“Your swimsuit?” he asked, letting out a breath of relief. “That's what you woke me up for?”
She nodded casually, as though it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. “Yes, Daddy. Why else would I wake you up?”
She's only four and she already is way too confident, he thought, smiling to himself. God help me when she turns sixteen.
“I have swim lessons today and I need it,” Maggie said, hopping up from the bed and strolling toward him.
Her blonde hair was a total mess. It was practically sticking straight out from her head. It made Wyatt smile, which almost made up for the fact that she'd dragged him out of bed before the sun had risen.
“Honey, your lessons aren't until noon,” he said, taking a seat on the cushy bench at the foot of the bed. “That leaves six hours until your lessons actually start.”
“I know,” Maggie said, crawling up to sit on his lap. “But you told me not to wake up Mrs. Mildred until seven.”
That's toddler logic for you, he thought.
He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes with the back of his hands and then chuckled. “I did say that, didn't I?”
“Yes,” she said, wrapping both arms around his neck to hug him.
Wyatt gently patted her back and closed his eyes.
If Caroline were still alive, she would have loved nothing more than to look for Maggie's swimsuit at six in the morning, he thought to himself. I guess this is what they call a 'first world problem', though. There are people in the world who are starving and I'm complaining that I have to wake up and find my daughter's swim suit.
“Alright,” he said, trying to hold back a few tears that were fighting to make their way out. Just the thought of his wife always made him cry. It didn't matter if it was a good memory or a bad one. Thinking about her and how empty his life felt without her always caused waves of emotion to wash over him. “How about we make some breakfast first and then we'll find your suit?”
“Okay!” Maggie squealed, her eyes lighting up. “Can I have my favorite?”
Wyatt brought his hand to his chin and looked up toward the ceiling, as though he was deep in thought. “Your favorite, huh? I can't remember what that is. You'll have to remind me. Is it green eggs and ham? Or was it sardines from the can?”
“Gross! You know what what my favorite breakfast is!” she squealed, not fooled by Wyatt's attempt at humor. “It's french toast with jelly on top.”
“Ah, yes,” he said. “That's right. I almost forgot.”
“Come on,” Maggie said, hopping off of Wyatt's lap and grabbing his wrist. “I'll help you.”
“You'll help me?” Wyatt asked, slowly standing up from his seat on the bench, with the help of Maggie pulling on his wrist, of course. “Well in that case, how can I say 'no'?”
While Maggie escorted him out of the room, they passed the dresser. On top, was a single picture in a black leather frame. It was a photo of him, Maggie and his late wife, Caroline. It had been taken at the beach by a stranger. He stood in the middle of his small family, with his wife on one side and his little daughter on the other.
“Hold up a second, kiddo,” he said, stopping in his tracks and grabbing the picture from the dresser. “Do you remember this trip?”
He squatted down to Maggie's level, holding the photo out so that they both could see.
She nodded. “Yes, I remember. We built a sandcastle on the beach.”
“That's right,” Wyatt said. “Do you remember how bad Daddy got sunburned that day? I looked like a lobster.”
Maggie giggled. “Yeah, a big red lobster!”
Wyatt's heart ached as the memory of the family trip flooded his mind. It felt like only yesterday that they were there. It was the perfect vacation, spent on the beach in Costa Rica. He'd managed to take two full weeks off of work, which didn't happen very often. Being CEO of a pharmaceutical company didn't leave much time for the fun things in life. Still, he had organized everything so that he could get the time off and create an amazing trip for his family.
The vacation, although it did turn out amazing, was also a bitter sweet memory. It was two days before they came home when Carolina received the phone call from her doctor. They told her that the cancer that she had conquered five years before had returned and this time, had spread to other parts of her body beyond her uterus. It had flooded her lungs, kidneys and lymph nodes.
“I still miss Mommy,” Maggie said, reaching forward the touch the picture.
Wyatt watched her little finger touch the face of Caroline and it broke his heart. He held back a wave of emotion, wishing that he could be a little better at staying strong for his daughter. There were times, though, when it was nearly impossible. Caroline had only been gone for a year and every single thing he looked at reminded him of her. He still hadn't been able to change anything in the house, for fear of losing her memory.
The pictures on the wall were untouched. Her walk-in closet, which was spilling over with designer clothes and shoes, still contained every article of clothing that had been there the day she'd passed away. Even her toothbrush was still in its holder in the bathroom.