We park and walk inside, and I immediately hear the voices coming down the hall to greet me.
Any normal day in a normal home, this would be a welcome sound.
A father returns home from work to his adoring family and happy child.
The feeling tugs at my heart strings and I realize how much I long for that warm greeting, but it will never come.
At least not as long as Angelica is furious with me for something completely out of my control.
I walk down the hallway and stop in the doorway.
Sofia sits on the floor in front of the Christmas tree with a pile of ornaments beside her.
She's humming a song I don't recognize.
Angelica sits on the couch with a book in her lap, but she's not reading.
She's watching Sofia but her mind looks lost elsewhere.
I step into the room and Sofia notices me immediately.
She looks up and smiles.
"You're back," she says.
"I am."
"Where did you go?"
"I had business to take care of."
She nods like this makes perfect sense.
Then she stands and walks over to me, holding up a book with a Christmas tree on the cover.
"Marta gave me a story," she says. "Will you read it to me?"
I glance at Angelica.
She doesn't say anything but her lips purse and her eyes darken, which I ignore because this is my child asking to bond with me.
Of course I'll do anything for her.
I'd rein the moon and bring it to Earth if it made her smile.
I look back at Sofia. "Alright."
I walk to the couch and sit down, and Sofia climbs up beside me and hands me the book.
She leans against my side, making herself comfortable.
Her small body is warm and trusting.
I open the book and begin to read, and as I do, Angelica huffs and walks out.
I don’t even bother to ask where she's going.
The story is about a poor family in a small Italian village who can't afford to buy a Christmas tree.
