Chapter 10
The sunflowers bloomed just before Rosie turned five.
She spotted the first open flower from her bedroom window and woke me before sunrise.
“Daddy! It’s ready!”
I followed her outside in my slippers. The yellow petals had opened around a dark center. Rosie stood beneath it, her hair still tangled from sleep, and reached both hands toward the sky.
“It’s taller than Lena,” she said.
“Nearly.”
“We have to show her.”
We sent Lena a picture. She called back at once and promised to come after breakfast.
For Rosie’s birthday, I asked whom she wanted to invite. She chose Lena, Aaron, Daniel, Miss Olivia, two friends from preschool, and Grandma. We planned a party in our backyard. Rosie wanted yellow frosting and paper sunflowers on the fence.
A few days before the party, she asked if people who had hurt her could find our house.
I sat beside her on the couch.
“Bethany isn’t allowed to come here,” I said. “If anyone we haven’t invited comes to the door, I will handle it. You can always tell me if you’re worried.”
“Even if you’re working?”
“Even then.”
She considered my answer.
“Can Daniel help if you’re busy?”
“Yes.”
“And Grandma?”
“She can call me and help you stay somewhere safe.”
Rosie nodded. Then she asked if the cake could have strawberries inside it.
We talked about strawberries for the rest of the drive to the store.
I had learned that feeling safe came from ordinary things I could do again and again. I told Rosie where I was going. I listened when she wanted a door closed. I answered her questions and let her decide whether to hug someone.
On the morning of her birthday, Daniel arrived early with balloons. Lena and Aaron helped hang the paper flowers. Mom brought strawberries and asked Rosie where she wanted them.
“Inside the cake,” Rosie said with authority.
Mom followed her into the kitchen.
I watched them together for a moment. Rosie handed her a small spoon. Mom waited for instructions instead of taking over. They spread strawberries between the cake layers while Rosie told her about the sunflower that had opened that morning.
When the guests arrived, the backyard filled with voices. Rosie showed her friends the rabbit’s paper hat, which Daniel had saved. Lena laughed when it fell over the rabbit’s ear again.
I lit five candles. Rosie made us sing twice because she liked hearing everyone say her name. Then she took a breath and blew out every flame.
“What did you wish for?” I asked.
She grinned. “I can’t tell you.”
She ate cake beside Lena and gave Mom the biggest strawberry from her plate. Miss Olivia took a photograph of us under the sunflowers. In it, Rosie stood between me and Lena with yellow frosting on her chin.
After everyone left, Daniel helped carry the chairs inside. Mom washed the cake plates, and Rosie sat at the table opening cards.
She found one from Lena with a photograph of the first tiny sunflower shoot. Beneath it, Lena had written, Look how far it grew.
Rosie held the card next to the birthday photograph.
“We grew too,” she said.
I sat beside her. “We did.”
That evening, rain began to fall.
Rosie heard it through her bedroom window while I read the fox book. She looked at the yellow star blanket at the foot of her bed, then at me.
“Can we finish the story?”
“Of course.”
I read until the fox found his way home. Rosie corrected my voice for him three times. When I closed the book, she put her rabbit under the blanket and reached for my hand.
“Daddy, I know who to tell when I’m scared now.”
“Who?”
“You. And Daniel. And Miss Olivia.” She thought for a moment. “Grandma listens now too.”
“I’m glad.”
She squeezed my fingers.
“I told you that night,” she said. “You came.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead.
“I’ll keep coming whenever you need me.”
May you like
She let go of my hand and settled against her pillow. I turned on the little lamp by her door and went into the hallway.
Through the window, I could see rain shining on the sunflowers. Inside, my daughter was warm in her bed, her rabbit tucked beside her. I heard her begin to hum the song Leah used to sing, and I stayed close enough to listen until she fell asleep.
