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From our interactions, I could tell the state of her mental health. Aside from the selective mutism and her aversion to the color red, her PTSD was minimal. I was thankful for that.
And I couldn't wait for more— to see more. My heart tugged lightly when I recalled the smile on his face when he heard his daughter smiled. I could not only imagine his happiness.
But I also didn’t miss the disappointment when he heard she hadn’t smiled since. I understood what he felt.
It was only a matter of time before she became her usual self. It was only a matter of time before Ethan had his daughter back.
My phone rang, and I answered it.
“Hello, Dad,” I smiled.
“I’ve missed my daughter's voice so much. But she refuses to call me. She doesn't want to know how I'm faring without her.”
Dad’s tone was playful, but I couldn't help but be amazed by the veracity of his statement. I’d stayed close to two weeks without calling him. That never happened— even in college.
I swallowed the guilt in my throat. “Dad, you know I'm shuffling two jobs, and it's… it's a bit time consuming.”
Yeah, my jobs were definitely the only thing that caught my attention. Nothing else. Not a certain boss who drove me crazy in more ways than one.
“I know, Evie,” he sighed. “I just miss my baby girl.”
I smiled. “Your baby girl misses you too. But your baby girl is also on the verge of achieving her dreams.”
“And I'm proud of her,” his voice reduced. “We are proud of you.”
Tears pooled in my eyes. He never failed to remind me how proud he and Mom were.
“I just go about my day like plain ol’ me,” he chuckled. I could imagine him jabbing his elbow while shooting me a boyish grin. “Sometimes I feel like taking the next flight to come see you. But I’ve to remind myself that you're not a kid.”
With a shrug, I nodded. “That's right, dad. I'm a grown-ass girl.”
There was silence for a beat before he continued. “Lately, I've also been thinking about you know. About how I’ll be when you finally get married and, you know, have kids. I’ll be here in Minnesota j—”
My heart pricked at the thought. “But that’d literally be your dream come true. To see me loved by another more than how you love me.”
He breathed. “You're right. When the time comes, it’d be a thing of joy.”
It surely will.
“And maybe happy tears too.”
I laughed. “You really had to sneak that in, uh?”
His laughter was even louder. “Okay, okay. You caught me.”
My cheeks hurt from how wide I was smiling. It was what my father did. He made me smile till everything else faded out, and it was just both of us here. Talking.
“How’s work going?”
“Ah, fine. I've actually been making sales, you know. Life is good on my end, too.” His last sentence had a bit of pride in it.
“I'm happy for you Dad.”
Comfortable silence settled between us when I remembered something. “Say, Dad. What… happened between Mr. Thorne and his late wife?”
He cleared his throat. “Well, they had some… Errmm... Issues. I don't really have information on the whole gist. That's why I never told you. Plus, that wasn't your concern at the time anyway.”
But now? It was within my scope of professionalism, wasn't it?
