Sadie
A week after Ralph’s arrest, things finally felt as though they were getting back to normal. Ralph was charged with breaking the restraining order. True to his word, Cyrus didn’t press any other charges. Ralph would spend a little time in jail before his trial, and then, it was up to the courts to decide his fate.
I didn’t worry about him, though. I focused on Megan and helping her overcome the latest trauma she’d been through. I hated that she’d gone through so much at such a young age. It wasn’t fair. She deserved so much better. I wanted to make it my mission in life to make up for all that she’d suffered. I wanted all this mess with Ralph to fade into distant memories for her. I wanted her to be happy. More than anything else in the world, I wanted her to just be a normal, six-year-old girl.
We were out on the terrace one day, coloring, when she looked up at me and asked, “Sadie? Is my daddy gone forever?”
I frowned at her and replied, “What do you mean, sweetie?”
She hesitated a moment and looked out toward the hedge maze. She’d been avoiding that part of the garden since the confrontation with Ralph. It made me sad to think about. She’d loved walking through the maze with me before, and at that moment, it was a source of fear and uncertainty for her.
“Mommy went away,” she said in a soft voice. “Uncle Cyrus said she wasn’t coming back. That she was in heaven. Daddy’s gone away now. Is he in heaven, too?”
I blinked, caught off guard by her innocent, but loaded, question. I had no idea what to say to her, and I wasn’t certain it was my place to say anything at all.
As I struggled to think of a response, Cyrus suddenly walked out of the house and made his way toward us. I felt a wave of relief and quickly jumped to my feet to meet him halfway.
He grinned at me, but it slipped when he took in my anxious expression.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in a low tone.
I reached out and took his hand before answering, “Um, so, Megan just asked me if her daddy is gone forever. Her mommy went to heaven, and I think she’s worried that Ralph being gone means that he’s dead, too. She’s confused, Cyrus, and she’s still scared. I think you should talk to her. It’ll be better coming from you.”
Cyrus’s brow furrowed, and he nodded. “Yeah…yeah, all right. Probably should have done this earlier, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her…”
“I know that,” I assured him. “It’s okay. This whole situation is so hard to navigate, but she needs help understanding what happened, and I’m too new in her life to do it.”
He cupped the side of my face and leaned in to give me a kiss on my forehead.
“I got this,” he murmured.
Still hand-in-hand, we turned and made our way to the table Megan sat at. She looked up at us with a curious expression. Cyrus gave her a gentle smile and sat next to her. I sat across from them and pressed my lips together, determined to be a silent observer.
“Hey, sweetie, how are you?” Cyrus asked.
Megan blinked up at him and shrugged. “Okay, I guess.”
Casting me a quick glance, Cyrus said, “Sadie told me you had some questions about your dad. I want to help you understand what’s been going on, okay?”
“Okay, Uncle Cyrus,” Megan replied with a small nod. She looked nervous, and I wanted to wrap her in a hug and comfort her, but I stayed in my chair. This talk needed to happen, and I couldn’t insert myself into the situation and distract from it. Once Cyrus was done, I’d be there to hold Megan and let her cry against my shoulder if she needed it, but for the moment, I needed to be patient.
Cyrus took a deep breath before beginning. “Your daddy is gone, but not forever. He’s not in heaven like your mommy.”
Fear crossed Megan’s expression. “Will he come back?”
Shaking his head, Cyrus assured her, “No, honey. He won’t come back for a very long time. And, if he ever does, it’ll be because you ask him to come.”
“I don’t want him to come back,” the little girl whispered, a slight tremble in her voice.
Cyrus gave her a reassuring look. “Then he’ll stay away. It’s entirely up to you.”
Megan appeared thoughtful for a moment.
At length, she hesitantly asked, “Why did daddy do those scary things? Why’d he hurt mommy?”
My heart hammered in my chest, and I looked up at Cyrus, unsure how he was going to respond to those questions. He appeared momentarily uncertain but then seemed to collect himself.
“Your daddy has been very sick,” he explained. “It’s made it hard for him to think and make good choices.”
“Is he going to get better?” Megan looked worried, but I didn’t think it was because she feared Ralph coming for her. I think, deep down, she still loved her daddy and wanted him to be all right.
Chapter 63
Sadie
It was hard to break that bond between a child and parent, and no matter what Ralph did, I think there would always be a part of Megan that wanted that connection with him.
“I hope so,” Cyrus told her. “He’s going to try. That’s what’s important.”
Megan regarded him a long moment before saying, “I’m glad he’s going to try.”
Cyrus smiled softly. “Me, too. I promise you, Megan, I’m going to take care of you and protect you no matter what. Okay?”
The corners of her lips curled up at that. “Okay. I love you, Uncle Cyrus.”
“I love you, too, Megan,” he replied. Then, he looked up at me. I couldn’t help but smile back at him. My heart swelled, and I fell even more in love with him at that moment. I wanted to explain my feelings to him in more depth, but we needed to talk away from Megan. I didn’t want to confuse her even more as Cyrus and I tried to figure out the stuff between us.
“All right, is there anything else you want to talk about?” Cyrus asked, turning back to Megan.
She blinked her big eyes and shook her head. “Can I keep coloring now?”
Cyrus chuckled. “Of course. Go on ahead, sweetie.”
Megan returned to her coloring, her demeanor much more at ease than before.
Cyrus smiled at me and pushed to his feet.
“I need to get back to work,” he said. “I just wanted to check on you two…”
“Can we talk later?” I blurted, my nerves getting the better of me.
He appeared momentarily taken aback before nodding and replying, “Of course. Come find me when Megan takes her nap.”
“Okay,” I murmured, my cheeks heating. I felt strangely shy, and I dropped my gaze from his. He seemed confused by my behavior, which I couldn’t blame him for. After a moment’s hesitation, he turned and made his way back into the house.
Once he was gone, I released a long breath and sank back into my chair.
“Are you okay, Sadie?” Megan asked, giving me a curious frown.
Snapping out of my stupor, I forced a smile and said, “Oh, yes. I’m fine. What are you coloring?”
Immediately distracted from her question, Megan turned her coloring book toward me to show me what she was working on. I oohed and ahhed appropriately, giving her my undivided attention…but my anxiety about talking with Cyrus remained in the back of my head.
***
It was a couple of hours later when I made my way to Cyrus’s office. I was nervous and running through what I was going to say to him in my head. My earlier confession had been overshadowed by Ralph’s presence, and I wanted to tell Cyrus properly. A part of me was terrified that he would reject me, however. I wasn’t sure what I would do if that happened, but it was a risk I knew I had to take.
Reaching his office door, I paused and took a deep, fortifying breath. Raising my hand, I gave a few quick knocks. I didn’t have to wait long.
“Come in,” Cyrus called.
Opening the door, I slipped inside and shut it behind me. He sat at his desk, working on his laptop. He looked up at me and grinned.
“Hey,” he said, closing his laptop and rising to his feet. He came around the desk and slipped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him. I turned my face up to him, and he pressed his lips to mine in a languid kiss. When he broke away, he murmured, “I’ve been missing you today.”