“Good because I don’t want to go. I want to stay with you.”
“I love you, Naomi.”
“I love you too, Daddy,” she says.
My heart twists and my stomach lurches. I hope it’s true. I hope I’m not lying to her. She doesn’t need to think about the legal aspects of this. That’s for me, but it is possible, and I’ll hate myself even more if I’m lying to her.
There’s a knock at the door, and I stand grabbing her hand.
We answer it together, and Naomi glues herself to my side.
“Hi Rebekah, good to see you,” I tell her.
She smiles softly at me and looks down at Naomi.
Naomi is virtually a replica of Rebekah with her brown hair, green eyes, and mouth.
I started to see it as she got older, but seeing them together, there’s no mistake she’s her daughter.
“Hi,” Rebekah says softly.
Naomi and I take a step back. “Come in.”
Rebekah hesitantly steps through the door, and Naomi stares at her, still glued to me.
“It’s okay, princess,” I tell her.
Naomi doesn’t say a word. I wondered how shy she would be.
“Can I get you some water?” I ask Rebekah.
“Please,” she says, and takes her shoes off, setting them next to ours.
We make our way to the kitchen, and I’m practically dragging Naomi with me. She needs a chance to adjust. “Naomi? How about you go start on your new coloring book, while your mom and I talk?”
She looks up at me anxiously, and I encourage her to go. Naomi finally relents and goes to the dining table to grab the book and plops down on the sofa.
I fill a glass of water for Rebekah, sliding it across the counter. She takes it and downs most of it in one go.
She’s my sister. I should comfort her, maybe encourage her, but I can’t find it in me. And I’m not sure what that says about me. I thought I was over the anger of her actions, and I’m not.
I’m still angry.
Rebekah puffs out a breath and pushes her straight brown hair out of her face.
“You look healthy.”
She nods, unable to make eye contact with me, still staring at Naomi.
“Just talk to her. Trust me, she has plenty to say,” I tell her.
Rebekah glances at me and works up the courage to approach Naomi.
“Can I sit here?” Rebekah asks her.
Naomi looks at me, and I give her the okay.
“Do you want to color with me? It’s a new coloring book my dad got me.”
