Chapter 7

She laughed at his stories about school, and shushed him when she was afraid he would wake her father. Marcus reached for his jacket and dug through the pockets, pulling out a small box.

"I thought you'd like this," he said, and he handed it to her.

"What's this? Marcus, I thought you got me something silly, not jewelry!"

"Open it," he said with a nod of his head.

She lifted the top off the box. Inside was a pinky ring adorned with a tiny golden heart.

"It just reminded me of you," he said. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Katie said. She slipped it onto her finger and hugged him in thanks.

Marcus reveled in the feeling of her small body against his. When she pulled away, he kept her close to him. Marcus met her stare, and then tilted forward to touch his lips to hers.

Katie saw stars. She couldn't believe how great his kiss felt. She couldn't believe he even liked her. She couldn't believe any of it. They kissed for a long time, and finally, she came up for air. "My Dad could come out," she warned.

He kissed her one last time, and got to his feet. "Yeah, I guess I'd better go. I know you said your Mom didn't want me to come over…"

"It's not you, Marcus. It's just, you know, Daddy's not well and all…"

"I understand. I'll-" he pulled his jacket on, "I'll call you tomorrow, Katie."

"Goodbye, Marcus," she said at the door, and he leaned in and touched his lips to hers again. As he walked down the hall, she leaned against the doorframe, watching him with a starstruck expression.

"Where are you going?" Bobby asked, as he saw his daughter hanging halfway out the front door.

Katie jerked to attention and turned around. "N-nowhere, Daddy." She came inside and shut the door. "Should I start dinner for you?"

Bobby narrowed his eyes. "Marcus was here, wasn't he?"

"He just dropped off the gift, Daddy. He wasn't here very long."

"You didn't wake me?"

"Daddy, you need your rest!"

"You were out here alone with your… boyfriend?" He was starting to boil inside. He cheeks colored, and he mashed his lips shut. Quickly, he scanned her, looking for signs of what she may have done.

"You don't trust me!" She cried, and the tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"I did trust you, but you just showed me I shouldn't!"

"Nothing happened!"

"How can I possibly know that, Katie?!"

"B-because I told you!" She ran to her room and slammed the door, her sobs coming through the walls in waves.

Bobby clenched and unclenched his fists, and carefully walked to the recliner to sit down. His insides were aching, and now he felt like they were in knots. He raised his hand and splayed his fingers out, covering his face.


He opened the lower cabinet and reached in for a saucepan, but the thing toppled off the stack and onto the floor with a clang. With great care, Bobby held onto the edge of the kitchen counter and slowly squatted to pick it up. His daughter's hand landed on top of his on the pan's handle, and he raised his head to look into her red and swollen eyes.

"I'll do it," Katie said quietly, and sniffed. "Go sit down."

Painfully, he pulled himself upright, and soon, his daughter's hand was under his arm, trying to help raise him up. She kept her hand around his bicep until he seemed all right. Bobby saw the concern in her eyes and he couldn't help himself. He reached out and pulled his little girl into a hug, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, Daddy," she said.

"I love you, too. Always."

Katie looked down at the saucepan in her hand. "What were you going to make?"

"Soup. There's a can of something in the cabinet."

"You want soup?"

"I'm hungry," he admitted.

"Okay, soup it is," she said. Bobby kissed her hair again and shuffled out to the chair in the living room while Katie started dinner.


Alex arrived home late, and both Katie and Bobby were already in bed. She dropped her things in their usual places, hung her coat in the closet, and went to her room to see how he was doing.

He was on his back, with an arm thrown over his eyes to block out the light he'd left on for Alex. His white t-shirt was in stark contrast to the dark pattern of the comforter on their bed. Alex smiled to see him relaxed and went to her daughter's room next. It occurred to her that in two short years, she wouldn't be able to sneak in at night and watch her angel sleeping.

The girl was on her side, with her hands folded in front of her. A ring with a heart stood out promenently on her right pinkie. Alex creased her brow, immediately thinking the girl must have disobeyed her and invited her boyfriend over. Then she tried to rationalize it, to calm down. Maybe he had Jenny deliver the gift. That would have been all right. And even if he had come over, Bobby was home. No matter how sick he was, Bobby would never let anything happen to Katie on his watch. She sighed and decided to ask Katie about it in the morning.

When she crawled into bed, Bobby stretched and rolled to his side. He felt her body under his hand and opened his eyes. "Hey," he said.

"Sorry I woke you."

"I'm glad you're home."

"Everything okay?"

He paused, and then said, "It was a long day."

"What happened?" she asked, alarmed.

"It's… it's okay, it's all worked out now."

"Katie?"

"Yeah, just, you know… teenagers."

"Marcus?"

"Alex, don't. It's all over and done."

"He brought her that damn ring, didn't he?"

"I told her he could."

"I told her he couldn't."

Bobby stared into her eyes. "Oh."

"She is in major trouble."

"Alex?" He said. She was quiet and directed her gaze back from her thoughts to him. "She took care of me. Even after we argued."

"She did?"

"Yeah. She did."

"Bobby, if you told her he could come over, why did you and Katie have an argument?"

Bobby rolled to his back a little too quickly and sucked in his breath. "She didn't wake me when he came."

"What?"

"I was asleep."

"I'm going to kill her."

"Alex…"

"How did you not kill her?"

Bobby sighed and turned his head toward his wife. "I guess I was afraid of what you might do to me if I did," he said with a grin.

Alex smiled. She scooted closer and gave him a kiss. "I'm tired, Bobby. Talk me out of it in the morning, will you?"

"She's a good girl, Alex. She took care of me."

She kissed him again. "I'm glad."