Chapter 3 - THE MAN WHO WANTED SEVEN YEARS BACK
Vincent didn't follow us to the parking garage.
That surprised me.
The man I remembered would have ordered someone to stop my car.
He would have demanded answers.
He would have treated my departure as an inconvenience to be corrected.
Instead, he stood in the corridor and watched us leave.
Madison was waiting beside our rental car.
She had flown in from Boston the previous afternoon because she'd insisted I shouldn't attend the ceremony alone.
When she saw my face, she opened the passenger door.
“What happened?”
“Vincent saw Emily.”
Madison closed her eyes.
“Of course he did.”
“She asked who he was.”
“And?”
“I told her.”
Madison looked at me carefully.
“Are you okay?”
I laughed once.
“No.”
She nodded.
“Fair.”
Emily climbed into the back seat.
For several minutes, she said nothing.
Then she asked, “Why didn't Daddy come with us?”
I turned around.
“Because he doesn't live with us, sweetheart.”
“I know that.”
Her expression became serious.
“But why didn't he say hello before tonight?”
I felt my throat tighten.
I had always told Emily the truth in ways she could understand.
Her father lived far away.
He had made choices that meant he wasn't part of our daily life.
His absence wasn't her fault.
But I'd never told her what happened in the hospital.
How could I explain to a child that her father had looked at her newborn face and walked away?
“Your dad made some very hurtful decisions when you were born,” I said carefully.
Emily frowned.
“Did I do something wrong?”
My heart cracked.
“No.”
I turned fully toward her.
“Never. You didn't do anything wrong. Adults are responsible for their own decisions.”
She looked down at the award in her lap.
“Does he know I'm smart?”
I swallowed.
“He knows now.”
She considered that.
Then whispered, “Maybe he'll be proud.”
I reached for her hand.
“He should be.”
Back at the hotel, Madison waited until Emily fell asleep before speaking.
“Vincent's attorney called.”
I stared.
“Already?”
“He wants a meeting.”
“No.”
“Claire—”
“I didn't come here to reopen my marriage.”
“I know.”
Madison sat opposite me.
“But Emily knows who he is now. We need to think about what she wants and what the existing custody order allows.”
I looked toward the bedroom.
Seven years earlier, I'd believed leaving Chicago would end everything.
May you like
But the past had followed us.
And now it was standing outside my daughter's future.
