Page 16 of Moonlight Feels Right
She hesitated, then said, "When I was twelve, I went to live with my aunt, someone I barely knew. I felt abandoned and scared, which is why I can relate to Olivia's situation. That's the short version."
He now had a lot more questions, but Olivia was coming out of the bathroom, and she wanted Emmalyn's help with her PJs.
He hovered in the doorway to the bedroom as Emmalyn helped Olivia change, then tucked her into bed with her stuffies all around her. When they both looked at him, he felt another wave of panic. He wanted to beg Emmalyn to stay until Olivia fell asleep. But she was already saying goodnight to Olivia, and he needed to step up and show Olivia she could count on him.
Emmalyn gave him an encouraging smile as she walked toward him, murmuring, "You can do this." Then she was gone. And he was on his own.
He walked over to the bed and sat down awkwardly on the side of it. "Uh, do you want me to read you one of your books?"
Olivia shook her head. "Emmalyn said you could tell me a story."
He silently cursed Emmalyn for putting that thought in Olivia's head, but her expectant gaze was better than a crying fit, so he said, "Okay. What kind of story?"
"Can you tell me a story about my daddy?"
He had a million stories about Gary, but he had no idea if any of them were appropriate for a six-year-old. He thought for a moment, his gaze moving across the stuffed animals, and then he smiled. "Did your dad ever tell you about making friends with a monkey?"
Her eyes widened. "A real monkey?"
"Oh, yeah, but it was a sneaky monkey. We were in the Philippines, sitting at a café, when your dad decided to share his banana with a wild monkey."
"Did the monkey like the banana?"
"He devoured it. And then your dad decided to give him a name. He called him Captain Banana."
She giggled at that.
"But then, Captain Banana decided he wanted more than a banana. He grabbed my sunglasses and took off down the street."
"What happened?"
"Well, your dad wasn't going to let that monkey get away with my glasses, so he took off down the street, jumping over the curb, shouting for Captain Banana to drop my glasses. But the monkey just scurried up a light pole and gazed down at your dad, twirling my sunglasses in his little monkey hands. I caught up to them and told your dad to forget about it. I wasn't getting those glasses back."
"What did my daddy say?"
"That he wasn't giving up that easily. It was his fault the monkey had gotten that close to my glasses. Your dad grabbed another banana from a street vendor and told the monkey he would trade the banana for his glasses. I didn't think it would work, because a monkey couldn't understand what your dad was saying, but your father kept talking to the monkey like he could understand. And then, finally, by some miracle, the monkey came down the pole, dropped the glasses and grabbed the banana. Your dad handed me my glasses, and the monkey got another banana."
"What did Daddy do then?"
"We walked back to the café and ordered a banana smoothie to celebrate."
"Daddy was silly," she said with a shy smile.
"Yeah, he was silly," he said. "But he always showed up for his friends…for me, especially. He was going to do whatever it took to get my glasses back. You know what they call that kind of person?"
She shook her head.
"A hero. Your dad was a true hero, the best man in the world."
Olivia grabbed the little monkey next to her, then turned onto her side, giving him a sleepy smile. "I wish I could have met that monkey. Do you think he looked like this one?"
"Exactly like that one."
"Can you tell me another story about Daddy?"
"Uh, sure." He was still thinking about what to say when he realized Olivia's eyes were closed, and she was already fast asleep.
He got up from the bed, careful not to disturb her. As he walked back into the living room, he found himself smiling about the story he'd just told. And he realized that this was the first time since Gary's death he'd been able to think about his friend without thinking about the explosion, the fire, the fear, the pain... Instead, he'd remembered a good moment. Maybe not every memory had to hurt.
