Annie looked at the plate of eggs, bacon and toast and went back to playing on her phone.
I pushed the plate toward her a bit and then again, when she didn't respond.
"Come on," I urged. "I know you have to be hungry, and this food smells really good. Just take a few bites and see if you like it. If you don't, I'll find something else for you to eat."
I'd arranged the food into a cute little pattern with the bacon and eggs making a smiley face on the toast.
She looked at the plate and huffed, but then she tentatively reached out and snagged a piece of bacon.
I breathed a sigh of relief when she started nibbling on it. After that, I didn't have to prod her to eat her breakfast. I was pretty sure it was some universal law that a hungry child would eventually eat, no matter how stubborn they were.
As soon as the bacon and toast were all gone, she went right back to ignoring the hell out of me.
I tried to coax her into watching a movie with me, but she took one look at the screen and turned her back on it in favor of her phone.
I watched Frozen on my own. Every time I looked over at her, she seemed to be totally engrossed in her screen. It was very unhealthy for a child her age to be so lost in her phone, but I knew banning her from using it outright at this stage would only make her hate me more.
"Alright," I mumbled. "Why don't I go whip us up some lunch?"
Annie didn't even acknowledge that I'd spoken.
I decided to get her to at least eat downstairs, so she'd have a change of scenery. “Let’s eat downstairs.”
She made a face.
“You can bring your phone with you.”
She dragged herself off the bed and followed behind me, but she took her sweet time.
No matter. Getting downstairs was still a small victory. While I made lunch, she lay on the couch gazing into her phone. I made her favorite food and put a bottle of ketchup on the table.
Reluctantly, she pulled herself from the couch. Mrs. Bennet was not exaggerating about the half a bottle of ketchup she lavished on her food. She ate her meal while staring at the phone.
I said nothing, just quietly ate my meal next to her. Afterwards, I cleaned up, put our plates into the dishwasher, and turned to her. “Hey, why don’t we go to the park?” I asked brightly.
“I hate the park,” she muttered.
“Right. The sun is shining outside. Shall we just out for a little walk?”
“I’m not allowed to be around people,” she said dismissively.
I bit my lip. My last hope was the communal gardens. “How about we pop into the garden downstairs for some fresh air? It’s looks so pretty and there’s no one around at the moment.”
Her refusal was point blank. “No.”
We were not leaving the house. Looks like this will be tougher than I’d thought. I definitely didn't expect a five-year-old to have so much staying power. Hell, she was more stubborn than I was at her age.
We ended up back in her bedroom. I continued building my dinosaur which was starting to look good and she pretended she wasn’t interested in what I was doing, but just once her head turned in my direction. Yes, this faithful dinosaur had never failed me before. I’d just started making the long neck, when we heard the front door.
Annie threw her phone on the bed and rushed out. I followed behind. She was across the hallway and flinging herself at him before I knew it.
Christian caught her and cuddled her against him. He looked so utterly breathtaking in his suit, smiling as he held his daughter in his arms. "How was it today?"
It looked bad, but I knew all Annie needed was a bit of time. "We had a pretty good day. She ate well and enjoyed her phone for the most part. Maybe tomorrow, we'll try going outside."
Annie didn't bother even looking at me, but Christian seemed like he couldn't look away. I felt my cheeks growing hot under his gaze. Every time that man looked at me, it felt like he could see through me, right into my soul. I felt shattered.
"I'm glad you two got along," he said, hugging a madly wiggling Annie against him.
I smiled at the palpable relief on his face. I realized he'd probably been worried all day that things weren't going well, wondering if his daughter was miserable or if she was happy.
I hadn’t done anything other than get her to eat, but at least she was well taken care of and safe. "It was no problem. I'll be back tomorrow bright and early. See you tomorrow, Annie."
Deliberately, I did not take the toys back with me. I gave her a wave before she buried her face in her father’s shoulder. You're going to have to talk to me eventually, kid.