She walked off. but I kept the pictures out for a while. I had a feeling Daddy might want to see them again, too.
Sure enough, that night I was awoken by the sound of some soft laughter and looked over to see him sitting at my desk, gazing at the pictures.
"Daddy, you were right," I said I got up quickly and put on the lights.
"I thought I was. I like this one with me and the cat we used to have. Fluffy. I wish you could have seen that cat. Sailor Girl. She would follow me around just like a puppy dog. I ever tell you about her?"
"Yes. Daddy, many times," I said. smiling. 'Glad you dug up the pictures."
"You told me to, but Mommy didn't believe me."
"She'll come around. It takes time. Remember what I said, it takes time Well, I have to get going. Sleep tight," he said, and walked out.
"What are you doing?" I heard. "V, by are you up with the lights on? It's close to three in the morning." Mommy said from my doorway. She was holding her hands together against her chest.
"He was here looking at the pictures," I said. 'He just walked out. Did you see him?"
"See who?"
"Daddy."
She brought her hands to her mouth and then walked away. "Go to sleep," she called from her bedroom door.
I put out the lights and went back to bed. When I woke in the morning, all the pictures were gone. For a moment I thought I had put them back in the chest, but when I looked they weren't there.
"Mommy," I asked, coming out to the kitchen where she was feeding Linden breakfast. "Did you see Daddy's pictures?"
"Forget about those pictures," she told me.
"But..."
"I said forget about them. Grace. Stop this!" she screamed at me. "Stop it now, or... or I'll have you sent away. I swear I will."
Linden started to cry at the sound of her anger,
"What am I supposed to stop?" I asked softly. She didn't reply. She looked as if she was going to cry instead and turned away.
Then she sucked in her breath and went back to feeding Linden, comforting him.
It seemed to me that whenever I spoke to her these days Mommy got upset. It was better not to talk or to talk as little as possible.
It was part of disappearing." I thought, remembering Augustus Brewster. First you stop talking, and then people stop hearing you, and then they stop hearing you, they stop seeing you, and soon you're going.
Maybe it was time to go.
.
Daddy agreed,
He came to me that night. I awoke and saw him sitting at my bedside. He was in his dress uniform again, all the medals on his chest. He was looking down, waiting for me to open my eyes. I sat up slowly.
"Daddy? Why are you here?"
He looked up slowly, "I've come for you. Grace," he said. "I received the orders just a little while ago."
"Come for me?"
"Yes, sweetheart," he said. He smiled, but it looked like a smile born from sadness, not happiness. I thought there were even tears in his eyes. and I rarely saw my Daddy cry.