If that's what it takes

62

Derek lean uncomfortably in the rocking chair, his sleep was cramped and full of cricks and cramps as he sit on the rocking chair. At one point in the middle of the night, he felt a slight pressure on his leg. He didn't move as he felt the coolness of the room envelop him for a moment as the blanket covering him was lifted off his body. He kept his eyes closed, not wanting to frighten her or send her running off. He stayed perfectly still as he felt a hand on his leg, pushing slightly as her little bottom deposited itself in his lap. He felt her tuck Molly in his other arm beside Mister Derek, and Floyd in his other arm as she pushed herself into his embrace and pulled the blanket over them both.

She reached up gently and placed a very small kiss on the corner of Derek's chin, whispering soft sentiments of sweet dreams before she lay her head on his arm and fell back to sleep.

When morning came, Derek thought that what he had experienced had only been a dream because when he opened his eyes, the little girl was nowhere in sight. He straightened himself out and looked around, his lap was cold and his arms no longer held the small child. He looked in his arms and found that all three toys had been tucked gently on his lap, and the closet door was open.

He lifted the toys and held them as he placed each on the bed where she always left them when she was going to school, tucking them delicately beneath the blanket as she always did. He walked toward the closet, peering in for a moment he saw that she had cleaned the broken pieces of the frame and had swept them into a pile. The picture was no longer on the floor and her backpack was not in the closet anymore. He stepped farther into the closet, noticing a small folded piece of paper that had found its way tucked along the side of a box in the closet. The paper was yellowed and worn, and when he opened it, he didn't recognize the writing, but he quickly realized who it was from.

He turned the paper in his hand, realizing that it must have been tucked in the picture frame, placed there for its eventual finding by the little girl. He read the message again and again as he turned sharply at the sound of the little girl walking up the stairs, her shoes smacking the hardwood steps of the stairs as she neared the room.

Derek slipped the paper in his pocket as he stepped out of the closet, leaving it opened like it was when he walked inside. He walked over to the rocking chair and stood beside it as she entered the room. She was dressed, her hair brushed, and she stood in the door with her arms folded across her chest.

"Hey...good morning..." He said softly, waiting for her reply as she looked him up and down, glanced around him to see that her toys were tucked into bed, she turned sharply and walked out of the room. "Hey... don't I get a good morning?" Derek asked, the only reply was the sound of her feet bounding back down the stairs. "The silent treatment..." He mumbled as he walked out of her bedroom toward his room to get showered and dressed.