Chapter 3

Nina and I finally headed home. Partway there, she grabbed my hand and asked in a small voice, "Mommy, could you ask the Don to come to parent-teacher night tonight?"

I stopped walking. A little girl her age couldn't read the quiet signals between adults. All she knew was that she wanted something to hold on to, some hope that her father might love her.

In seven years of marriage, Rafael had never shown up to a single one of her school events.

But the longing on her face made it impossible to say no. I pulled out my phone and texted him.

"Nina has parent-teacher night at school tonight. Are you free to come?"

As usual, he didn't answer.

Nina dropped her gaze and squeezed the teddy bear tighter. After a long moment, she asked, "He doesn't want to come, does he?"

Then she smiled up at me, the way a grown-up would, pretending it didn't matter.

"That's okay. I know the Don is really busy with work. I get it."

Hearing her talk so sensibly felt like a weight pressing down on my ribs. It hurt too much to breathe.

I was just about to say something to comfort her when my phone buzzed. A message from Rafael.

"I'm free. I'll be there."

Relief and joy hit me all at once. I turned the screen toward her. "Look, Nina! Daddy says he's coming!"

She froze for a second. Then her whole face lit up, and she was so happy she nearly leapt off the ground.

It was the first time Rafael had ever agreed to show up for anything at her school.

For the rest of the walk, she chattered nonstop. She told me everything she'd learned in etiquette class and how often Ms. Redding had praised her at after-school training.

She'd also won first place in the last school talent contest. And the biggest news of all: she'd been voted class monitor for the semester. Ms. Redding had promised to announce it tonight, in front of all the parents.

Then she looked up at me and asked, "Mommy, do you think Daddy will like me more once he knows how good I am now?"

The question went straight through me. I couldn't answer her. All I could do was pray, silently and hard, that Rafael wouldn't go back on his word tonight. If nothing else, I wanted Nina to feel her father's love just once before we left for good.

The sky was dimming when we got to school, well ahead of schedule.

The meeting was about to begin, and still there was no sign of him. I took out my phone to text him again, and that was when Jasmine's Instagram story popped up.

In the photo, Rafael sat beside Ally with his head bent, patiently holding her hand as he showed her how to build a little house out of wooden blocks.

The look on his face was one I had never seen before.

The caption read, "Playing with my daughter for the first time. Like a real dad."

My fingers went tight around the phone. I turned to Nina, who was sitting quietly in her chair with a set of wooden blocks in her own hands.

The same blocks. Two little girls. The same moment when a child needs her father there. And Rafael had never once been there for Nina.

She must have felt me watching, because she looked up. "Mommy, is Daddy stuck at work again?" she asked carefully.

I stared at her, dazed. I couldn't tell her the truth: that he wasn't working at all. He was busy keeping someone else's child company.

I had no words. I just pulled her into my arms like always. "It's okay. You've got me. I'm not going anywhere."

She didn't ask anything else. She tucked her face into my shoulder and stayed quiet for a long time, but I could feel her tears soaking through my sleeve.

After that, neither of us said his name again, as if he'd never promised us anything and had never been part of our family, which was only the two of us.

I looked down at her red, tear-streaked eyes and felt the last of my hope burn out.

Rafael had let her down again. He had one chance left.

But as soon as Ms. Redding finished taking attendance, a ripple of noise broke out among the parents. Nina and I both went completely still.

Rafael had actually come.

Nina's eyes lit up. "Daddy?"