“She did, huh?” My drumming immediately stopped. “What for?”
Harper’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “She said it was probably because her mom was leaving town and she had to go see her before she left.”Fuck, fuck, fuck.I tightened my grip on the wheel. “Is that true, Dad? Is Miss Olivia leaving?”
“Well, sugar, Miss Olivia has to go back to work for a little bit but she’ll be back.”I fucking hope.“It’s only for a little while.”
“But I didn’t get to say goodbye.” My daughter was trying so hard to hold in her emotions, but in the end, they won out. A quiet sniffle escaped, and I realized she was quietly crying. “I’ll miss her.”
Goddammit. I fucking hated this. Everything was out of my control, and there was nothing I could do about it. How the fuck was I supposed to tell my daughter everything was goingto be okay when every alarm bell was ringing in my mind, telling me otherwise?
This scene was so similar to Sarah leaving, except that, instead of being too young to understand, my daughter was, unfortunately, aware of being left in the dark this time.
“Harper, baby, don’t cry. I’m gonna miss her, too.” I reached back with one hand and squeezed her knee for comfort, but it didn’t help. If anything, she seemed to cry harder. I glanced at my phone on the dashboard and grabbed for it. “What if we give her a call? She may already be in the air, but we can leave a voicemail. Would that be okay?”
I was setting us both up for further disappointment. There was no way in hell Olivia was going to answer, especially when she saw my name on her screen, but if it stopped Harper’s tears even for a second, I’d try.
My daughter nodded and reached for the phone. She found Olivia’s contact and pushed the call button. Loud ringing filled the cab as we both sat in tense silence, waiting to see if she would pick up.
I was about to give up hope when a soft-spoken, “Hello?” reached my ears.
It’d only been a day, and I was already weak in the fucking knees for the sound of her voice. How the hell was I supposed to go days and weeks and months without it?
“Miss Olivia, I just wanted to tell you bye before you left since I didn’t get to before.”
It was impossible to miss the little catch of her breath at Harper’s woeful voice. “Oh, Harper. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you yesterday. It’s just that I was hoping I could stay a little while longer.”
“But you can’t?”
“Not this time,” Olivia whispered. “But when I come back, I’ll make sure you’re the first one I come to visit, okay? I promise.”
“And my dad?” Harper chewed on her bottom lip. “He said he’s going to miss you, too.”
“Y-Yeah,” she stammered. “Of course. I’ll visit your dad, too. You’re a package deal.”
She was trying so hard not to let Harper down by carefully picking and choosing her words, but I heard the hesitation. Olivia would keep her word because she had to, but we both knew it wasn’t for either of our benefits.
Did it make me pathetic that I didn’t care what the reasoning was, so long as I laid eyes on her at all?
“When do you leave? Are you already in the air?”
Olivia chuckled. “Well, I couldn’t be talking to you if I were, so no. My brother is taking me to the airport now. We’re about ten minutes away.”
“Oh.” Harper glanced down at her feet. “I was hoping we could see you again before you left.”
There was a beat of silence before Olivia cleared her throat. “Not this time, sweet girl. But I promise I’ll let you know when I come back, okay? We can plan a sleepover and everything.”
Harper nodded. “Okay, I’d like that. Maybe we can dress up like we’re going to the Met Gala.”
“I’ll bring the dresses,” she said. There were voices on the other line before she came back. “Harper, I’m going to let you go, okay? We’re almost to the plane, and I need to get my things together.”
“Will you let me know when you get wherever you’re going?”
Olivia hesitated. “I’ll text your dad.”
Harper looked at me, and I nodded. “I’ll let you know the moment it comes in.”
“Even if I’m in bed?”
“Even if you’re in bed.”