And walked out.
Sophie watched the door close.
Then quietly shut her notebook.
“Mom, are we going to have enough money?”
That was her first question.
Not why Daddy had left.
Not whether he was coming back.
Money.
I knelt beside her.
“Sweetheart, you don’t need to worry about that.”
She nodded.
“I can stop dancing if it’s expensive.”
I felt something twist inside me.
“You’re not stopping dancing.”
“But I can help.”
I hugged her.
She hugged me back.
And whispered, “I’ll be really good, Mom.”
Over the following days, Sophie became almost unnaturally helpful.
She made breakfast.
Folded laundry.
Stopped asking for bedtime stories.
When I mentioned buying new dance shoes, she insisted hers still fit.
They didn’t.
Her toes were pressing against the fabric.
But whenever I tried to do something nice for her, she shook her head.
“Save your money, Mom.”
One night, I found her rubbing an eraser against the notebook.
“What are you doing?”
“Fixing it.”
She showed me a page.
“Daddy will take me to the beach.”
She’d rubbed so hard that the paper was nearly torn.
“We can go together,” I offered.
She nodded.
Then asked something unexpected.
“Mom, you’re not leaving too, are you?”
I stared at her.
“Of course not, sweetheart.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
She looked relieved.
But I couldn’t understand why she’d even asked.
Until three days later, when Mark called.
He wanted to speak to Sophie.
I handed her the phone.
She listened quietly.
“Yes, Daddy.”
A pause.
“No, I didn’t.”
Then she whispered:
“I haven’t told Mom anything.”
My stomach dropped.
When she ended the call, I sat beside her.
“Sophie, what haven’t you told me?”
Her face went pale.
“Nothing.”
“Sweetheart, please.”
Her eyes filled.
“Mom, don’t be mad.”
“I won’t.”
She stared at her hands.
“I knew about the lady.”
I froze.
“What lady?”
“The one Daddy was kissing.”
Then she said something that broke my heart.
“I saw them before you did.”
Three weeks before Mark left, he’d collected Sophie after dance practice.
They’d stopped at a café.
A woman was waiting.
Mark introduced her as a friend.
But when Sophie returned from the bathroom, she saw them kissing.
“I asked Daddy why,” Sophie whispered.
“What did he say?”
“He said grown-ups were complicated.”
