“Once upon a time,” I begin, “there was a prince who went to a Christmas ball.”
“Was he rich?” Bella asks.
“Very rich. But also very lonely. He went to the ball feeling bored, wishing he was anywhere else. The ballroom was decorated with a thousand white lights and a Christmas tree that touched the ceiling, but none of it felt magical. Then he saw her.”
“The princess?”
“The most beautiful princess in the world.” My voice softens. “She wore a red dress that sparkled like Christmas ornaments, and when she laughed, it sounded like silver bells.”
“Like jingle bells?” Bella asks, more awake now.
“Exactly like jingle bells.”
“What happened next?” Bella yawns, snuggling deeper into her blankets.
“The prince asked her to dance,” Desiree continues, surprising me. “And even though the princess was scared—because she wasn’t really a princess, just a regular girl pretending—she said yes.”
“They danced under the Christmas lights,” I add, watching Desiree over Bella’s head. “All night long, while the music played, and the tree sparkled.”
“And then they got married?” Bella asks hopefully.
I glance at Desiree, who’s looking everywhere except at me. “Not right away. They had to go on adventures first.”
“What kind of ‘ventures?”
“The princess had to go somewhere far away,” I say carefully. “And the prince... the prince had to learn some important lessons.”
“Like what?” Bella yawns.
“Like how to be brave. And kind. And patient.” I stroke her hair gently. “Very, very patient.”
“That’s boring,” Bella mumbles, her eyes drooping. “I like the dancing part better.”
“Me too, princess.” I keep my voice soft, watching her fight sleep. “But the best part of the story is that after all their adventures, they found each other again on Christmas during a big snowstorm.”
“Like now...”
“Just like now.”
Her breathing evens out before I can say anything else, and we watch her sleep. Our daughter. The best thing to come from the best night of my life.
She has Desiree’s mouth and my chin. A perfect blend of us .
Every other weekend, every other holiday—it’s never enough. Never enough time to memorize all the small changes, the ways she’s growing.
Last Christmas Bella was with Desiree, and when I got her back in January, she’d learned two new songs I’d never heard. Lost a tooth I didn’t know was loose. Grown a quarter inch I couldn’t account for.
The custody agreement made sense on paper. Fair. Equitable. But fair doesn’t stop the ache when Patricia drives off with her, knowing it’ll be weeks before I see her again.
“I should go,” Desiree whispers.
I follow her out, closing the door softly behind us. In the hallway, she turns to face me.
“That was cruel,” she says. “Telling her that story.”
“It was true.”
She wraps her arms around herself. “What are we doing, Enrick? What’s the endgame here?”
