Chapter 9 - THE GIRLS' BIRTHDAY
The girls' fifth birthday arrived with pink balloons, a chocolate cake, and a backyard full of children.
Declan had asked whether he could attend. I said yes, with the same boundaries we had agreed on before.
He arrived carrying three identical gift bags.
Inside each was a small telescope.
“For looking at the moon,” he explained. “And the stars.”
Maya immediately asked whether they could use them that night.
“Absolutely.”
Lucy hugged him.
Ella inspected the telescope carefully.
“Does it work?”
“I tested it.”
“Good,” she said. “I don't like broken presents.”
Declan laughed.
He spent the afternoon helping with games, wiping frosting from little hands, and carrying a sleepy Lucy inside when she fell asleep on the porch swing.
I watched him from the kitchen.
He was learning.
Not perfectly. Not quickly. But sincerely.
When the guests had gone, he helped stack chairs.
“Thank you for letting me be here,” he said.
“They wanted you here.”
“I know.”
He looked toward the girls, who were sitting on the rug with their new telescopes.
“I missed so much.”
“Yes.”
“I can't ask you to give me those years back.”
“No.”
“But I hope I can be present for the years ahead.”
I leaned against the counter.
“That's not something you can say once and expect me to believe.”
“I know. I'll have to show you.”
A quiet moment passed.
Then he said, “I don't expect us to get back together.”
“Good.”
“But I need to tell you something. I never stopped loving you.”
I looked at him.
“Love isn't the same as trust.”
“I understand.”
“And I won't raise my daughters in a house where they have to wonder whether their father will believe their mother.”
“You won't.”
May you like
I wanted to believe him.
That frightened me.
