I made a feast that night, as was tradition for Tabitha’s birthday, and I ordered a big cake for her. Both of us waited around the table for Timothy, with silence as our only companion. We didn’t think he’d come back, to be honest.
This was a final ritual–one that would kill the last sliver of hope we had for him.
Time slipped by like grains of sand. It was ten to midnight soon enough. I got a text, but it was from Willow. “Don’t wait up. Timothy’s asleep. “There was a picture where Timothy was sleeping with Nathaniel and Willow in his arms.
Ah, what a lovely sight. They were a happy family, weren’t they? I put my phone down and lit up the candles. “Make a wish, Tabitha.”
Tabitha didn’t seem disappointed or sad. Instead, she sweetly told me, “I’ll give the wish to you, Mom.”
I looked at her, touched and melted at how sweet she was. No, I didn’t make a wish. I had the person I loved the most by my side, and I had no
need for wishes.
Before I deleted Timothy’s number, I asked Tabitha if she wanted to say one last goodbye.
Tabitha mused for a moment and shook her head. I looked at her proudly and tossed the SIM card into the bin. Then, with my daughter’s hand in mine, we left this place we’d called home for seven years.
‘We will never see each other again, Timothy,‘ I thought.
The clock struck midnight at Willow’s place, and Timothy woke with a jolt. He checked his watch and realized he’d missed his daughter’s birthday, and that frustrated him. He didn’t mean to stand her up.
He even got off work early and bought her a gift, but when he was on his way home, he remembered how Yvonne and Tabitha denied their ties to him, and he was mad about that.
Yvonne, especially, should’ve tried her darndest to cheer him up, but she didn’t.
This had never happened in their marriage. He decided to show her her place, so he dragged his return out. Just his luck, Willow came over and offered to make a meal to thank him for his help, so he obliged.
As long as he went back before midnight, he wouldn’t have missed his daughter’s birthday. He would make them panic a little. He was sure Yvonne would call him soon enough and apologize to him. She would beg for him to come home.
