The only way it doesn't hurt

Part Six

"Guess you could say that," I say softly, watching them for a moment. "But sometimes... it's hard to feel like I'm doing enough, you know? Like everything I do is just... for now."

Callum looks up at me, noticing the subtle shift in my tone. "Hey, you're doing great. You've built something amazing here, Amelia. You've got Isla, you've got your art, you've got your roots. A lot of people don't even know what that feels like. You've got more than most."

I give him a small smile, grateful for his perspective. He's right in his own way, but I can't help but wonder if it's enough. Sometimes, I feel like I'm standing at the edge of something bigger, something that could change everything.

Is that something I want, though?

Before I can voice my thoughts, Isla tugs at my sleeve, eager for attention. "Mommy, mommy! Look!" she says, pointing to a small toy in Callum's hand. Her excitement is infectious, and for a moment, everything else fades away.

I kneel down, giving Isla my full attention, letting the moment wash over me. Whatever the future holds, I have this. I have Isla. And right now, that's enough.

Callum disappeared into the house for a moment, and Isla stayed by the flowerbed, poking her fingers into the soil with innocent curiosity. Just as I bent down to wipe a smudge of dirt from her cheek, the door creaked open again, and Callum stepped out holding something behind his back.

"Well, Isla," he said, crouching to her level with a grin. "I couldn't come back from a trip and not bring you a little something, could I?"

Isla's eyes widened, her curls bouncing as she bounced a little in place. "Fing? Me?" she squeaked, trying to say "something for me" and melting my heart in the process.

With a flourish, Callum revealed a small plush fox, its soft fur and curious eyes making Isla gasp in delight. She reached out and hugged it tight against her chest without a second's hesitation.

"Foxy!" she declared proudly, holding it up for me to see.

"A fox, huh?" I raised an eyebrow. "Someone knows her too well."

"I saw it at a station gift shop and thought of her immediately," he said, watching her fondly. "She still likes woodland animals, right?"

"Obsessed," I said, smiling. "She makes me draw them every other day."

Callum laughed as Isla hugged his leg in thanks before trotting back to her little garden corner to play with her new friend. He straightened up beside me, brushing off his jeans again.

"I'm heading to the library in a bit," he said casually, glancing at his watch. "Need to pick up a few books on environmental structuring and hillside drainage systems. Riveting stuff, I know."

I feigned a dramatic sigh. "Why do I always miss out on the fun things in life?"

"You say that now, but five pages in and you'd be asleep with drool on the textbook," he teased.

I elbowed him gently. "You underestimate my secret love for retaining walls and slope angles."

He snorted. "Please, if you actually came with me, we'd end up in the children's section reading about talking badgers again."

"Don't knock the talking badgers, Callum. Some of us make a living out of woodland creatures, thank you very much."

He gave me a sideways grin. "Fair point. But if the badgers start engineering their own hillside drainage, I'm out."

I laughed, and for a moment, the world felt light and simple. Just sunshine in the garden, Isla babbling to her new fox, and a friend who always knew exactly how to make me smile.