Chapter 5 - Emma's Note
Monday morning arrived with a new problem.
School.
Daniel had spent Sunday speaking with Rachel only through text.
She had agreed not to come to Claire's house again without asking first.
She had also agreed to schedule an appointment with a counselor.
But she wanted the girls home.
Daniel wasn't ready.
Emma didn't want to go to school.
"What if Mom comes?"
Daniel looked at her.
"Why would she?"
"She knows where it is."
Daniel crouched beside her.
"Your aunt and I will tell the school who's picking you up."
Emma nodded reluctantly.
At school, her teacher, Ms. Alvarez, immediately noticed the difference.
Emma was usually talkative.
That morning she barely raised her eyes.
During writing time, Ms. Alvarez asked the class to describe their weekend.
Most children wrote about parks, movies, soccer games, or grandparents.
Emma stared at the blank paper.
Then she wrote five words.
WE DID NOT GO HOME.
Ms. Alvarez saw it while walking between desks.
She didn't react dramatically.
She simply crouched.
"Do you want to tell me about that?"
Emma shook her head.
"Okay."
Ms. Alvarez stood.
Then Emma reached for her sleeve.
"My mom got mad."
Ms. Alvarez sat beside her.
"What happened?"
Emma's eyes moved toward the other children.
The teacher quietly moved Emma to a small reading table near the back of the room.
"You can tell me."
Emma whispered, "She threw breakfast at Lily."
Ms. Alvarez's expression stayed calm.
"Did Lily get hurt?"
"No."
"Did you?"
"No."
Emma paused.
"But Mom told us not to tell."
That sentence changed the teacher's response.
She thanked Emma for telling her.
Then she contacted the school counselor.
By lunchtime, Daniel received a phone call.
He arrived twenty minutes later.
The counselor, Mrs. Greene, invited him into a small office.
Emma sat beside her.
Daniel immediately looked concerned.
"Are you okay?"
Emma nodded.
Mrs. Greene explained that Emma had shared information about Friday morning.
Daniel's first reaction was embarrassment.
Then relief.
He wasn't the only adult who knew anymore.
He told them about the video.
Mrs. Greene listened carefully.
She explained the school's responsibilities and next steps.
Daniel understood.
He didn't like it.
But he understood.
When he picked up Lily from kindergarten, her teacher had already been informed.
Lily climbed into the car carrying a drawing.
It showed four stick figures.
Daddy.
Emma.
Lily.
And Aunt Claire.
Rachel was missing.
Daniel stared at it.
"Where's Mom?"
Lily looked out the window.
"I forgot."
Daniel didn't believe that.
That afternoon, he received a call from Rachel.
Her voice was shaking.
"The school called me."
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Okay."
"They said someone made a report."
Daniel stayed quiet.
"Was it you?"
"No."
"Then who?"
"The school."
Rachel inhaled sharply.
"Because of Emma."
"Because of what Emma told them."
"Same thing."
"No."
Rachel began pacing on the other end of the line.
Daniel could hear her footsteps.
"My job could find out."
"Rachel."
"My friends could find out."
"Rachel."
"Everyone's going to think I'm horrible."
Daniel waited.
Then he asked, "What do you think Lily thinks?"
Silence.
Rachel stopped pacing.
Daniel continued.
"You keep talking about everyone except the person who was scared."
Rachel's breathing slowed.
"I love her."
"I know."
"I love both of them."
"I know."
"Then why are you treating me like I don't?"
Daniel sat on Claire's back steps.
"Because love isn't the only thing that matters."
Rachel cried quietly.
"I don't know what happened to me."
Daniel's anger softened slightly.
That was the first thing she had said that sounded like a question instead of an excuse.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm tired all the time."
Daniel listened.
"I wake up angry."
She swallowed.
"Sometimes I'm already furious before anyone says anything."
"How long?"
Rachel didn't answer immediately.
"Months."
Daniel felt guilty.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I did."
He frowned.
"When?"
"Every time I said I couldn't keep doing everything."
Daniel looked down.
She wasn't wrong.
He remembered conversations.
He remembered Rachel saying she needed help.
He remembered answering from airport lounges and hotel rooms.
We'll figure it out.
Just get through this week.
I'll be home Friday.
He had heard the words.
He hadn't understood them.
But again, understanding Rachel's exhaustion didn't erase what the girls experienced.
"We both missed things," Daniel said.
Rachel was silent.
"But that doesn't make Friday okay."
"I know."
This time she didn't add anything.
Daniel noticed.
Rachel continued.
"I called the counselor you sent."
Daniel looked up.
"You did?"
"I have an appointment tomorrow."
"Good."
She hesitated.
"Will that make you bring them home?"
"No."
Rachel became quiet.
Daniel expected anger.
Instead she asked, "What will?"
Daniel looked through the window.
Emma was helping Lily build a puzzle.
"I don't know yet."
That evening, Emma slipped another note beneath Daniel's coffee mug.
He found it after dinner.
The handwriting was uneven.
DAD PLEASE DON'T TELL MOM I SAID THIS.
Below it was another sentence.
SOMETIMES SHE LOCKS HERSELF IN HER ROOM AND WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF OURSELVES.
Daniel stared at the paper.
The kitchen around him seemed to disappear.
He turned toward Emma.
She was watching him from the hallway.
Daniel slowly stood.
"How often?"
Emma's eyes filled.
May you like
"A lot."
And just when Daniel had started believing he understood the situation, his daughter had opened another door.
