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“I may have retired and sold my security contracting company, but I can talk them into employing you,” I offer. “You could do more work without the red tape like you pointed out, and that’s what we do—bypass the red tape.”
“Thank you, but I’d rather someone stand up to the higher-ups, and if I’m gone, there’ll be fewer of us. Where’s Lily, by the way? And Madison? I half-expected her to come running once she heard my voice.”
“That’s because she’s teaching Lily the basics of painting. Or Lily is teaching her, I don’t know. After seeing the doctor in Oklahoma, we went shopping, and she decided she wanted to get a small easel, a sketchbook, paintbrushes, and some paint. Madison takes painting lessons in school—one more thing I didn’t know about my daughter—so they are learning together,” I explain.
When Lily said she wanted the paint supplies, it was an out-of-the-blue request. We did go to an art store to get them, but then we came up with theories about what her job could have been, ranging from chef and cook to artist.
“Huh,” Ethan nods. “That’s something. But I’m glad she’s happy.”
“Me too.”
“I’ve been meaning to ask, what about putting her information in the missing persons register?”
“I thought about that,” I say, then tell him what Lily told me. “So, we can’t do anything yet.”
“And I’m not going to sit back and fold my arms,” Ethan laments. “Even if I lose my job, I’ll make sure I find something. In the meantime, we could borrow the resources you have.
“I might not be able to share everything in the case, but I’m sure I can provide helpful information. What do you think?”
I’m about to respond when Madison’s voice echoes in the hallway with the sound of her feet as she races to the living room.
“Uncle Ethan!”
“Well.” I shrug, “there’s the welcome party you were looking for.”
Madison enters the living room at full speed, heading straight for Ethan. But my eyes are drawn to the person on her tail, walking with a folded sheet in hand. My mind flashes to the first time I saw her—a pale, shivering figure standing in the middle of the road.
I remember how white her face was and the panic in my chest as I drove to the hospital, then the hours that followed until Doctor Owen declared she was ready to be discharged but the only issue is she could not remember anything.
The smile on her face now, as our eyes meet, brighter than everything, makes it seem like that night happened years ago, not a month and a few days ago.
She also looks radiant, wearing a flowery dress with a fake sunflower tucked in her hair. I’m sure the flower was Madison’s doing, but it’s a nice touch.
“Hi,” she says. “I had no idea you had a guest.”
“Guest?” Ethan says, ruffling Madison’s hair. “Logan and I are family. Before I met my wife, I stayed at his house more often than at mine. We practically raised Madison, which is why she loves me more than her dad. Right Madison?”
“Yup,” Madison replies with a grin, and I shake my head.
“My mistake. I apologize.”
“Oh no, no,” I immediately chip in. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Uhm… would you like to sit down?” I gesture to the single chair to the left of the couch where Ethan and I are seated.
That way, she doesn’t have to feel uncomfortable sitting opposite us.
Lily nods. I watch as she approaches the seat, my eyes following every step she takes.I’m more aware of Lily than I’d like to admit—the smile that brightens up her face, the way the hem of her gown flutters softly, bending to the breeze that comes in from the windows, and the subtle tuck of a strand behind her ear.
She’s almost perfect.
For someone else, I quickly add in my mind.
Someone who loves her. Someone who might be looking for her right now. I can't forget that no matter how hard it is to keep my body and mind from reacting to Lily whenever she walks into a room.
What if there isn’t anyone?
I exhale.
Even if there isn’t anyone in her life, I’m not the person for her. She deserves someone who doesn’t have the amount of baggage I’m carrying, the guilt that reminds me that no matter how many people I save, I’ll never make up for that one mistake.
