white spotted cows embroidered on them. He handed Jenna the platter but lingered in the foyer waiting for an official invitation. Little more than a week ago, he had boldly strode across the hardwood floor and followed her up the stairs to make love. The memory stung because his happiness had been so unfairly short lived.
