Something inside me twisted, but it wasn’t sympathy.
Not yet.
It was something messier.
“I lost my apartment.”
“So why are you here, Daniel?”
His eyes filled again.
“I walked past this house three times. I wasn’t planning to knock.”
“Then why did you?”
His voice cracked.
“Because I couldn’t stand the thought of dying someday without seeing her face again.”
The kitchen fell silent.
I hated him, pitied him, wanted to thank him, and wanted to throw him out!
Every feeling crashed into the others until I couldn’t separate them anymore.
His eyes filled again.
Then I remembered something.
The thing he’d said at the door.
“You didn’t think I did it for nothing,” I repeated.
Daniel’s shoulders slumped.
“I didn’t mean money.”
“Then what did you mean?”
He looked at the photo.
“I meant I did it because she’s my daughter.”
For a second, I couldn’t breathe.
Then I stood.
“Get out.”
“I didn’t mean money.”
His face fell, but he nodded.
He didn’t argue, become defensive, or attempt to stay.
A minute later, the front door closed behind him.
***
I sat alone in the kitchen.
The photo remained on the table.
A few minutes later, Emma came downstairs.
“Mom?”
I wiped my face. Too late, she’d already seen the tears.
He didn’t argue.
“What happened?” my daughter asked.
I tried not to tell her. I really did. But once I started talking, everything came out.
- The donor.
- The photo.
- Daniel.
By the time I finished, Emma was staring at the table.
“You did the right thing sending him away. I don’t want to meet him,” she finally said.
“You don’t have to if that’s what you want.”
She nodded. Several seconds passed.
Then she spoke again.
“What happened?”
“I don’t want a relationship with him right now,” Emma explained. “Maybe not for a long time. But he still shouldn’t be alone.”
That hit harder than anything Daniel had said. That kid had spent two years fighting for her life, and somehow, she still had room in her heart for someone who’d hurt her.
I picked up my phone and called Rachel.
After I finished explaining everything, there was a long silence.
Then she sighed.
“We’ll deal with Megan later.”
“He still shouldn’t be alone.”
“The spare room,” my sister said.
“What?”
“He can stay in my spare room.”
“Rachel…”
“Temporarily.”
I smiled.
“Temporarily.”
“And if I decide he’s annoying, I get to throw him out.”
“Deal.”
“I get to throw him out.”
***
I found Daniel at the bus station.
He was sitting alone between his suitcases. When he saw me, he immediately stood up.
“Sarah.”
“Rachel has a spare room. It’s temporary.”
He blinked.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Emma decides everything from here. Whether she meets you, talks to you, or forgives you.”
He nodded as tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Thank you.”
