“Hey honey,” David said, beginning a conversation he knew he was going to hate.
Madeline looked up. “Daddy!” She said, excited. Then she frowned. “Daddy?”
David blinked at her reaction before he shook his head, masking whatever face had made her react like that with a smile. “How are you?”
“I’m fine,” Maddy said, jumping from her seat before crashing into his legs with a hug. “But it’s boring here.”
David looked around the empty hallway. “Well, offices aren’t meant to be the most exciting thing ever.”
Maddy frowned. “They should make them exciting.”
David sighed. “I don’t think lawyers want much excitement in their jobs. And this is better than the doctor’s office, right?”
Maddy rubbed her arm where the needle had been stuck in. “It smelled bad,” she said.
David knew he was stalling. “Look Maddy, I have... news.”
The six-year-old looked up at him, with big, confused eyes. He wished they looked just like her mother’s.
David bent over and picked her up. “Look, I’m... I’m not going to have to... go live somewhere else.”
Maddy cocked her head. That, she had in common with her mother. “Why?”
David took care not to bite the inside of his cheek. He’d been told he did that when he was lying and while he didn’t know how much his daughter knew about his tells, he didn’t want to risk her figuring it out. “Me and Mommy just... can’t live together anymore. So, I’ll be living by myself.”
Maddy looked confused. “But... where will I live?”
“Y-you’ll live with Mommy sweetie.”
If anything, she looked more confused. “But... can’t you live with us?”
“I just... I can’t.”
“Don’t you love mommy anymore?”
David closed his eyes as he thought of the woman who insisted he be the one to break the news. “I’m... I’m afraid I’ve fallen out of love with your mother.”
He opened his eyes and gave her a good look. He noticed the tears on the edge of her eyes.
“Now, now,” he said softly. “Don’t cry. You don’t have to cry. It’s going to be fine.”
“But... don’t you love me anymore?”
“Of course I love you,” he said sharply. “It’s just... you’ll be happier with your mother.”
“No!” Maddy yelled. “I’ll be happier with the two of you!”
David pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I wish it could be different but... it can’t.”
“Is it... Is it because of me?”
David pulled back from the hug and looked the girl in the eyes again. The exact same eyes as his supposed best friend. The eyes he’d spent six years pretending he couldn’t see.
“Of course not,” he said, his teeth biting into the inside of his cheeks.