Her Second Act

Chapter Three

The note was haphazardly placed on the bed, just beside the baby's crib. Enola was asleep in the crib oblivious of what had happened.

Peter picked up the note and his face turned red, he started to sweat all of a sudden.

He couldn't even believe his eyes. He had to drop a letter, walk back to the door and then back to their bed. And to his utmost surprise, the note was still there, he picked it up and the words were still the same he had read.

He just wanted to be sure he was wide awake.

“Paula, oh Paula, dont do this pls…”

He looked at the letter again:

“Dear Peter.

I am so sorry but I have to follow my heart. I have to pursue my dream. This is my life and I have to take charge of it. I could've left since I gave birth to your child, but I had to wait this long because of my love for you.

I cannot wait any longer. Please, do not bother looking for me. As I would be fine. I am going in pursuit of my dreams.

Love,

Paula.

Peter held the note in his hands and read it over and over. He wanted to be sure of every word written therein.

He was confused. His heartbeat raced faster. His shirt was all soaked by now. It felt like the world had come crashing down on him.

“What exactly was going through Paula's mind before she wrote this? How long had she been thinking about this and he never suspected?”

Peter had one thousand and one questions buzzing like bees in his head, with no single answer to any of the questions.

He stood transfixed to the floor.

Then, his face went to the peacefully sleeping baby in the crib.

The baby stirred in her sleep and gave a little smile that looked like she knew exactly what had just happened and wanted to encourage her father, through her smile.

The smile instead reminded Peter of Paula. Enola smiles just like her mother. She had Paula's blond hair and round chubby face. .

And his heart ached at the thought of Paula walking out of their lives.

He thought of how he would raise Enola alone.

Although he had been taking care of her alone even while Paula was around, but it was easier as he had been hopeful that one day, Paula would come around and assume her position as a mother.

Peter sat on the floor with his back to the bed and his hands holding his head. He was so lost and confused.

He looked at the sleeping child in the crib and his heart went out to her.

“Enola, I promise to take care of you with all that I have. I promise never to leave you. I will stand in and become all that you will ever need as a mother and as a father.” Peter went closer to the crib and held the child in his arms.

Then he sat again on the floor with the child still in his arms and began to weep.

“How did I allow myself to be so blinded with love that I never saw this selfish and heartless side of Paula?” Peter asked himself.

“How could one be so ambitious at the expense of her family?” The questions kept pouring in.

He began to feel like he actually never knew Paula. He had not taken time to study her and know how deep her ambitions ran.

“I thought I had found love. I thought I had succeeded in building a home I never had while growing up. But instead, I have only succeeded in bringing up a child almost the same way I grew up.” Peter thought to himself with tears streaming down his face.

Enola grew up to be a lovable child. She was also very peaceful. Her father wasn't so stressed raising her alone. She was her father's delight.

Ten years had gone by, and Peter still missed Paula. The agony she had caused him was still very fresh in his heart. He still hoped that one day, she would come back to her senses and return home.

He had refused moving from the same house for fear of Paula coming back and not being able to find them. He had also refused remarrying even when he really needed a female hand to raise his daughter.

But with each passing day, weeks, months and years. It was becoming obvious that Paula was not coming back. There was no blink of her.

It was a hard pill to swallow. Peter remembered how he had traveled all the way to Seattle to get her to New York with him.

He remembered the first time he saw her at the Inn. Their first night together in his hotel room when he was there on a business trip. The memories kept flooding in.

He had so loved and entrusted his life in her hands so much that, when she left, everything came crashing down on him. He was hopeless and helpless.

Peter became depressed. He was not his usual self anymore. He felt like a failure. He felt that he failed his daughter by not giving her the mother and life she truly deserved.

When Enola turned 14, Peter was diagnosed with dementia. Enola became the one looking after her father. She was young but she was smarter than her age. She knew her father was not well and was prepared to take good care of him. She loved her father more than anything else in the world.

She would cook, clean and prepare herself for school. She looked after herself and her father as much as she could.

The dementia worsened. Peter was laid off from work as he could no longer handle basic things he used to do effortlessly. He forgot things more easily.

To make matters worse, he would often leave the house without Enola knowing and she would search every nook and cranny of places they had been to together. She would eventually return home after long hours of fruitless search, though hopeful that he would have returned home before her.

Her father would return later in the evening with no clue where he had been.

Enola was a strong girl but there were times she broke down and cried. She hated to see her father the way he was. She hated that there was nothing she could do to help him.

Days, and weeks went by. Enola soon grew up and turned 16. She was growing into a beautiful young lady. But one could see the depth of sadness in her eyes.

She went to school every morning, came back home and either looked after her father or looked for him on the streets.

One fateful day. Enola returned home from school and her father was nowhere to be found as usual. She was a bit relaxed that he would show up in the evening.

But, it started getting really late and her father never showed up. Enola went out in search of him. She walked as far as her legs could carry her but there was no sign of her father.

“Father, Father” Enola called out to him on the streets. But there was no answer.

Enola stayed at the bus stop till it was very late and there was no one in sight again. She went back home hoping to find her father there, but still, he hadn't returned.

By morning, Enola went to the police station to seek help in searching for her father.

“Good morning sir, please, my father is nowhere to be found.” She had said as soon as she got into the station with tears streaming down her face.

“When was the last time you saw him?” The cop asked. Looking unperturbed.

“I saw him yesterday before I left for school. And I got home later in the evening and couldn't find him in the house. I searched everywhere for him and still couldn't find him. Please, help me find my dad.” Enola had begun to wail, her eyes were puffy having cried all night.

“Tell us more about him, please” the cop asked, seeing how sad she was.

“He has been Ill for a while now. He would sometimes leave home and come back in the evening with no clue where he had been. But he had never stayed out overnight.” Enola explained.

“We would look into it. Don't be too sad, your father will return home.” The cop replied. Although still unbothered. The cop believe it was just a minor case and her father would return home.

“Do you have any family you can stay with till we find your father? We would also need you to be in a place we can reach once we find him.” The cop asked her.

“Yea, I have a distant uncle I can stay with.” Enola replied, then she wrote down the address to her uncle's place.

A call was made ahead to her uncle, informing him of Enola coming to stay with him till her father was found.