Elizabeth stood at the stove with her back to us, wearing black pajama bottoms and a matching tank top. Her blonde hair was pinned up in a messy bun at the base of her neck. Errant pieces had fallen out and toppled down her back. She was barefoot, glowing, and gorgeous.
I struggled to breathe through the intense longing that coursed through my body.
She threw a quick glance over her shoulder, flashing another genuine smile. “Good morning.”
She turned back to her work, leaving me to whisper a barely audible good morning in return when really I wanted to sing.
Elizabeth spooned what looked to be more than a dozen scrambled eggs into a bowl from a frying pan. “You’d better be hungry. I made enough food to feed an army.” Her tone was light, maybe even cheerful, as if the intensity from last night had long since been forgotten.
It struck me how natural it would seem to walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist, to lean over her shoulder and place a good morning kiss on her cheek, to tell her I loved her.
Instead, I said, “Starving.”
“Good.” She opened the oven door and leaned over to pull out a pan of homemade biscuits.
I had to look away, and my roving eyes drifted to the small table in the kitchen nook. It was set for five. Suddenly, I became very uncomfortable.
“Uh, Elizabeth?”
“Yeah?” She stopped placing biscuits in a basket to look in my direction.
I gestured toward the table with my head. “Are you expecting company?”
Understanding dawned on her face. “Yeah, Matthew and Natalie come for breakfast every Sunday morning.”
I roughed a hand through my hair. No further confrontations had taken place between Matthew and me since Lizzie’s birthday, but I wouldn’t say we were exactly friendly, either. I’d only seen him a handful of times in passing as I’d been picking up Lizzie or dropping her off, but each time he’d watched me with both suspicion and disdain.
Elizabeth looked at me as if she knew exactly what I was thinking. She pointed toward the bathroom. “You’d better hurry up and get changed. They’ll be here any minute.”
I knew then that I’d better get over it if I was going to be a part of Lizzie’s life.
I was only in the small bathroom long enough to change into the clothes I’d worn the day before, brush my teeth, and to run wet hands through my hair in an attempt to tame the disaster on my head, but when I stepped out, Matthew and Natalie were already there.
From the archway, I watched the profuse apology Matthew gave Elizabeth while he held Lizzie in his arms, almost breathless in his explanation. “Elizabeth, I’m so sorry. Nat and I were at the movies last night and I’d turned off my phone. I didn’t get the message until just before we got over here.”
Elizabeth tried to stop him. “Matthew . . . honestly . . . It was fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Elizabeth’s reassurance did nothing to ease his remorse. He hugged Lizzie to him. “I’m so sorry, Lizzie.” He seemed on the verge of tears.
“It’s okay, Uncle Maffew,” Lizzie promised as she nuzzled against his neck before sitting back and looking between Elizabeth and me. “My Mommy and Daddy took care of me.”
For the briefest moment, Matthew’s attention shifted from Lizzie to me. His expression was wary, but for the first time it lacked the contempt it normally held. He opened his mouth as if to say something but turned away as Elizabeth made the call to breakfast.
I couldn’t help but feel out of place as the four of them settled into their usual spots without a thought. Matthew and Lizzie dove right into conversation as he asked for a play-by-play of the night before while he dug into the food spread out on the table in front of him. My feet were glued to the floor as I watched them with benevolent envy, without spite or resentment, but covetous of the bond they had formed.
Elizabeth looked up from her seat, smothering me in the warmth in her gaze. She inclined her head, beckoning me to take the spot beside her.
As much as I felt like an outsider, my need to be a part of this family outweighed the discomfort I experienced as I walked across the room and pulled out the chair between Elizabeth and Lizzie.
Three pairs of eyes watched as I settled into my place, Natalie as if she’d always believed I belonged there, Matthew cautious, and Elizabeth with a hint of red on her cheeks. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one feeling self-conscious. But even if it was new and filled with uncertainty, it didn’t make it any less right.
