11. Notified Michelle The little girl was talking non-stop, and I couldn’t help but laugh at her antics. “Michez… Do you have a boyfriend?”she suddenly asks, causing me to choke on my food. I cleared my throat with a cough before answering. “Well, no… You could say that I don’t. I’m still married,” I say, but immediately blurt out something I probably shouldn’t. “But I’m going to get a divorce. Maybe you don’t know what that means, though.” She stays silent and takes a sip of her drink. “Yes, yes I do. It’s when a boyfriend and a girlfriend are no longer boyfriend and girlfriend, right?” I chuckle softly at her definition. “Yes, something like that.” If only everything were that simple, I think to myself. “So… you won’t have a boyfriend anymore?” she insists. I shook my head. “No, I won’t have a boyfriend anymore.” Her little face suddenly lights up, as if she’s plotting something. “And do you like children?” “Susy… let Michelle finish her meal and don’t bother her anymore,” her father intervenes. She looks at me apologetically, but I shake my head. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t bother me at all. And yes, I like kids. In fact, I have a daughter a little older than you. Her name is Candace.” Upon hearing my daughter’s name, Susy makes a face of displeasure. “I don’t like that name. In the competition, there was a girl named that and she wasn’t nice. She was very rude and accused me to her mom of pushing her, but it wasn’t true.” I stay silent and look down. It was most likely about my daughter and her potential “future mother.” “Susy… this is the last time I’m warning you,” her father said. The girl just smiles and continues eating as if nothing had happened. My boss looks at me, as if he knew what I was thinking. But before I could say anything, the door swings open and in walks the last person I expected to see. “Knock, knock… Can I come in?” he sings. The little girl immediately stands up. “Uncle!” She throws herself into the arms of my friend, who receives her affectionately. “My little pesky mosquito, how did you get out of school early?” He turns to look at us and, noticing my presence, smiles. “But there was a family gathering and no one told me! You naughty ones!” I stood up to greet him. “No, it’s not a family gathering. I went to my boss’s office and was invited to lunch.” He comes over and, with the girl still in his arms, gives me a hug too. “Now that we have you back, you’re part of the family. I can’t help but let out a sob. It’s incredible that when I finally decided to let go of the ties of indifference and lovelessness, I didn’t fall on hard ground, but into a net of affection and care. I turn to look at his brother, who gives a nod. “Uncle! Michez doesn’t have a boyfriend anymore,” Susy suddenly announces, as if it were the best news in the world. He looks at me and I shrug. “Well, I’m very glad. It was a lot of time wasted next to that… bloodsucking mosquito, sneaky creature, vile cockroach, two-legged rat.” I widened my eyes in warning to stop him from saying anything inappropriate, but his niece covered his mouth. “We shouldn’t use bad words, uncle.” She tells him, but I know she’s enjoying Abdiel’s attitude, as she laughs with a bit of mischief. We all laugh at hearing her, and the atmosphere becomes lighter. I glanced at the time and decided to head back to my office. “I’m leaving. It was nice to see you and meet you, Susy.” The girl jumps down and runs to me, hugging my waist. “You’re nice, Michez. If you ever want another daughter… you can consider me.” Her words leave everyone in silence. Dylan stands up and approaches her. “Honey, Michelle has to go back to work. You can greet her another day.” I say my goodbyes and leave. It’s clear that Susy needs a mother, but I can’t be that for her. I already have a daughter to focus my love on. Even if she doesn’t live with me, I can’t give up. Someday, Candace will realize that I am one of the people who love her most in this world, and that I will be there for her. I have faith that one day she will understand. I walked with determination to the elevator and pressed the button for my floor. That was a strange lunch. ***** Dylan “Daddy… Are you mad?” My daughter looks at me with a troubled face. “No, honey, I’m not angry, but I don’t want Michelle to feel awkward.” She understands that what she did wasn’t right and lowers her gaze. “She’s nice and feels like a mom should. At least, I think that’s how it should feel.” I approach her and take her in my arms. I know that the absence of her mother has created a void that, no matter how much love I have for her, I haven’t been able to fill. “Well, maybe in the future. Don’t lose hope.” I gave my brother a stern look. I’m sure he’s the one putting ideas in my daughter’s head after I told him I saw her. “Stop giving me that look. The hardest part is already done. She’s in the process of getting divorced, and now she’ll be free to make better choices.” I glanced at the door. She walked out and sighed. Not now, but maybe in the future, there could be a chance, and I won’t turn it down. But I know she has a long road to recovery. The important thing is that she’s nearby now, and I’ll make sure she knows she’s not alone. Not anymore. ***** Ryan “You ready, sweetheart?” Candace gets into the car and just nods. I promised we’d visit her grandparents on her mom’s side, but I felt nervous. I’ve never seen Michelle this upset, to the point where she decided to leave the house and also block all contact with us. “How was your day at school?” I ask to break the silence, but she just shrugs. “It was fine, as always,” she responds without enthusiasm. It’s unusual for her to be so brief when she’s always been a little parrot that never stops talking. I see that she’s tense, as she plays with her hands, a tic inherited from her mother. At one of the traffic lights, I turn to look at her while she gazes out the window. She looks a lot like Michelle. Every day she resembles her more, and I can almost assure that when she grows a bit