Chapter 6: Strawberries
1296 Words
Saturday morning, I was woken up by Vivi’s little foot in my face.
She’d climbed into my bed at some point and sprawled sideways, her toes pressed right against my cheek.
“Vivi…”
“Mommy, wake up!” She kicked a couple more times. “When is Daddy coming?”
I fumbled for my phone, half-asleep. It was only seven-thirty.
“Two o’clock. Still early.”
“How much longer?”
“Six and a half hours.”
Vivi counted on her fingers for a while, couldn’t figure it out, then ran off to shake Jay. “Brother! Daddy’s coming this afternoon!”
Jay rolled over, pulled the blanket over his head, and grunted a muffled “mm.”
I closed my eyes, trying to sleep a little more, but my mind was a mess.
Kael had messaged me yesterday asking what the kids liked. I answered. Then he asked, “Are you doing okay?” I didn’t reply.
Doing okay? What does that even mean? Raising two kids alone, working, cooking, putting them to bed — day after day after day. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t exactly bad either.
Just… tiring.
I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow.
Forget it. Don’t think about it.
---
At eleven, I took the kids to the supermarket.
Vivi sat in the shopping cart. Jay pushed the handle, acting like a little grown-up.
“Mommy, can we get strawberries?”
“Sure.”
“Does Daddy like strawberries?”
I paused. “…I don’t know.”
“Then what does Daddy like?”
“I don’t know that either.”
Jay looked up, frowning. “Mommy, how come you don’t know anything?”
I crouched down and looked into his eyes. “Because Mommy and Daddy have been apart for a long time. There are things I don’t know either.”
“Then why did you separate?”
I was quiet for a few seconds. “…A misunderstanding.”
“Is the misunderstanding cleared up now?”
“Sort of.”
“Will he leave again?”
My heart clenched.
“No,” I said. Then I added, “…Probably not.”
Jay nodded and didn’t ask again.
But I felt a little unsure inside. Because I wasn’t certain either.
---
As we came out of the supermarket, my phone buzzed. A message from Kael.
“Vivi likes strawberries, Jay likes dinosaurs. You told me before. I remember.”
“Yeah.”
“Anything else? Like what are they afraid of?”
I hesitated, then replied: “Vivi’s afraid of the dark. Jay’s afraid of thunder.”
“Got it.”
“Don’t buy anything too expensive.”
“Okay.”
I added, “And don’t buy too much.”
“Okay.”
I stared at the screen. He replied quickly, like he’d been waiting.
---
Kael sat in his study, a sheet of paper spread in front of him, covered in notes:
Vivi. Four. Strawberries. Bunnies. Pink. Afraid of the dark.
Jay. Four. Dinosaurs. Blue. Blocks. Afraid of thunder.
He stared at the words “afraid of thunder” and remembered being scared of thunder himself as a child. Back then, his mother would hold him and cover his ears. She was gone now.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
His phone lit up. Luna’s message: “Don’t buy too much.”
He smiled. “Okay.”
---
At two o’clock, the park.
I sat on a bench while Vivi and Jay chased pigeons on the grass. The sun was warm, the breeze light.
In the distance, a black car pulled up.
Kael got out. He wore a dark blue shirt, sleeves rolled to his forearms, carrying a paper bag and a gift box.
He walked over slowly, like he was afraid of scaring anyone by walking too fast.
“Luna.”
“Yeah.”
“Am I late?”
“No. Right on time.”
He handed me the bag and box. “For the kids.”
I opened the bag. Inside was a box of strawberries and several small cups of yogurt.
“Strawberries for Vivi. And yogurt — two flavors. Didn’t know which one they’d like, so I got both.”
Inside the gift box was a dinosaur model, very detailed.
“For Jay.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
Vivi spotted Kael first, squealed, and ran over. “Daddy!”
Kael crouched down, and she threw herself into his arms. He stood up, holding her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing so hard her eyes turned into crescent moons.
Jay stood a few steps away, clutching his old teddy bear, walking over slowly.
Kael crouched down again and looked at him.
“Jay, here.” He handed over the dinosaur model.
Jay took it, looked down at it, then looked back up at Kael.
“Daddy.”
Kael’s eyes reddened. “Yeah.”
Jay finally threw himself into Kael’s arms.
I turned my face away and pretended to look at my phone.
---
An hour later, Vivi was tired. She fell asleep against my leg. Jay was still playing catch with Kael.
Kael sat on the grass. Jay stood farther away. The ball arced through the air. Kael caught it and threw it back. Jay missed. The ball rolled away. He ran to pick it up, laughing loudly.
I watched them, and something inside me softened little by little.
Maybe the kids really do need a father.
But another voice asked: Do you need one? Can you really let go of the past and choose to forgive him?
I didn’t know.
---
In the evening, Kael drove us home.
Vivi was already asleep. Kael lifted her out of the car, moving gently. She stirred, mumbled “Daddy,” and fell back asleep.
Kael’s eyes reddened again.
Jay got out on his own and stood beside the car, looking up at Kael.
“Daddy, will you come again tomorrow?”
Kael glanced at me.
“Daddy has something to do tomorrow,” I said.
Jay lowered his head.
Kael crouched down and looked into his eyes. “Next Saturday. I promise.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
Jay held out his little finger. Kael hooked it. Then Jay turned and ran inside.
Kael stood up and looked at me.
“Luna, thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. I did it for the kids.”
“I know.” He paused. “But I still want to thank you.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Drive safe.”
“Okay. Get some rest.”
He turned, took a few steps, then stopped.
“Luna.”
“Yeah?”
“That box of strawberries… it’s for you.”
I blinked.
“Vivi’s share is inside, but the one on top — that one’s for you.”
He said it, opened the car door, and left.
I stood there, still holding the paper bag.
The strawberries were bright red, fresh. The top box was separate, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
I picked it up. Underneath was a note.
“At that banquet the other night, I saw you take several strawberries. I don’t know if you still like them. No other meaning.”
I stared at the note for a long time. I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel.
My phone buzzed. A message from Kael: “Home.”
I didn’t reply.
I put the strawberries in the fridge.
Took a shower. Lay down on the bed.
Tossed and turned. Couldn’t fall asleep. His face kept floating through my mind.
Finally, I got back up, opened the fridge, took out a strawberry, and bit into it.
It was sweet.
---
- Writer
