The After of Us (Judge Me Not #4)(31)

I prop up on one hand and punch the pillow with the other. Then, I roll over on my side.

At that exact moment, I hear the door behind me creaking open slowly. A tiny voice then squeaks out a tentative “Daddy?”

I roll over so I’m facing the door. “Lily?”

With the dim morning glow illuminating my daughter, I can see she’s holding one hand over her mouth, like she might be hurt.

“What the…?”

I am up and out of that bed in three seconds flat.

Kneeling before her, I ask, “What happened, sweetheart? Are you hurt?”

She shakes her head and slowly lowers her hand from her mouth. I check her over but don’t see anything wrong. The early morning light coming through the window, however, is not quite bright enough for me to say for sure.

I reach over and turn on a lamp. “Let me see your mouth, Lil.”

Instead of giving me a good view of her face, Lily peers down at the hand that wasn’t covering her mouth. It’s clenched in a tight fist.

Now I’m really confused, until Lily opens her hand and I see what’s in her palm.

“Holy shit, you lost a tooth!”

“Shit,” Lily echoes.

I don’t correct her for swearing. It’s my fault I uttered the word in the first place. I really need to watch my language around Lily.

Nudging her chin, I urge her to look up at me. “Let me see which tooth you lost.”

She opens her mouth wide and lowers her chin to reveal a gap on the bottom row.

“Cool,” I murmur.

She closes her mouth. “You’re not mad at me, Daddy?”

“Of course not, princess.” I laugh. “Why would I be mad?”

“’Cause I make it happen. Jack tell me keep wiggling it…and I did. But, I didn’t mean to break it, Daddy, I swear.”

Tears fill Lily’s eyes, and I pull her in for a big hug. “Aw, Lil, you didn’t break anything. Your tooth would’ve fallen out no matter what you did or didn’t do. You’re supposed to lose your baby teeth, sweetheart”

“Why?” she murmurs into my shoulder.

“It’s all part of growing up. And you know what?”

“What?”

“Someday you’ll have all new teeth, grown-up teeth. Doesn’t that sound awesome?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Jack has probably lost a few teeth of his own. That’s why he told you to wiggle your loose one.”

I lean back and ask to again see the tooth that fell out.

Lily hands it to me and I tell her, “You know what happens next, right?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

As if this is the most serious of business, I say, “We have to put this tooth under your pillow tonight.”

“Now?” she asks.

“Well, no, not now.” I thumb over to the light coming through the window, which is growing brighter by the minute. “It’s almost time to get up. We’ll put your tooth under your pillow tonight when you go to bed. And then the tooth fairy will come and leave you money.”

My daughter’s eyes widen. “Really? No way!”

I nod. “Yes way. You’ll find what he or she left you in the morning when you wake up. Money will be under your pillow where your tooth was. Cool, huh?”

“Guess so.”

Her face falls, and I ask, “What’s wrong?”

Sad green eyes meet mine. “You won’t be here to see what the tooth fairy leaves me.”

She’s right. I couldn’t secure a late-day flight out of Ohio. My plane takes off early Sunday morning. Very early.

But you don’t have to be on it, a little inner voice reminds me.

And there it is, right there—my answer. My heart has revealed, right here and now, what is the right course of action. It didn’t take searching to find the answer I needed, it just took Lily losing a tooth.

Everything is so clear now as I decide to stay right here with my daughter. I’ve already missed Lily’s birth, her days as a baby, and so much more, I’m sure. I can’t miss any more important events, like losing a first tooth. Those kinds of things occur only once in a lifetime.

I feel good, my decision to stay made. I’ll deal with the fallout later, but for now, I am at total peace.

Most importantly, though, the happiness I feel when I inform Lily I’ll be staying with her, and the gorgeous smile she gives me in return, is absolutely priceless. No job in the world could ever beat that.





Emma



Sunday arrives, and I assume Will has left for New York City. It’s surprising to me that I’ve heard nothing from him since Friday night. It’s a shame too, really. I had so much fun hanging out with him and Lily at the school. And then afterward, when we went out for pizza, I thought we’d really connected.

So, why has there been no text or phone call from him?

We never even had a chance to say good-bye, for heaven’s sake. It’s not like Will and I were dating, but still…

Men. They can be such thoughtless jerks sometimes.

That evening, in my distress, I call Missy and tell her everything. “Do you think I should text him?” I inquire when I finish my woeful tale. “You know, to see how his flight to New York went?”