Ian let out a light chuckle at her words, pretending it meant much less than it actually did. He knew that the romantic aspect of their relationship had long been over; never again would he hold her at night or run his hands through her hair. That was over. And it was only his fault. There was no one else to blame for it. He should have come back sooner, right after he’d been freed of all that risky business. He should’ve come back five years ago when he was able to, but instead he felt like he needed to prove himself. He felt like he needed to come back a man with a career, not a boy barely freed from his ghosts. But now..Now, his only part in her life was as the father of her child, and that would have to be enough. It was, or that’s what he told himself as he clicked on the radio to drown out his own thoughts. The song was slow and peaceful, the kind of music that makes the world slow down as you drive through empty city streets at night.
“Here,” he announced as he stopped the car. The building was clearly very old and in poor condition. The bricks on the outside looked as though they were covered in a thick moss and a few of the lower windows had cardboard over them. It set him on edge to think that they lived in such a run-down place, even with Michelle working too-long days. He was about to say something, but she began speaking instead. Random facts about their daughter – he was especially surprised about Frida’s middle name – escaped the woman’s lips. He was grateful to know more, anything was enough, but he was anxious as to know what her true motives between this outburst were. And then she invited him in. And he could feel his heart stop. And when it began again, it was pounding harder in his chest than it ever had – or at least since the last time he’d been with Michelle, because it always seemed to pump harder around her. “Yes,” he blurted too quickly. “I mean…absolutely. Yes. But it’s a school night and it’s late so I…I shouldn’t keep her up for too long…Right?” Ian’s palms became slick and he rubbed them nervously on his jeans. He was meeting his daughter, the second moment he’d waited eleven years for.
The brunette, whose eyes would look absolutely anywhere else but at Ian, couldn’t hold back a little smile when his response came around half a second after she placed the invitation. Which only reinforced her decision – it was time, and it was only what was fair. Those were possibly the last moments of power Michelle would have, the last couple of minutes in which she held some knowledge the other two didn’t – what each of them looked like, for example, or what their voices sounded like... Truth was her stomach was twisting in knots as well as throat, and if she wasn’t careful with her emotions, she would cry. She knew that much. Regardless of how she felt, she knew it was the right thing to do. She couldn’t just not let Ian know his child, their child, she couldn’t deprive him of the wonderful oddity their daughter was, so in control of herself and so... herself. Frida was one in a million, a tiny adult with a passion for mathematics, space, strawberry milkshakes, and Star Wars. After a couple of moments, the mother finally looked back at the man she once adored, laughing at his nervousness, but mostly at his comment. “Ian... today is Friday. She’s probably up there reading, or telling the landlady the top ten most interesting amphibian facts. Did you know poisonous frogs are brightly colored so they can warn others that they are, indeed, poisonous? It has a specific scientific name, and if you ask her, she’ll tell you what it is. Let’s go, then.” She sighed, attempting to relax before freeing herself from the confining vehicle, the cold air embraced her immediately, like an old friend. Michelle hugged herself as she hurried towards the building. A flight of stairs later, she was home, which was almost as cold as outside, but it wasn’t dark. Michelle thanked their old landlady for looking after Frida and apologized for being home so late, and when the old woman saw Ian, she told Michelle ‘she completely understood why she’d be late’, not without shooting the man a flirty smile. They waved their goodnights and goodbyes, and as soon as she was gone, Michelle took off the jacket she wore, hung it on the hooks behind the wall, where Frida’s purple snow jacket rested. “Frida?” She called. “I’m home! Did you eat?” No answer. “Fred?” Michelle called out again, giving Ian a slight frown. “Hold on, wait here.” She instructed, and off she was into her daughter’s room. “Oh, Freddie. Ian?” She did realize that had been the first time in over a decade she had said his name out loud, and it felt... strange. Familiar. “I have bad news, but feel free to come see them yourself.” Frida was fast asleep on her bed, half sat up with a book that read Little Women on the worn cover, wide open on her stomach. Her little lips were slightly parted, the faithful sock monkey by her side.