Lizzie was the only one who didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary and continued with the animated description of the previous night, relieving some of the awkwardness.
With a quiet grin on my face, I listened to my daughter prattle on and was unable to contain the pleasure I felt as I filled my plate from the bowls Elizabeth passed my way. If Lizzie had been in distress the night before, I never would have known. Matthew and Natalie hung on her every word as they showered her with sympathy and cheered her for being such a brave girl as she recounted her experience.
By the look of my plate, I knew I appeared to be a glutton. The homemade breakfast was piled high, but I couldn’t resist. How many mornings had I woken up to Elizabeth cooking in that small kitchen of my apartment back in New York? I was salivating by the time I bit into a biscuit dripping with butter and raspberry jam. A moan escaped me before I could stop it.
The voice beside me was so quiet I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined it. “They were always your favorite.”
I tilted my head toward her, smiled softly, wished I had the freedom to reach out and touch her face, and whispered, “Thank you for making them.”
I realized we were being watched, but I didn’t care. I’d chosen to stop being a coward the day I’d finally sought Elizabeth out, and if I had to lay my heart out in front of her family to show her I cared for her, that I had never forgotten her, through something as simple has homemade biscuits, I would do it.
“So, Christian . . . ,” Natalie said, cutting in before placing a forkful of eggs in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed before she continued. “What do you think of living in San Diego?” I looked across the table at her, aware she was trying to make me comfortable and welcome me into their circle. She’d always been kind to me, giving me the benefit while everyone else had remained in doubt.
My gaze flickered between the girls on my left and right before returning to rest on her. “I love it here.”
“Me too,” Lizzie added as she shoved half of a piece of bacon into her mouth.
Yes. I absolutely loved it here.
“And work?” Natalie asked.
“Uh . . .” Honestly, I really didn’t know how to answer her. I knew I had a dream job and I wished I could appreciate it more, but in the end, it really only served to remind me of what I’d walked away from to attain it.
Natalie laughed. “Work’s work, right?”
I chuckled at her observation even though it went much deeper than the obvious. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
Elizabeth tensed beside me as we broached what I knew was going to be a very touchy subject for us. Elizabeth had never been in it for the money, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have aspirations. And she was right, what she’d said that afternoon—we could have figured it out.
Lizzie jumped on the topic. “At my Daddy’s work you can see the ocean and at his house too,” she said with wide-eyed exuberance. Months before, I’d taken Lizzie to my office to show her where I worked, and of course, she’d been to my condo a number of times. She’d clearly been impressed by the fact that they looked over the water and had declared that one day she’d live by the ocean, too. It was a wish I’d be all too happy to grant.
Elizabeth joining the conversation caught me off guard. “So, what’s it like working for your dad?” She studied me with a genuine concern-filled gaze. She’d known how turbulent my relationship with my father had been, and he’d been nothing but a self-righteous asshole to her. I was surprised she�
��d even mention him.
I looked directly at her and expelled a weighty breath before I answered truthfully. “Miserable.” I shoveled some scrambled eggs into my mouth to cover up the disdain I felt for my father. He ruled his company with an iron fist and treated every single one of his employees like garbage, including me. Why he’d asked me to “head” the San Diego office when he thought me incapable of doing anything right was beyond me.
She nodded softly as if she’d expected it. “I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” For everything.
Her attention dropped to her plate, absorbed with spearing eggs onto her fork.
It was all so disconcerting, the way Elizabeth and I had to tiptoe around each other as if every simple comment came with a threat to sweep us away in the undertow and to drown us in our past.
I turned back to Natalie in hope of a safer topic. “What do you do, Natalie?”
Her brown eyes lit up as she jumped into a detailed account of the last four years of her life—her goals, school, meeting Matthew. While she was young and viewed the world through an almost childlike awe, there was still a depth to her. I liked her and could easily count her as a friend. “So right now, I’m taking classes in the mornings to finish up my bachelor’s and taking care of this sweet little thing in the afternoons.” She poked Lizzie in the belly with her finger, causing Lizzie to squeal.
