"Three years." He shook his head, looking out the window. "Will she ever come home?"
"Daddy!" A shout came from behind him.
He turned to look at the little face looking up at him. "What, princess?"
"Why are you staring at the snow?"
He smiled; "I wasn't staring at the snow, I was looking for someone."
"Oh." She looked down and sniffled.
"It's passed your bedtime little one." He reached down and swooped her up. He carried her carefully out the living room, up the stairs, and into her pink room. "Now you sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite."
She smiled up sleepily at him and closed her eyes, snuggling close to her teddy bear. He covered her with the bed sheets, kissed her forehead and left the room, turning off the light and closing the door gently.
It took him about five minutes or so to go to the kitchen, pour himself a cup of coffee and return to the living room, to the same window as before. He could not believe it had been three years to the day since he last saw her. I took a sip of his coffee and allowed his breath to warm the window, causing a small circle to appear on the glass. She had promised to return in three years exactly, and he wondered if she was still even alive. He had never heard from her since she left, and now here it was, only two more hours until midnight, and she would be 'late'. Of course, it didn't matter to him, but she swore it, and when she would make a promise, she would keep it.
He sighed and shook his head gently, walking to this chair. "Don't expect so much. She's still just a teen. She might have forgotten today was the day. Or she could have been delayed. Yes, maybe there was something she had to do today and she couldn't come." These thoughts gave little comfort; he missed his daughter.