more, she’ll be identical to the woman I met when I was young. I feel a shiver run down my spine at the thought that, maybe, she could meet an i***t like me, who doesn’t love her enough and makes her suffer. I drove off, and twenty minutes later, we’re at my in-laws’. I frown when I notice Michelle’s car isn’t there. She must have gone somewhere. Without waiting for me, Candace opens the door and jumps out of the car to ring the doorbell. As soon as it sounds, I see my mother-in-law appear at the entrance and she welcomes my daughter with open arms. “Grandma!”exclaims Candace as she bends down and covers her in kisses. She’s grown so much that now she’s almost as tall as her. “Hello, darling. Welcome. How did it go?” she asks with affection. My daughter starts telling her everything about the competition and takes out her phone to show her photos and a video I recorded. She completely ignores me, but at that moment, my father-in-law appears, coming down the stairs and Candace runs to him. Unlike his wife, the man greets me kindly. “Ryan, how are you? Can we talk in studies?” he says seriously. I nod and follow him. The air is thick with tension. “Come in, have a seat, please,” he indicates. I obey while I watch him take his phone and send a message. “Sir, I came to look for Michelle. When we got home last night, neither she nor her things were there. I didn’t see her car either. Did she go somewhere?,” I ask with concern. He shakes his head, stands up, and heads to a cabinet with a bottle of liquor. He pours two glasses and hands me one before returning to his seat. “No, she didn’t go out. Michelle doesn’t live here,” his words seemed strange to me. “She doesn’t live here? I don’t understand.” “She rented an apartment and moved out. I can’t tell you where because she hasn’t given us the address, but I don’t think she wants you to look for her, and I don’t want you to either,” he pauses and takes a sip before continuing. “You know, Ryan… when you came to tell us that my daughter was pregnant and that you wanted to marry her, we didn’t object. In the short time we’d known you, you were a serious man and, even though you didn’t seem as in love with my daughter as I would have hoped, I thought that, over time, by spending more time with her, you would get to know her better and love her more. I thought neither you nor we would ever regret that decision.” He pauses again, and I see his eyes well up with tears. He lowers his gaze and sighs before continuing. “But I was wrong. You never loved her. And although she never complained, I know she wasn’t happy, even if she refused to accept it. Fortunately, you opened her eyes, and now I know she’ll find a better path in life.” I remained silent, trying to process his words. At that moment, there was a knock on the door. It’s Elvis, Michelle’s cousin. “Good afternoon. Uncle, I got your message and here I am. Hello, Ryan,” he greets me seriously, unlike other times. Then he extends his hand and hands me an envelope. “Since you’re here, I’ll take the opportunity to give you this.” I take it without knowing what it is. “What is this?” I ask without opening it. “It’s the divorce petition filed by Michelle. Ryan, consider yourself notified.” ***** After that, we leave the house. Candace looks serious; the lack of information about Michelle has left her with a hard, almost disappointed expression. As I drive, my gaze slides to the rearview mirror and settles on the envelope Elvis handed me. He asked me to speak with my lawyer. Michelle’s decision should make me happy, but instead, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Something doesn’t add up, and the feeling of unease chills me to the bone. “Dad… why doesn’t mom want to see us?” Candace’s voice pulls me out of my thoughts. I swallow hard and focus on the road. I don’t know how to answer her without it hurting. “I don’t know, sweetheart,” I finally say, because I truly don’t have an answer. Maybe I never imagined that my indifference during the trip would lead to this. We drove in silence until I decide to stop for food. Candace chooses McDonald’s, which is unusual for her since Michelle has never been a fan of fast food. However, when we travel with Blake, there are no restrictions. We sit down to wait for our order, but the tension hangs over us like an invisible third presence. Neither of us eats with an appetite. Candace takes only a couple of bites of her burger and absentmindedly plays with her fries. We end up leaving without really having eaten. At that moment, my phone vibrates with a message from Blake. Candace looks at me expectantly, waiting to know who it is. I don’t want to give explanations now, so I simply reject the call. When we get home, she heads straight to her room. I stay in the living room, letting myself fall onto the sofa while Ruth, the housekeeper, passes through the hallway with a couple of things in her hands. “Ruth… I’ve been wanting to ask you something since this morning,” I say, straightening up in my seat. “Do you know why Michelle left the house? Did she say anything?” I see her hesitate. She holds onto the items more firmly, as if she wants to avoid the conversation, but after a couple of minutes, she puts everything down and sighs. “No, sir. The truth is, I don’t know. When she returned from her trip, she asked me for some boxes. I thought she was going to take out some things to donate, but she asked me to put them in the trash. She packed everything and before leaving she told me that if you asked, I should say I didn’t know anything… although that was actually the truth.” Trip. That word rings an alarm in my head. “Do you know where she went?” I ask cautiously, feeling a knot in my stomach. Ruth shakes her head no. “No, sir. She left three nights ago and returned the following mid-day. That’s all I know. A shiver runs down my spine. An idea forms in my mind, and I’m almost certain it’s true. Michelle must have gone to see Candace. And, if my suspicions are correct, she saw me with Blake. Damn it.
Stop Loving
Stop Loving