Matthew watched his wife with tenderness, his face glowing as she spoke. I glanced at Elizabeth, then back at him, searching for any sort of unease with the interaction while wondering how their lives seemed so simple when the situation was anything but. Elizabeth merely watched them both with fondness. Maybe when I had seen Matthew at Elizabeth’s side that night I’d been too blinded by my own self-pity to see clearly, but I could plainly see it now. He’d stood beside Elizabeth devoted as a protector, her guardian, but his touch had lacked what poured from him when he looked at his wife.
He’d never loved Elizabeth—not the way I did, not the way he loved Natalie.
I was such fool, every realization an amplification of the mistakes I’d made.
For the remainder of breakfast, I listened and learned. Matthew directed nothing toward me other than an occasional penetrating stare as if he would give anything to know my thoughts.
Elizabeth’s little family carried on the way I imagined they always did, relaxed, enjoying each other, and chatting about what had happened throughout their week.
Elizabeth laughed.
And the world was right.
“Can I help with anything?” I stood in the doorway of Elizabeth’s kitchen as she loaded the dishwasher with the aftermath of Sunday morning. I’d just come downstairs from Lizzie’s room where I’d spent the last hour playing with her on the floor—everything from dolls, to cars, to a game that required me to wear plastic earrings and a princess tiara.
I won.
Elizabeth smiled over her shoulder. “Nope, just finishing up.” She closed the dishwasher and twisted the dial to start.
“This was great, Elizabeth. Thank you.”
She shook her head indicating it wasn’t a problem. “I’m glad you were here.”
“I’m glad I was, too.” More than she could ever know.
Seeing Lizzie three days in a row had been wonderful, and even though I was aware this request would count as pushing again, I couldn’t imagine not seeing her for an entire week. “So, I was thinking . . . maybe I could pick Lizzie up on Tuesday from school to take her to lunch?” I felt nervous, shifting my feet, worried of her reaction. So I rambled. “I’d only keep her for a couple of hours and I could bring her back to Natalie. You wouldn’t even know she was gone.”
She didn’t hesitate. “I don’t see why not. Just let me check with Nat.”
Natalie agreed, which didn’t surprise me. She seemed thrilled with the idea. The arrangement would be for me to pick Lizzie up from school and then drop her back at Natalie and Matthew’s house afterward. I typed the address Natalie had given me into my phone while she and Matthew hugged and kissed Elizabeth and Lizzie goodbye, their affection great as they promised they’d see each other tomorrow.
Natalie hugged me. At first it caught me off guard, but I was quick to reciprocate with a murmured, “Thank you,” low against her ear. She nodded and squeezed me harder in return, a clear understanding taking place between us.
The greater shock was when Matthew stepped forward and extended his hand. I accepted it, though my grip was weak and unsure. He shook it, firm and without reproach. “Thanks for being there last night.”
I nodded even though I didn’t want his thanks. No father should need to be thanked for participating in what was his responsibility, but I had to accept that my past choices resulted in the judgment of my actions now.
“All right, we’re outta here.” Natalie tugged on Matthew’s arm, taking his hand. With a final goodbye, they filed out the front door, their departure signaling that my time here today had ended as well.
“I guess I’d better head out, too.” My tone was less than enthusiastic.
I knelt in front of my daughter and gathered her in my arms. There was nothing worse than telling her goodbye. “I love you, baby girl. Daddy’s going to pick you up from school on Tuesday.” I smoothed her hair and drank in her eyes. “Would you like that?”
“Yes!” She squeezed her arms around my neck. “You’re the best daddy in the world!”
Her perception of me was so skewed, so far removed from the truth, but there would be no good purpose in correcting her now. I needed to talk to her about it, I knew, just as much as I needed to talk to her mother, but not as I was walking out the door. So I drew her closer, held her tight.
