Was he calling to tell me he’d gotten the application…?
But when I picked up my phone, the message was much less dramatic and much more in line with the conversation we’d been having earlier.
Theo: Thanks. Not sure how much credit I deserve for raising her since it’s taken a village to get us to this point. But she is adorable. The reason I keep going on the hard days.
My chest softened.
It must’ve been unimaginably hard. Being thrown into single fatherhood when Charlotte was barely one. Navigating grief while learning how to keep a tiny human alive. Suddenly having to do things on his own after having a stay-at-home wife to lean on while he’d been focused on being the provider and protector.
Meanwhile, I was having a hard time just getting a job.
“Who are you talking to?” Charlotte asked, leaning closer to peer at my phone.
“Your dad,” I said, tilting the screen so she could see the little circle at the top with Theo’s photo. My phone had filled it in automatically when I saved his contact earlier this week.
“Oh!” She scooted even closer. “Can I talk to him?”
“I don’t think we can call him right now,” I said gently. “He might be in a meeting. But I can send him a message from you if you want.”
“Yes!” Her big green eyes lit up. “And maybe a picture, too?”
I smiled. “Sure.”
She leaned in close while I typed, her cheek resting against myshoulder.
Me: Charlotte wanted to say hi, so this is a message from her: “Hi Daddy. I love you so much. I miss you and can’t wait to see you after work.”
She looked at the screen carefully. “Did you write it just like I said?”
“Exactly like you said,” I promised.
“Otay.” She straightened, suddenly very serious. “Now take the picture.”
She stood up and started posing, first with a dramatic smile, then immediately switching to a goofy face. Then another. Finally, she tilted her head and hugged her stuffed raccoon, looking up sweetly at the camera lens with her big, beautiful green eyes.
I snapped a few photos and sent them along.
While they were still transferring through the air, she took off down the hallway.
“Wait!” I called. “Where are you going?”
“Getting my painting!”
She was back seconds later, holding the artwork she’d painted with watercolors earlier this morning. Bright swirls of color covered the page, glitter glue catching the light as she lifted it proudly.
“Send this one, too,” she said, a little breathless. “So Daddy can see.”
I took the photo, smiling despite myself, and sent it off.
Me: And here’s today’s masterpiece.
Charlotte set her artwork down on the coffee table and then climbed back onto the couch beside me, mission accomplished.
A few minutes later, my phone buzzed.
Theo: Oh my. What beautiful pictures of the most gorgeous girl. And goodness, that is quite the masterpiece she created. Please tell Charlotte that I love her so much and can’t wait to see her tonight.
“What did he say?” Charlotte asked, knowing the text must have been from her dad.