One day he was just gone.
"Delilah. Charlotte. Come here." Both girls were in the room they'd shared ever since Charlotte was a baby. Upon hearing their mother's voice Delilah grabbed Charlotte's hand. "Come on. Let's go." Charlie got up and followed behind her sister. They came down the stairs and over to the living room where their mother was sitting. Looking around Charlotte was a little confused. She knew her dad should be there. In fact they had a ritual when he first came in and the fact that he wasn't there threw her off. He wasn't there to greet her. She looked up at her sister before she looked at their mother. Something was clearly going on. The girls were told to sit down and when the climbed up onto the couch to see what was going on. Maybe their father was home and he was waiting to surprise them? Judging by the way her mother looked it wasn't any kind of surprise though.
"What is it mom?" She looked at her sister as she spoke. She then turned her attention back to their mother. When Nancy cleared her throat for some reason both girls sat up straighter. "Listen girls." She began and the girls shared a look nervously. "I have something to tell you." Charlotte noticed the unused tissue in her mother's hand and she was even more confused. Something was clearly up and just the way things looked it wasn't good. "Where's daddy?" Charlie piped up. She thought about the last thing she'd said to him. "Daddy I love you. You get bedtime stories right?" She was counting on those stories. She loved when he told her stories. Some of them she was sure he made up but she hadn't yet admitted those were her favorites. She liked the spins he'd put on them just to make her laugh. "CHARLOTTE!" She was quickly brought out of her thoughts. "Yes Mommy?" she asked ever so quietly. "Listen to me."
She sat up even straighter even though she didn't think that was possible. Her attention was now focused on the mother before her. She wanted to know where he was or what was going on. She had to admit to herself that she had an uneasy feeling but she wasn't sure why. "Girls.." She watched her mother pretend to use the tissue. "Daddy's not coming home." Charlotte's brain started working. She wasn't sure what that meant but she was kind of scared. "Where's daddy?" she asked at the same time Delilah sank in her seat. "Why isn't he coming back? He forgot me?" she kept going. "Charlotte. Stop." She bit down on her lower lip fighting off tears as she stared up at her mother. "He didn't for-" she paused. "Okay so he forgot you. It's okay though. Mommy's here for you." Without waiting for her to continue she stood up. "HE WOULD NEVER FORGET ME!" She ran upstairs to the room she shared with her sister.
She fell onto her bed in a fit of tears and she hugged the wolf he'd gotten her. It had been her favorite thing other than the doll he'd just gotten her for her birthday but the doll was tucked away in her doll bed. She slept with the wolf. At first she'd been jealous of the giraffe her sister had gotten but she loved the wolf with his blue eyes and just how soft he was. She held him against her as she cried. A few moments later she could hear footsteps and she heard her mother's voice. "Charlotte stop that right now. Sit up." Charlie sat up and stared at her mother who was sitting on Delilah's bed with her. "You can each say goodbye to your father in your own way if you'd like." Before she'd even got a breath out Delilah spoke. "When is his funeral or is he just missing?" she asked. "He's gone. And we aren't having a funeral for him." That made Charlie cry even more. "We have to say bye!" she made sure her feelings were known.
"That's enough Charlotte. There will be no funeral. That is final. Now since I'm sure you girls are tired get ready for bed. You've had a long day." Charlie looked at her sister. Without a word she curled up on top of the sheets and the comforter on her bed and she hugged her wolf as tightly as she could. She didn't know how she'd go to sleep knowing she'd never see her father again. Finally she sat up and looked over at Delilah. "Lilah? Are you awake?" she asked. She could hear Delilah turn over and she could feel her eyes scanning for her. Without a word Charlotte got up and went to get in her sister's bed. "What do you think happened to daddy?" she asked. She could feel her sister hug her and shrug. "I don't know. But Mom says he's gone forever." She held Charlie close while she cried. Charlotte could tell that Delilah was crying too but not as hard. As she started to drift to sleep finally she sighed. "I miss you so much daddy." she whispered as her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.
