Chapter 8 — Daniel Finds the Page Vanessa Tore Out
After Olivia left that evening, Sophie found a folded page beneath the couch.
“Daddy?”
Daniel picked it up.
It came from the blue notebook.
Vanessa recognized it immediately.
Her expression changed.
“I tore that out yesterday.”
Daniel unfolded it.
Teenage Vanessa had written a list titled:
RULES WHEN I HAVE MY OWN FAMILY.
Number one:
Never disappear without saying goodbye.
Number two:
Never make a kid wonder if someone is coming back.
Number three:
If you’re angry, say you’re angry.
Number four:
Don’t make people guess if you love them.
Daniel stopped reading.
Vanessa covered her face.
“That’s why I packed.”
He frowned.
“Because of this?”
Vanessa nodded.
She found the page while reading the notebook.
Then realized she had already broken some of the rules she wrote as a teenager.
She and Daniel had been arguing more often.
She had withdrawn.
She had become impatient with Sophie.
Then Olivia’s return brought old memories back intensely.
Vanessa became convinced she was becoming the kind of adult teenage Vanessa feared.
“So instead of working on it, you decided to disappear?” Daniel asked.
Vanessa looked ashamed.
“Yes.”
“Which is literally rule number one.”
Vanessa laughed once through her tears.
“I know.”
Then Sophie spoke from the doorway.
“And number two.”
Both parents turned.
Sophie had been listening.
Vanessa crouched immediately.
“Yes.”
The little girl looked at her.
“You made me think you weren’t coming back.”
Vanessa nodded.
“I did.”
This time she did not say she was confused.
She did not say Sophie misunderstood.
She simply said:
“That was wrong.”