The time turned to 6:27pm and like clockwork little Elysia was at the big windows gazing out them. She'd been doing this everyday for a week and Gracia could no longer watch it. The third time her daughter had done it, she'd asked her what she was up to having just noticed that habit. Elysia had replied that she was "watching for Daddy to come home, because he had to come home someday, right? And Daddy always came home 'zactly at 6:27pm" and had turned right back to the window. Gracia briskly left the room, holding in a choked sob so the innocent girl wouldn't hear.
She'd realized then that Elysia had always done that. She waited by the window to watch her father walk up the path, waving enthusiastically at him as he came home. Maes would always wave back and make silly faces that would send the girl into absolute fits of giggles. Elysia had the time right too, she realized. Even if he was gone for days at a time, he always returned at 6:27pm almost to the dot. During those times Gracia would have a nice warm apple pie just about done cooling off from the afternoon ready. On those days they had desert first and then dinner.
At 7:10pm Elysia came waddling into the kitchen, where her mother was cleaning up after dinner. "Guess Daddy's not coming home 'night, huh?" she said. Gracia almost dropped the plate in her hands. Instead she took a deep breath and knelt before her daughter.
"Elysia… Daddy's not, he's not coming home again. Remember the funeral? Where they put…" She couldn't finish her sentence and put a hand to her mouth as the sobs escaped.
"So Daddy has a lot of work to do? So much that he can't come home and see us? 'Cause the stupid people put him in the ground so he had to work longer?"
It was too much. How could she tell such a small child that her father was dead, that he wasn't coming back, that he wasn't ever going to make silly faces at her from the window again? How could she tell her that he wouldn't ever be doing work again? She simply couldn't. Sure when she was older Elysia would come to understand it, but now, now she was just a small child, still naïve to the workings of the world. Maybe one day Gracia would explain it to her.
But now she just took her in her arms, hugging her tightly and whispered into her muffled shoulder, "Yeah. Daddy's got sooooo much work to do, Baby. But you keep looking for him, okay? Daddy'll like that."