Page 21 of A Heart of Little Faith

“Oh, honey, I don’t agree. I think it’s beautiful. He’ll love it.” The crayon drawing was a colorful rendition of kids playing basketball, and Claire had added flowers and a bright yellow sun. It should have made her daughter smile.

Claire sat there and stared at her bed.

“Is this why you’re sad?”

“I’m not sad!” she shouted. She jumped off her bed and stomped across the room.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” Her daughter paced and Lily waited for Claire to clue her in.

“I guess I should give this to him, though. I don’t want him to feel bad.”

“I think he’ll love it, Claire.”

“Can we go over now?” She shifted from one foot to the other. Lily was tempted to say yes, although she didn’t know if he was home from work yet, or if he’d mind an unannounced visit. Claire’s gaze pleaded with her. She ignored the churning in her stomach; she had to do this for her daughter. She gripped the phone receiver as she dialed, but there was no answer.

“Why don’t we go over to Samantha’s and give it to her? I have a feeling she might see him sooner than we will.” Desperate for something to make Claire feel better, relief washed over her when Claire gave a half-hearted smile. They knocked on the door and a moment later, Samantha answered.

“Hi, guys.” Her initial smile faltered when she saw them. Lily made faces and pointed at Claire, and for once, Samantha caught on and covered nicely. “What’s up?” she asked as she opened the door and motioned for them to come in. Lavender potpourri scented the room and Lily inhaled as she made an effort to relax.

“Claire has a picture for Gideon and we were hoping you could give it to him,” Lily said when Claire remained mute. Her daughter held up the picture and Samantha took it.

“Claire, this is great. But why don’t you give it to him yourself? He’s coming over after work and he should be here any minute.”

Claire shuffled through the basket of toys Samantha kept in her apartment for her. Lily and Samantha sat to talk.

“I don’t know what’s going on with her.” Lily fiddled with the crease in her pant leg and bunched the fabric between her fingers as she whispered.

“Don’t worry. We’ll figure it out.” Samantha reached over and squeezed Lily’s arm. Just then, Gideon knocked on the door and rolled in.

“Hi.” He paused at the unexpected guests, swinging his head from Samantha to Lily and again to his sister. His nostrils flared and his jaw bulged.

He reminded her of a volcano, ready to blow.

“Gideon!” shrieked Claire, who ran over and leaped on top of him. As she hugged him in a death grip, his face relaxed. He patted her back and raised one eyebrow at Samantha and Lily. They both shrugged and he focused his attention on Claire.

“Hey, ClaireBear, what’s up?”

She refused to look at him when she handed him the picture. He concentrated on it for several seconds. Claire fidgeted from one foot to the other. “It’s not very good,” she sighed, “but I know you wanted a picture and it was the best I could do.”

“Thank you very much, sweetheart. I like it a lot. But I think I know why you don’t.” He pointed out a flaw only he and Claire saw and they headed into the kitchen. “We’ll be right back,” he called over his shoulder.

Lily and Samantha waited for them to return. Claire still didn’t seem herself, but at least she wasn’t upset about the picture anymore. “We should be going, Claire. We have to figure out dinner, and Samantha and Gideon have things to do.”

“Why don’t you both join us?” Gideon checked with Samantha for approval. At her nod, he said, “We’ll order pizza.”

Claire’s eyes were big and soulful. Relieved not to have to cook, and hoping the others could help her figure out her daughter’s problem, Lily agreed. Samantha ordered the pizza while Gideon, Lily and Claire sat in the living room.

“Why don’t I have a daddy?”

Chapter 8

Lily froze and Gideon leaned forward in his seat. Samantha, who entered at that moment, stopped in her tracks.

“What?” Lily tried to buy some time. She rubbed her stomach, as if someone had punched her. She couldn’t breathe.

“Why don’t I have a daddy?” Claire repeated and sat still on the sofa.

Lily was drowning. Everything was sluggish, as if she moved against a current. “You do have a daddy, honey,” she said in a low voice.