Katherine sits at her desk, pen in hand, staring at the blank sheet of paper in front of her. She takes a deep breath and begins to write a letter she hopes will stay tucked away and unread.
She writes about her life. She writes about how much she loves her daughter. She writes about her hopes and dreams for Nadia's future.
As she writes, her emotions are raw and intense. Katherine feels a deep sadness at the thought of ever having to leave Nadia. She writes until the tears blur her vision and her hand aches from gripping the pen so tightly. Maybe she's being morose but with Nadia's father not in the picture, she needs to have a plan ready in case the unthinkable ever comes to pass.
When she finishes, Katherine folds the letter, places it in a manilla folder, and tucks it into her file box.
She hopes with all of her heart that her letter will never need to be read.
"Why the frown?" Damon teases his niece, Nadia. "Just leave everything to me," he assures her as they enter the principal's office
"They're waiting for you, Mr. Salvatore," the secretary says as she points him to the room.
"Mr. Salvatore, Nadia, have a seat." Mr. Fell gestures at the chairs. Hearing footsteps, Damon looks up to see Nadia's first-grade teacher enter the office and close the door behind her.
"Why don't you begin, Mrs. Preston." Principle Fell nods at her.
"Nadia's homework assignments are incomplete."
"We work on them every day." Damon defends himself.
"Mr. Salvatore, it's quite obvious that you completed her assignments," Mrs. Preston contends.
"No, she did the coloring."
"Mr. Salvatore, this is what we expect to see." She holds up a picture of a beach ball, one is colored in the lines, and one is not. "Mr. Salvatore, this is what we expect to see for a six-year-old." She raises the one with imprecise lines. "And this is your niece's."
"This is first grade, not advanced calculus. Her mother just died. Do you understand how hard that is for a child her age?"
"Mrs. Preston is sympathetic to Nadia's unique situation," Principle Fell points out.
"I have my teacher's aide working exclusively with her, but in all fairness to my other students..."
"What are you saying exactly?"
"Mr. Salvatore, Nadia is still refusing to speak," Principle Fell points out.
"Well, the doctor said that this isn't unusual. She's always been a shy child and with the shock of losing her mom..." Damon pauses a moment. "She is going to talk again."
"But she's not talking now. We think the best course of action would be to put her back in Kindergarten."
"What?" Damon blurts out. "Nadia passed kindergarten. There's no reason for her to repeat it. Surely, she isn't the only child who's gone through something as tragic as losing a parent or parents in this school?"
"We all want what's best for her," Mrs. Preston says in an attempt to placate Damon.
"Perhaps you should make another appointment to see her pediatrician," Mr. Fell suggests.
"Nadia's not sick," Damon counters.
"Well, her pediatrician might suggest a prescription for an antidepressant. SSRIs have been used for selected mutism or the doctor might be able to recommend a psychiatrist or a counselor."
Damon stands up and lifts Nadia into his arms. "I'm not going to drug my niece because you people have no time for her," he grits out and after holding his stare for several moments, leaves the principal's office, slamming the door closed behind him.
Damon glances over at dozing Nadia as he drives home. Until his sister's death, he had treated his niece with the usual affection of a favorite uncle.
He'd see her at holiday gatherings, and he'd always made certain to buy her something for her birthday and Christmas. That had been the limit of his interactions with Nadia.
But everything changed one icy night in Virginia Beach when Katherine had been killed in a car wreck.
There was no father in the picture. Katherine had never divulged who he was.
"It's better for everyone if he's not involved," she had told Damon when he had asked who the guy was.
"You need some help," Damon had protested. "At the very least, the man should pay child support."
"I can handle it, Damon. I want this baby and I'm going to be a great mom."
And she was.
Damon knows without a doubt that he doesn't have parental instincts. But one wrong turn of a steering wheel, one patch of black ice, one out-of-control moment, and the amount of life measured out to Katherine Salvatore had been cut cruelly short.
She left a sealed letter, addressed to Damon, and kept it in a file cabinet with her will.
"There's no other choice but you. Nadia doesn't know Stefan at all. I write this hoping that you'll never have to read it, but if you are…take care of my daughter, Damon. Help her. She needs you. I know how overwhelming this responsibility must seem. You didn't ask for this. But you can do it. You'll figure everything out. Start by loving her, the rest will follow."
Damon knows his capabilities about most things, but taking care of a child… is beyond him.
If Nadia had been a boy, he might've stood a chance. They aren't all that hard to figure out but a little girl, that is a whole new set of challenges that Damon finds himself faced with.
The sound of a police siren snaps him out of his musings as he pulls over to the side of the road to let the car pass. Sighing, he glances at Nadia once more before pulling back onto the highway.
Once they're home, he carries Nadia inside, lays her on the couch, and covers her with a fleece throw blanket.
He blows out a weighted breath before going upstairs for some boxes to continue packing.
An hour later the doorbell rings. He practically flies down the steps to answer it before Nadia wakes up.
"Andie, hi."
"How's the packing going?"
"It's going," Damon steps outside onto the porch and the two of them sit down.
"You do realize there are other schools in Virginia Beach?"
"I know that, Andie. It's always been my intention to go back to Mystic Falls. I have a business there. I moved here temporarily to be with Nadia to give her some semblance of normalcy amongst the chaos."
"Really? You never told me that."
"I know this doesn't seem fair to you, but this could be a good thing. Having Stefan around to help with babysitting should give me a little free time."
"Except you'll be in Mystic Falls and I'll be here," Andie counters.
"Nadia is my responsibility. I have to do what's right for her. Please try to understand that."
Andie sighs. "You know, it... it'll be... We will make it work."
"Do you want to go inside?" Damon asks as he lays his hand on hers and squeezes it.
"No, I just wanted to stop by and see you for a moment before you leave."
"Let me cook you some dinner."
"I'll take a rain check."
"Deal!" Damon rises and walks Andie to her car. After kissing her, he waves as she drives off.
Hello everyone. I hope 2024 is off to a good start and that many of your dreams and expectations come to pass.
Huge thank you to Eva.
I wasn't gone as long as I expected to be. I hope you like this one. It's a rather poignant story. It is loosely based on an old Christmas story. I think 90 percent or so is original content- meaning content that I have written. I will reveal it at the end of the story.
The title comes from the Tom Petty song.
I am very much excited to hear your thoughts.
Have a lovely day. Thank you for reading.