BlakeOpening the box that I had pulled out, I find a few things I recognize. I'm absolutely not an expert in makeup, but I know that some blush, an eyeshadow palette and a tube of lipstick will absolutely make my daughter's day.The box still smells like my late wife's perfume, but instead of the anger and rage I'd felt when I packed these boxes, I feel nothing except a twinge of sadness. What my wife had done had been unforgivable, but I don't care about that nearly as much as I care about her loss and the profound impact it has had on our daughter. Even if we’d divorced, if she was in our daughter's life, things would be better.I close the box up, set it on top of the stack and pull the sheet back over the evidence that I’m still holding on to the past. With the makeup in hand, I head toward my daughter's room and give a quick knock.She smiles up at me, telling me to come in, and I offer her the things I’d brought. “Do you want my help?” After listening to Thea give her options,
BlakeWhen I finally finished the braid, I wind a hair tie around the bottom of the locks and step back to admire my handiwork. It's not as neat as the job Thea did and my side veers toward my daughter’s ear more, but I managed.Thea offers my daughter a little hand mirror and turns her around to look at the back of her head. “What do you think?”I can't help but admire how Thea glows in the moment; she's so damn beautiful it almost hurts to look at her. My daughter is also excited beyond belief as she studies the braids in the mirror with shining eyes.“I…I love it!” Azura runs her hands over the braids, then pulls them forward over her shoulders.“I'm so glad you love it. Part of the reason why I had your dad help today is because I need to go home and spend some time with my dad. My mom is sick, and he needs my help.”I can see the panic in Azura's eyes as her gaze darts from Thea to me and back again.But Thea isn't done talking and smooths things over. “I will be back tomorrow un
BlakeWhatever conversation we need to have to hash things out, will have to come later because my daughter doesn't need to stress over the issues adults might be having.Thea seems to agree, and she swivels on her bottom to smile brightly at Azura. “Hey, we have something special planned this morning. Are you ready to get dressed and get your hair done?”Azura nods sleepily.“Alright, go get dressed and then we'll come in and get your hair done, okay?” With that, Thea opens her arms and Azura gives her a big hug before hurrying off to her bedroom.Once again, I find myself marveling at how easy it is for her to handle my daughter. If I had said any of those words to Azura, I'd have a fight on my hands. From trying to do things differently, to asking her to get dressed, to trying to give her a hug, there's no way any of that would have worked for me.It kills me to know that I still don't know the difference why this works for Thea but doesn’t work for me.Maybe the simplest answer is
BlakeThe second she stalks into the room like a woman on a mission, I know I'm in trouble.There's an undeniable fire in her eyes, and the way her lips are set tells me that whatever she has in mind, she's not going to be flexible on.“When Azura wakes up, I'm going to show you how to do her hair.”Unlike this morning, there's absolutely no discussion, and I can tell in the set of her shoulders and the tilt of her chin that she's not going to budge.I have no issues learning how to do my daughter's hair; I even think it's a good idea for us to spend that time bonding if Azura is willing. I don't want to force my daughter to do something she's not comfortable doing and that's my only hesitation.“Is everything okay with your mother and father?” I have no doubt this sudden, stern stance of hers has something to do with having a conversation with her parents. While it's none of my business, I do want to make sure that they are okay and that, by extension, she's okay too.She blinks, as
TheaOf course, saying that I lost my savings isn't quite the real story, but I'm not ready to think about that right now. I sure as heck didn't misplace them, at least not without help.“I'm glad it's working out for you.” For the first time ever, I detect a hint of jealousy in Bella’s words, and I'm stunned. She's jealous that I managed to make it work with Blake and Azura?I guess the job does pay really, really well and maybe she's looking for a way out right now because I know she's going through the ringer with James. The man really does bring her to her knees and puts her in her worst mental well-being headspace.“Anyway, I should probably let you go. Azura is going to wake up soon. Love you! Bye.”She responds in kind, but with much less warmth and excitement and my heart sinks. I can't help but feel that maybe she's not as happy for me as she claims to be. That thought breaks my heart. I've never wanted anything but the best for her. And I have no doubt that she wants the bes
TheaIt's first thing in the morning and I already can tell something is off with Blake.I can't for the life of me figure out what he could possibly be upset about. I’ve been doing my job and doing it well, and everything's going great with Azura. Maybe there's something personal going on that he hasn't discussed with me yet?Strangely enough, I can't help but feel worried about him.“Do you work today?” Even though he keeps his schedule handy so I can check it out and have an idea what's going on for the day, I still like to ask first thing in the morning when he's home because sometimes his schedule is variable and changes at the last minute. This just gives me an idea of how to manage mine and Azura’s days.He shakes his head as he sips his morning coffee and continues staring at his phone as we sit opposite one another at the high-end, sleek black table. His actions make me want to get out my own phone and do the same, but I decide to engage instead.“I was thinking that today ma