Chapter 2
Vanessa’s answer came too quickly.
“I’ve been taking care of her.”
Lily curled against my chest. I kept one hand around her back and carried her into the living room, where her picture books lay beneath the coffee table.
Vanessa followed.
“Marcus, you’re frightening her by making this such a big deal.”
“She was frightened when I came in.”
“You saw one moment.”
“Yes,” I said. “I did.”
I wanted to demand an explanation until she gave me one I could believe. Lily needed something else first. I settled on the couch with her and picked up a book about a duck searching for its mother.
She knew the duck. Usually she pointed to it before I opened the cover. That evening, she kept her face against my neck.
I read anyway, quietly.
Vanessa stood across the room for a while. Then she said she had a headache and went upstairs.
Only when her footsteps faded did Lily sit back. She looked toward the stairs.
“She gone?”
“She’s upstairs.”
Lily considered that. Then she put her hand on the duck and said, “Quack.”
I smiled, though my chest ached.
After another book, I called her pediatrician’s office. The nurse asked whether Lily was alert, drinking, and showing any signs that needed urgent care. I described the crying, the food, and what Lily had said. The nurse arranged an appointment for the next morning and told me what to watch for overnight.
I wrote down every instruction.
Then I called my sister, Renee.
“Can you come over?” I asked.
“What happened?”
“I need another adult here for Lily. I’ll explain when you arrive.”
Renee was at our door twenty minutes later. She had helped raise Lily after my first wife died, and Lily adored her. Usually, Lily ran to Renee before she had fully stepped inside.
This time, she stayed in my arms.
Renee did not force a hug.
“Hi, little bird. I brought the book with the puppy.”
Lily looked at the bag in her hand.
“Puppy?”
“That’s the one.”
We sat together while Renee read. Slowly, Lily moved onto her lap. I told my sister what I had seen in the kitchen.
Renee’s expression changed when I repeated Lily’s words.
“Did Vanessa say where the food went?”
“No.”
“Ask her after Lily is asleep.”
“I will.”
Renee glanced toward the staircase.
“Has anything seemed different while you’ve been traveling?”
I tried to think. My trip had lasted five days. Vanessa sent photographs of Lily drawing, sleeping, and playing with blocks. I had spoken to her each night. She looked quiet on the calls, but toddlers were often distracted by screens.
“She hasn’t wanted to talk on the phone,” I said.
“She didn’t want to talk to me either.”
Renee saw my face.
“I thought she was tired. Vanessa said their days had been busy.”
I went upstairs after Lily fell asleep in Renee’s arms. Vanessa sat on the edge of our bed, looking at her phone. She put it down when I entered.
“Renee’s here,” I said.
“I heard.”
“I called Lily’s doctor. We have an appointment tomorrow.”
Vanessa stared at me.
“Over a tantrum?”
“Because she was scared, and I want to make sure she’s well.”
“I’ve fed her every day.”
“Then tell me what she ate today.”
Vanessa listed breakfast, pasta for lunch, and fruit later. I asked about the meals in the freezer.
“I threw them out,” she said. “I thought they’d been there too long.”
“I made them last Sunday.”
“I didn’t realize.”
“And the snacks?”
“I moved them.”
“Where?”
“To the garage. She kept asking for them.”
I waited. Vanessa rubbed her forehead.
“I was trying to teach her to eat at mealtimes. I didn’t want her opening the cabinet and demanding things all day.”
“You could have told me you wanted to change her routine.”
“You’ve been away, Marcus. Someone has to make decisions.”
She was right that I had been away. She was not right that Lily’s distress was something I should ignore because of it.
“I need you to leave the meals and snacks where I can find them,” I said. “Tonight, I’m staying with Lily.”
Vanessa’s eyes filled.
“You don’t trust me.”
“I’m worried about my daughter.”
“She’s my stepdaughter. I’ve been here every day for her.”
I knew she had. She had come into our lives eighteen months earlier, a year after Lily’s mother died. At first she had been patient with both of us. I had watched Lily reach for her hand in the park. I had been grateful.
Now I could not forget the way Lily had flinched.
“I’m going to sleep in her room,” I said.
When I went back downstairs, Renee was standing beside the couch. Lily had fallen asleep, one small hand wrapped around Renee’s finger.
Renee spoke softly.
“Marcus, I need to tell you something. Last week Vanessa asked me not to visit until you got back. She said Lily needed to stop depending on me.”
I looked at my sleeping daughter.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I thought it was a parenting disagreement. I should have asked more.”
I carried Lily upstairs. When I passed the closed door to our bedroom, she stirred and clung to me without opening her eyes.
That night, I stayed beside her crib.
At two in the morning, she woke and whispered, “Daddy here?”
May you like
“I’m here,” I said.
She lay down again.