“Goodbye, princess.” In disinclination, I let her go and stood to leave.
“Bye, Daddy.”
Elizabeth regarded us from where she stood, leaning against the wall under the stairs, a new sadness on her face. It was a sadness I knew all too well. I wore it all the time.
“Goodbye, Elizabeth. Thanks for everything.”
“Goodbye, Christian.”
I opened the door and stepped out into the warmth of the summer sun.
Elizabeth followed me to the doorway to see me out.
“Elizabeth?” I turned to her, pausing on her stoop. This wasn’t an afterthought. It’d been on my mind, weighing on me since last night. “Why didn’t you come back to class?”
She stilled as the meaning of my question dawned on her face. Her voice was quiet and cracked when she answered. “I was sick.”
Closing my eyes, I nodded as I rode out the suffocating wave of guilt, and in my shame, I turned and left Elizabeth with no further words.
~
The preschool was a large, white building with colorful letters splashed across the front and shrubs growing against its walls. A wrought iron fence painted bright blue encompassed the grounds, and playground equipment filled the yard that was protected from the heat by a matching blue sunshade.
At exactly noon, I walked through the door and into the office, feeling a bit out of sorts and nervous. The room was mostly quiet, only the distorted sound of children playing seeping through the thin walls. The young woman behind the counter asked if she could help me.
“Yes, I’m here to pick up Lizzie Ayers.”
Her face lit in recognition. “Oh, yes, we were told to expect you.” She thumbed through a stack of files on her desk and produced a folder with Lizzie’s name on the tab. She pulled a sheet from it, passed it across to me, and set a pen on top of it. “I just need you to fill this out and I need your driver’s license for verification.”
Most of the form had been filled out by Elizabeth, her distinct handwriting adding me to the list of people authorized to pick Lizzie up from school. There was only a small section where I needed to add my personal information.
My heart palpitated as I realized the huge leap of faith Elizabeth had taken in me.
I now had control of signing my daughter in and out
of school.
With a shaky hand, I added the information and passed the form back to the receptionist along with my license.
She looked it over, put up a finger, and said, “Just a minute.”
She made a photocopy, added it to the file, and showed me where to sign out my daughter. Then she led me down the hall to Lizzie’s classroom.
“Daddy!” Lizzie spotted me the second we walked through the door and ran across the room with outstretched arms.
“Hi, sweetheart.” I picked her up and kissed her on the forehead, rocking her as I held her to my chest. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too, Daddy.”
“Come on, let’s get your things.”
Lizzie showed me her cubby stuffed with her day’s work, proud as she presented me with a picture she’d painted. Although the picture had been drawn with the crudeness of the hand of a five year old, the two adults and one child standing hand-in-hand, one with yellow and two with black hair, made it clear who she’d drawn.
“This is beautiful, Lizzie.” So beautiful.
I helped her wriggle her backpack over the sling she still wore on her arm and then took her good hand and led her out.
“Where to, Lizzie?” I looked at her through the rearview mirror where she was buckled in her booster in the backseat of my car.
“I want pizza!”
Then pizza it was.
Soon we were seated at a round table for two at the small pizza parlor I’d looked up on my phone. It was the kind of place where the owner cooked in the back while he yelled orders to his employees up front, a place where a person could order pizza by the slice and sit at tables covered in red and white checked cloths, a place where the intoxicating smell of fresh-baked dough hung in the air.
Lizzie sat on her knees, sipping a clear, bubbly soda through a straw, the two of us conversing about our day. She told me of the fight between two little boys on the playground, her voice disapproving as she described how they had to sit in time out for the whole recess.
I chuckled and then told her about the board meeting I’d had to sit through the entire morning, leaving out all the boring details, instead telling her how I’d spent the entire time gazing out on the sailboats on the water while thinking of only her.
The Regret Series Complete Collection Box Set: Lost to You, Take This Regret, and if Forever Comes Page 28