Chapter 5 - The First "Daddy"
The week passed in a blur of soft blankets and healing.
Maxwell spent every moment he could at the penthouse.
He delegated his meetings,
ignored his emails,
and focused entirely on the two people in his living room.
He learned that Sophie liked her crusts cut off.
He learned that she loved the color yellow because it looked like sunshine.
He learned that she had a laugh that sounded like bells.
And he learned that Eleanor still drank her coffee black,
just like she used to when they were happy.
One afternoon,
while Eleanor was napping,
Maxwell sat on the floor with Sophie.
They were building a castle out of blocks.
"My mommy says you’re a king,"
Sophie said,
carefully placing a blue block on top of a red one.
Maxwell smiled.
"Not a king,
Sophie.
Just a man who works a lot."
"Do you have a castle too?"
"I do,"
he said,
thinking of his cold,
empty mansion.
"But it’s not as nice as this one."
Sophie looked at him,
her head tilted to the side.
"Are you my daddy?"
The question hit Maxwell like a physical blow.
He felt the air leave his lungs.
He looked toward the bedroom door,
wondering if Eleanor was listening.
"Yes,"
he said,
his voice thick with emotion.
"I am your daddy."
Sophie nodded,
as if she had already suspected it.
"Mommy said you were far away in the stars.
But you don't look like a star."
"I was lost,"
Maxwell whispered.
"But I found my way back."
Sophie reached out and touched his hand with her tiny fingers.
"Don't get lost again,
okay?"
"I promise,"
he said,
choking back tears.
He pulled her into a hug,
and for the first time,
she didn't pull away.
She rested her head on his shoulder,
smelling like baby shampoo and hope.
He felt a shadow in the doorway.
Eleanor was standing there,
watching them.
Her expression was unreadable,
but her eyes were wet.
"She needs her nap,
Max,"
Eleanor said softly.
He stood up,
handing the sleeping child to her mother.
"She asked me,"
he said,
when they were alone in the hallway.
"I know,"
Eleanor replied.
"I heard."
"Are you angry?"
"No,"
she said,
leaning against the wall.
"I’m just...
tired of keeping secrets."
"Then let’s not have any more,"
he said.
"I have the files from Vane.
I haven't opened them yet.
I want us to open them together."
Eleanor looked at him,
and for the first time in years,
he saw a glimmer of the woman he had married.
"Tonight,"
May you like
she said.
"After she’s asleep."
