The break in conversation offered the perfect exit opportunity. But neither of them made any move to leave until the sound of a car door opening cut through the evening.
Isla’s head popped out of the back seat. “Daddy! I’m hungry! My tummy is making noises.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “That’s my cue.”
Amusement flashed across Hallie’s face when he opened them. “You shouldn’t keep her waiting. My mom used to say that once the tummy starts making noises, it means the stomach monster is emerging from its cave, ready to eat everything in its path. You might be next.”
A sharp crack of laughter burst from Christian’s gut, prompting another gorgeous smile from her. His heart rate kicked up a few more notches. Dang, when was the last time a woman smiled at him like that?
“Daddy!”
Isla’s voice snapped the bubble of enjoyment growing inside him, and he actually jumped. He shot an annoyed side-eye toward the car.
“I’ll see you around, Christian.” A chuckle surrounded Hallie’s words. She hesitated briefly before stepping past him to grab the door to the nail salon.
He turned, watching her walk down the center aisle inside until a row of oversized chairs blocked her from view. Standing on the curb for a long moment, he tried to still his racing breaths while his thoughts spun in an endless loop of confusion.
For some reason, Hallie stirred up so many feelings he hadn’t experienced since his marriage ended. Long before, perhaps. Was it simply because for the first time in years he hadn’t been expected to solve anything? Instead of demanding he provide an explanation for his daughter’s behavior, she’d given him a pass instead?
Or did his reaction to her stem from an entirely different reason? A more sentimental reason? One from the heart?
What do you think, Dad?
He was only left with his own terror that it might be the latter.
The smells of popcorn and Christian’s childhood hovered in the air at the Autumn Festival a week later. On both sides of a marked walkway, booths selling everything from fall crafts to artwork to candles filled the soccer field behind Buena Hills’ community center. Metal poles wrapped in burlap stood between each vendor, white lights and colorful maple leaves twining around them to provide more illumination once the sun went down.
Festive music mingled with kids’ laughter and shouts of glee, stirring up memories of attending this same event with his parents and sister years ago. He used to love how Dad would whisk him off to play carnival games. It hadn’t dawned on Christian back then that his father always let him win. The realization of that now put an additional sting on his absence.
Sadly, they’d stopped coming to this event after Dad died. A lot of things went away during that horrible year. Christian suspected it was just too difficult for Mom to face all those happy memories she’d had with her husband. And once she’d come to terms with her new reality, this particular tradition had already been buried underneath the others she no longer had time for with raising her kids on her own. Boy did he relate.
Holding onto his daughters’ hands, he browsed a booth selling hand-crafted jewelry. If he’d known he’d spend the whole time missing Dad, he wouldn’t have come. Today, as it had many times in the almost-six years since Isla’s birth, the unfairness of it all hit him. Dad wouldn’t be around to see the girls grow up. And Isla and Penelope were being deprived of knowing a man who’d love them with every piece of his soul.
But it wasn’t only his father’s absence plaguing Christian’semotions today. What bothered him almost as much was how much Sabrina would’ve loved the Autumn Festival.
No, Dating Sabrina would’ve loved it.
He often referred to his ex in stages. Dating Sabrina was all sunshine and blue skies while frolicking in fields of daisies.
Not that Christian had, or would. ever frolic. But that was beside the point.
Next came Married Sabrina, where that field became a little rockier. Once Pregnant Sabrina entered the chat, their whole relationship had been thrown off a cliff.
Was it insensitive to think of her that way? Maybe. But it kept him from diving too deep in analyzing what went wrong. Channeling the anger in his heart prevented him from dwelling on how much her abandonment still hurt.
Penelope tugged on his arm, slipping her small hand from his grip. Christian latched on again. “You need to stay here, Nell. There are too many people around for you to wander.”
“I’na go over dere.” She jabbed a finger toward the booths on the other side of the soccer field. “I see toys.”
Christian could see the booth of handmade wooden toys from where they stood. “We’ll go over there in a minute.”
He tightened his hold on her hand. He’d rather not spend the next hour searching for his kid.I should’ve brought the stroller.But the soccer field was so packed it would be difficult to maneuver it through the crowds. He wouldn’t be surprised if Buena Hills’ entire population, plus the surrounding suburbs, had decided to show up on opening day.
“Oooh, I like this one.” Isla pointed at a gaudy mood ring in one of the displays. “Look at the swirly colors!”
He gave the ring a passing glance. “I think it’s too big for you, kiddo.” She didn’t need any more useless stuff. It would surely end up in her pile of forgotten junk two days from now.
“I know,” Isla said with a shrug. She moved to a display of beaded bracelets. “This one’s pretty too.”
