I nodded. “Yes. This kid in my class used to talk about the birthday fairy when I was in third grade, and I literally waited every year for her to come.”
“Did she come?” he said, gaping at me.
“No. My mom wasn’t big on the fairy thing, apparently. But at least I can use my childhood trauma for good now.” I shrugged.
He smirked and shook his head. “Every time I think you’re pure evil, you go and surprise me.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” I said, my voice laced with sarcasm. “Come on, let’s go.”
Charlie led the way down the hallway with the two bags in hand. He pushed the door open, and Harper was sound asleep in her bed. She looked so peaceful and happy. Her bed had several stuffed animals in it, and the unicorn night-light allowed just enough of a glow for us to see the balloons and quietly spread them around the bedroom. I placed four balloons on the bed, and then we quietly tiptoed back out of the room and down the hall.
Once we got to the kitchen, he took the empty bags from me and balled them all up and tossed them in the trash.
“I’ll see you later,” I said, assuming he was done talking to me.
“You want a doughnut? I’ve got plenty.”
Maybe he doesn’t hate me anymore.
“Sure. That sounds great. I can never fall back asleep once I’m up.” I moved to sit on the barstool at his kitchen island.
“Coffee?” he asked as he poured himself a mug, and I nodded.
He set it down in front of me, clearly remembering that I took my coffee black, and he put the box of doughnuts in front of me as well, as he had several that he hadn’t taken out yet.
I chose the white cake doughnut with sprinkles on it.
“Man, I could sleep any time of day,” he said, his voice low and deep. “Even if just for fifteen minutes, I’d take it.”
I took a bite of my doughnut and studied him. “Have you always been that way?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I’ve never slept deep, so I think little catnaps work for me.”
“Why didn’t you sleep deep as a kid? I thought all kids sleep deep,” I asked.
He took a sip of his coffee. “I was in and out of foster care, so I never slept well. I moved around a lot and saw some shady shit, so I was always on edge.”
I got a vision of a young Charlie, with dark hair and ocean-blue eyes, watching everyone cautiously.
My heart ached at the thought.
“How old were you when you went into foster care?”
“Around Harper’s age, and I was there until I graduated from high school.” He leaned forward and used the pad of his thumb to swipe something off the corner of my lip. “You had a sprinkle there.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “Was it lonely in foster care?”
“I don’t know. I didn’t know any different, and I’ve never minded being on my own.” He shrugged. “Don’t feel sorry for me, Firefly. I don’t do the pity thing.”
“I don’t feel sorry for you, Charlie.”
“What do you feel then? You’re looking at me like someone just ran over your puppy.” He chuckled, but it wasn’t genuine.
It was a painful memory for him, whether he wanted to admit it or not.
“I feel like there’s so much more to you than I realized. I feel like you’re an amazing father. I feel like you’ve been really kind to me by letting me live in your guesthouse and renovating my home, while I’ve tortured you.” I got up and stood in front of him. “I feel like I wasscared to cross the line yesterday, so I found a ridiculous excuse to call it off. I’m sorry for doing that.”
He reached for my hand and laced his fingers through mine. “It’s all right. I understand that more than you know.”
