Souls Remember What Matters — Corey Gibson 27
Chapter 27–Hurt
LAINA
Daddy picked me up and put me on his lap in the big chair. His face looked series, like when he had to tell me that Grandma’s dog, went to heaven, but also happy, like when I got a good report from preschool
“Princess, I have something, exciting, to tell you,” he said, smoothing my hair back. “How would you feel about moving to New York to be with Mommy?”
I tilted my head, confused. “But we already live with Mommy.”
“Well, yes, but Mommy has been working in New York, remember? And we’ve been here without her.”
I thought about this. Mommy had been gone a lot lately. She used to tuck me in every single night and read me stories, but then she started going away. Sometimes for just a few days, but the last time felt really, really long
“We’re going to live in New York?” I asked.
“That’s right. We’ll get a new house there, and you’ll go to a new school, and we’ll all be together every day.”
My tummy got all fluttery with excitement. “Every day? Mommy won’t go away anymore?”
“No more going away,” Daddy promised, hugging me tighter.
I bounced a little bit on his lap. “That sounds good! I miss Mommy so much when she’s gone. My tummy feels funny and I can’t sleep sometimes.”
“I know, sweetheart. That’s why we’re going to move so we can all be together.”
But then I remembered something important. Something that made my chest feel tight.
“What about Miss Vivienne?” I asked. “Is she coming to New York too?”
Daddy got very quiet. He looked at me for a long time, and his happy face got a little sad.
“Well, Princess, Miss Vivienne is very sick, remember? She needs to stay here with her doctors.”
“But we can still visit her every day, right? Like we do now?”
“We… we might not be able to see Aunt Vivienne every day anymore.”
The fluttery feeling in my tummy went away, and now it felt heavy and yucky instead.
“Every day?” My voice got small. “But Miss Vivienne is my friend. She teaches me piano and she knows all the best stories and she smells like flowers.”
“I know you care about her, Luna-”
“She said she needs me!” I pushed away from Daddy’s chest, feeling sad all of a sudden. “She said I make her feel better when she’s sick,” I cried.
I slid off Daddy’s lap and accidentally knocked over my tower of blocks with my foot. They scattered all over the floor with loud crashes.
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Chapter 27 Hart
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“Luna, careful-”
“I don’t want to move to New York if Miss Vivienne can’t come!” I wailed loudly. “She’ll be all alone and sad!” D
“Princess, come here.” Daddy reached for me, but I backed away, he kept coming.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Daddy knelt down and pulled me into a big hug, even though I was being squirmy and mad. “I know this is hard.”
I buried my face in his shoulder and let the tears come. His shirt smelled like his special soap and a little bit like coffee.
“She said…” I hiccupped, trying to get the words out between sobs. “She said Mommy took her wedding dress away.”
Daddy got very still. “What?”
“Miss Vivienne showed me a picture of a pretty white dress and said it was supposed to be hers but Mommy took it. And she said Mommy took her cake too, a big white cake with flowers.”
“Luna, who told you this?”
“Miss Vivienne did. She was crying when she told me.” I pulled back to look at Daddy’s face. “She said Mommy doesn’t like us being friends, and that’s why Mommy goes away so much. Because she doesn’t like me loving Miss Vivienne.”
Daddy’s face looked funny. Like when I accidentally broke his favorite coffee mug and he was trying not to be
mad.
“Princess, sometimes grown–ups say things when they’re sad or confused-”
“But it’s true!” I stamped my foot. “Miss Vivienne is so nice to me! She buys me pretty dresses and teaches me songs and she always knows when I’m sad. And Daddy, you smile so much more when Miss Vivienne is with us.”
“Luna-”
“You do! When it’s just me and Mommy, you look tired. But when Miss Vivienne comes over, you laugh and your eyes get all sparkly.”
I thought about all the times Miss Vivienne came to our house. How Daddy would rush to open the door for her and help her with her coat. How he would sit really close to her on the couch when she was teaching me piano. How he would bring her special tea in the pretty china cups that Mommy wasn’t allowed to use.
“Miss Vivienne makes everyone happy,” I said, more tears spilling down my cheeks. “Except Mommy. Mommy gets a weird face when Miss Vivienne is here, like when I eat too much candy and my tummy hurts.”
“Sweetheart, it’s complicated-”
“I don’t want it to be compleecated!” I whined. “I want Miss Vivienne to come with us! I want Mommy to like her! I want everyone to be happy!”
But even as I said it, I knew it wasn’t true. Mommy was never happy when Miss Vivienne was around. And Miss Vivienne got sad eyes when she looked at Mommy.
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