The Man my Daughter Chose

elcomed guest - bright, insistent, and entirely too earl

st the glass surface of my nightstand, rattling like it

who'd been performing surgery until well

rom John. H

London tonight

ring me the agony of his presence with his u

n't pla

ed back into my pillow, pull

d I would be required to carry on my

for

determined footsteps

and my five-year-old daughter made her entranc

she owned it, which I found both

figure framed in the doorway like a

clutching Sir Reginald Flopsy - her long-suffering stuffed rabbit - by one floppy ear

her your aunty nor your nanny is around?"

limbed onto the bed and sat on m

you think I'm

me," she said wi

th that level of

d curl away from her face. "One day, yo

tirely unfazed.

en, hair twisted by a heatless curler, A thin,

the sleek marble countertops in a soft glow. The quiet hum of the espre

efficiency one acquired after years

winging under the stool, conducting an

oice serious. "Do you thi

her, eyebrow arche

s wear fancy dresses and go to balls, but that sounds kinda boring if you d

out of castles so much," I sa

hted. "They just wanna wear comf

at pan

I'd cracked a code. "Do you th

to hers as I considered her. "

ped open in ou

hrugged. "And princesses probably

ed. "Eve

ey can't wear hello kitty pajamas to breakfa

n contemplation. "That s

better off staying h

th this alternative. "Okay, I w

ea

Messages upon messages poured in nonstop

got off some hours ago, but Mr. Russo called in not too long and sa

a few consultation sessio

n the other hand, had finished her pancakes with impressive speed and

my pink dress today," she announc

nimpressed. "Sir Reginald ha

hing the rabbit to her chest lik

ed earlier the dramatic

om

, not a royal ball. You have u

to her room with the slow, tragic steps of a child

a long-winded debate on what I couldn't even understand. I let her carry the convers

her tiny hands pressing into my cheeks to hold me s

brow. "What

a dramatic little shrug. "

se. "Go. You're

er friends. I waited until she disappeared into the building before pulling

orning had settled into its usual rhythm. M

in an hour. Also, Dr. Lewis ne

ed at my watch.

e main desk earlier. Wanted to confirm y

d you te

in surgery an

d an

ed. "Figure