Chapter 8 - THE FIRST SCHOOL PLAY
Six weeks later, Ella’s school held its spring performance.
Dominic arrived forty minutes early.
He sat in the second row, not because the seats were better, but because
Ella had told him she wanted to see his face when she looked into the
audience.
Mrs. Alvarez sat beside him.
“She’s been practicing every evening,” the nanny said.
Dominic smiled. “I know. She made me listen to the song twelve times.”
The lights dimmed.
Children in paper crowns walked onto the stage. Ella stood near the
center wearing a yellow dress and a cardboard star pinned to her
shoulder.
She looked out at the audience.
For one brief second, her face fell.
Then she saw Dominic.
He lifted both hands and waved.
Ella smiled.
The music began.
Her voice was small, but she sang every word. When the performance
ended, the children bowed. The audience applauded.
Dominic stood.
He applauded until his hands hurt.
Afterward, Ella ran toward him.
“You came!”
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Did you hear my song?”
“Every word.”
“Even the quiet part?”
“Especially the quiet part.”
She threw her arms around him.
Mrs. Alvarez took a photograph.
It was simple: a father in a dark suit holding his daughter in a yellow
dress, both of them laughing.
Dominic asked for a copy.
That evening, he framed it and placed it in his study.
The next day, Ella came to his office carrying the wooden box.
“Daddy, I have something.”
She opened it.
Inside were drawings, the paper heart, and the old coins. She had
arranged them carefully.
“I don’t need these for hugs anymore,” she said. “But I want to keep
them because they helped me ask.”
Dominic sat down beside her.
“That’s a good reason.”
She handed him the paper heart.
“Can you keep this one?”
He accepted it.
“I’ll keep it forever.”
Ella leaned against him.
“Can I ask for something else?”
“Anything.”
“Can we have pancakes on Saturday?”
He smiled.
“Every Saturday.”
“Even if they’re burnt?”
“Especially if they’re burnt.”
She giggled.
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For the first time, the study did not feel like a place she had to wait
outside. It was simply another room in her home.
