Ends of the Earth

Maggie cried again plaintively as he reached her side and turned on the lamp on the bedside table. She twitched, sweet face screwed up, and he shook her gently.

“Baby, wake up. It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

Gasping, her eyes flew open, and she burst into wrenching tears that tore into Jason’s heart. He rocked her, rubbing her back and murmuring as she sobbed against his bare chest.

There was no magic reset button.

They couldn’t pretend everything would just go back to normal. As Jason comforted Maggie, assuring her it was only a nightmare and she was safe, he knew he had to swallow his pride and take his parents’ offer to pay for therapy. Anything that could help.

Gulping as her sobs subsided, Maggie asked, “Can I sleep with you?”

“Of course. Come on.” Jason scooped her into his arms, cradling her close as he carried her into the living room. He settled her on the futon, tucking the sheet around her.

“Will you read me a book?”

“Sure. Which one?” He’d read to her all night if it would take her nightmares away.

She sniffled. “Hospital.”

His heart clenched as he kissed her forehead before returning to her room to scan the bookcase for the thin, faded yellow spine. The top corner of the cover had already been torn off when he’d picked up the book at a second-hand shop for fifty cents. The pages inside were worn now too after the hundreds of times Maggie had read it.

He turned on the lamp beside the futon and propped up a few pillows at the end before stretching out. She cuddled into the burrow of his arm as he cleared his throat and began by announcing the title, as he’d always done when reading to her.

“Curious George Goes to the Hospital.”

He hadn’t read it in a couple years, Maggie long since moved on to books with more words and fewer pictures. But he still knew the tale of the mischievous monkey, his owner—the man with the yellow hat—and a swallowed puzzle piece that lands George in the hospital almost by heart.

He savored each word as he read with Maggie warm at his side, wishing his daughter could have stayed innocent forever.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Lightsabers clashed, cartoon characters battling in The Clone Wars. Maggie watched avidly, scraping her cereal bowl for every bit of sugary milk remaining. Jason usually only kept bran and granola cereals in the apartment, but had added a box of Frosted Flakes to the grocery delivery.

He hadn’t bothered hauling up the back of the futon into couch form, and sat cross-legged beside Maggie on the mattress, his own cereal barely touched and soggy. He never normally ordered groceries online, but he didn’t want to deal with people recognizing them. He’d have to face the world on Monday when he went back to work, but he hoped the attention would fade by then. Surely there were more interesting things happening in the world. Another hot topic.

The episode ended, and Jason watched the credits, the Netflix auto-play announcement appearing in the corner of the screen. It would be easy to just let another play, sit there and put it off for another twenty minutes.

He picked up the remote and hit stop. Time to deal with it.

Maggie’s spoon clattered in her empty bowl. “We can’t watch another one?”

“We can. I just want to talk for a few minutes.”

Her shoulders slumped, and she stared down into her bowl. “About what?”

“About going to see someone you can talk to about what happened.”

“But that will cost money. I’m fine, Dad. Really. It was just a stupid dream last night.” She lifted her head, eyes gleaming. “I’m sorry.”

“Sweetie, you have nothing to be sorry for.” He put their bowls on the low coffee table and scooted closer, wrapping an arm around her slim shoulders. “There’s nothing wrong with having nightmares or being afraid. Especially after what happened in Montana. It was really scary and upsetting, and I don’t want you to pretend everything is fine when it’s not.”

Hypocrite.

Jason ignored the little voice in his head. Yes, maybe he was a hypocrite, but he’d deal with his own shit later. Maggie came first.

She huffed. “But I don’t want to talk about it all the time! I had a stupid dream about being cold in the river, but I’m fine now. I just want everything to be okay again. The way it was.”

“I know. And we don’t have to talk about it constantly. Just sometimes. Grandma and Grandpa offered to pay so you can see a nice doctor who knows all about this stuff. It’s not healthy to bottle everything up inside you and not talk about it.”

“What about you? What about the stuff you don’t talk about?”

“I…” Busted. “Okay, you’re right. I should see someone to talk about Montana as well.”

“I don’t mean just Montana.” She fidgeted, bouncing her foot. “Was Mom your girlfriend?”