It had been a long, exhausting day. He left work feeling empty and alone.
First, there was the conversation with Elena. He'd expected her to tell him that she needed more time, but he hadn't expected her to tell him that she didn't see a future with him. Of course, she'd been guarded with him all along, but he'd never thought that it was because she wasn't falling for him. He'd completely misread the situation and now he felt like a fool, especially after declaring his love for her just days before.
Second, there was the case they'd been working on that day – an eighteen-year-old co-ed with her whole life ahead of her. Her ex-boyfriend, who had been stalking her, had beaten her to death. They'd found her body earlier that day. Even without his personal drama, this alone would have made it a very bad day.
Last, there was Sophie. And now he remembers why he'd always avoided getting involved with women who had children. Going through a break up with a woman is difficult enough, breaking up with her child tears your heart out.
They were sitting across from Sophie in the cafeteria as she happily ate her ice cream and told them about the new school play that she was going to be a part of.
"It's a story about this city mouse and this country mouse, that's me, I'm the country mouse. Anyway, my teacher says it's the kind of story where you learn a lesson, a…a…--"
"A fable," Danny finished for her, finding it hard not to smile as he listened to her, even though he was feeling terrible.
"Right a fable," she said, taking another bit of ice cream. "My teacher said I need to where overalls…what are overalls, Mommy?"
"Um, they're like jeans except they go all the way up to here," she said, motioning to below her neck. "And they snap around your shoulders."
Sophie gave her a positively confused glance.
"Don't worry, Soph, your mom would never make you wear them in real life. They don't exactly make the best fashion statement. Although on you, I'm betting they'll be adorable," he said as reached out and tousled her hair.
Laughing, she straightened her hair. "You'll get to see me in them when you come to the play," she replied, voice full of excitement. "Do you think I look like a mouse?"
Looking down first, Danny then glanced quickly to Elena wondering when she was going to tell Sophie. Seeing that she wasn't about to speak, he answered Sophie, "Actually, now that you mention it, you kind of do."
Making a little face at Danny, she shook her head. "I wish that I could be a mouse that turned into a fairy princess or something good like that," she said as she ate her final spoonful of ice cream. Raising her spoon, she declared, "All done, but you didn't eat any of yours."
Danny looked down at his untouched bowl of soft-serv ice cream that was quickly melting. "I guess I wasn't very hungry," he replied quietly.
"Are you crazy? Who isn't hungry for ice cream?" Sophie asked, completely oblivious to the tension between Danny and Elena. "Mami, can I—"
"No, mamita. One bowl is enough or you'll get a tummy ache."
Putting a slight pout on her face, Sophie gave a sideways glance to Danny, "If it was just you and me, you'd let me finish it."
Both Danny and Elena smiled at this as they glanced at each other. For a moment as Elena looked at him, he swore that he saw something in her eyes…like she loved them being together like this just as much as he did. But just as quickly, she turned her attention back to Sophie – the smile disappearing from her face.
"Sophie, baby, Danny and I need to talk to you about something," Elena said, her tone somber.
Ignoring her tone and just focusing on her words, Sophie's eyes widened in excitement. "You do! Are you—"
Knowing exactly what she was thinking, Elena cut her off quickly. "Sophie, listen carefully, baby. Danny and I care about each other very much. We are good friends, but we've decided not to date anymore."
"You're…you're breaking up?" Sophie asked in a confused tone as she looked at Danny.
Leaning forward, Danny nodded. "Yes, mija, we're not going to be together anymore, but—"
Looking back at her mother, Sophie's eyes filled with tears. "Is it because of me, mami? Because you don't want to have a sleepover when I'm in the house? I'll stay at abuela's if you want to be alone. I'll be really quiet. I'll stop bugging you when you're at the house to visit mommy," she said, looking back at Danny. "I promise!"
"Baby—" Elena started, but before she could figure out what to say she saw Danny stand up and then kneel down right in front of Sophie.
"This doesn't have anything to do with you, mija. Getting to spend time with you--," Danny stopped, clearly trying to contain his emotions, "getting to see you when I come over has been one the best things about being with you mom. I love you, Sophie. Nothing's going to change that."
Crying now, Sophie flung herself into Danny's arms and buried her head into his neck. Looking up as he stroked Sophie's hair, Danny saw that Elena had moved from the chair and was now behind Sophie, tenderly rubbing her shoulders. Their eyes met as she tried her best to keep her tears at bay.
"It's going to be okay, mija. We'll still see each other when you visit your mom at the office and—"
Looking up at him, she shook her head. "It's not the same. It's not the same if you're not there to eat dinner with us or tuck me in sometimes. I don't understand," Sophie said as she turned back to her mom, but still kept a tight hold around Danny's neck. "You and Danny never fight. You never fight like you do with Daddy. You smile when Danny's with us. You're happy, why can't you stay together?"
Completely at a loss for words, Elena just stroked Sophie's hair. She did have an answer for her.
"Your mom and dad were together for a long time. It's different with them. Your mom and I just realized that…that it wouldn't work out for us. It's no ones fault: not mine, not your mom's and definitely, definitely not yours."
Feeling completely exhausted, Danny had gone home shortly after saying goodbye to Sophie. Elena had promised Sophie that she would still get to see him, even if that meant coming to the office a few times a month. It was obvious that neither he nor Elena had realized how quickly Sophie had become attached to the idea of them being together. Look back, though, he could see where she would be confused. From the moment, he'd started seeing Elena, Sophie was right there with them. And Danny had embraced that – they were a package deal. So every dinner, every movie, everything had involved Sophie. Of course she would struggle with losing that kind of togetherness, especially since she had so recently been traumatized by Carlos's actions.
After Danny had gotten home, he thought that he would just collapse from the activity of the last two days, but instead he felt wired. It wasn't an unusual feeling for him. Stress did this to him…it wound him up to point of uncontrollable restlessness. After being home for only an hour, he felt the need to go out again. As much as he knew he should go to a meeting, he didn't feel like it. The group dynamic, the testimonials, the chanting – that wouldn't calm him down on a night like this.