Well, here I am again, though I said that I would keep my distance from Freya. I would have done so, if she didn’t need me, but she certainly does now. Is it not my role to protect her from those who would use her own kindness against her? But this time, it is not a Fallen who wishes to do this.
Inca was with Freya when she came home from work this afternoon to find that someone was in her house. I came to join them straight away, and both of us were at Freya’s back as she followed the sounds of footsteps into the kitchen. Freya was more angry than anxious, at least until the man lifted his head above the refrigerator door and said, “Oh, hey, baby. You got any wine?”
The anger dropped into a cold stone in her stomach. “Dad?” she said.
Sam Cobb closed the fridge and came across the room to kiss Freya’s cheek, grinning. “Surprise,” he said.
“It sure is,” she answered.
I studied the man, and I did not like what I saw. Externally Sam and Freya are much alike—Freya inherited her father’s height and smile, and her famous red hair came from him, though his has now been lightened by gray. But while there is depth to Freya’s gaze and feeling behind her smile, Sam is little more than a brittle façade of amiability over a hollow frame. There is no ambition in him, no unselfish kindness—he wants nothing more than to drift on the easy currents of life. It’s no wonder that he left his marriage and his family, for such things require hard work to maintain and Sam simply does not have that capacity.
“Sorry to drop in on you,” he said. “I would’ve called, but I had to switch phones a couple weeks ago and I didn’t think you’d recognize the number. You won’t mind if I crash here for a while.”
Freya noticed, as did I, that that was not a question. “What happened to the RV? And Cecile?”
“Oh, we had to go our separate ways,” Sam said, waving his hand. He went back to his rummaging in the fridge, bringing out some tomato and lettuce to add to a half-made sandwich on the table. “So I figured it was a good time to come see my baby girl. Just in time for the holidays, right?” He gave her a sparkling smile.
“Just in time,” Freya murmured. Seeing that he was going to finish off the vegetables, she swung the fridge door shut behind him. “Does that mean you’re going to come with me to Mom’s house?”
In the middle of licking off a spoon, Sam made a face. “You know how Esther is, honey,” he said, tossing the spoon into the sink. “I’d just ruin her party. I thought you and I could have our own dinner here—you know, simpler, but still nice. What do you say, just the two of us, huh?” He picked up his sandwich and gave Freya a lopsided hug with his free arm.
Looking up at her father, Freya felt a deep pang, a feeling that has lived in her for some time. She wants to be close to this charming, handsome man who has been so elusive in her life. And while she knew that he was unlikely to have changed from what she has learned him to be, still the child’s hope was hard to crush in her heart.
“That would be nice, Dad,” she said, and she meant it.
He gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek and sailed into the sitting room. He took a large bite of the sandwich as he flopped onto the couch and groaned with pleasure. “I see your mom taught you how to make her egg salad,” he said. Then he patted the cushion beside him. “So come on, tell me about your life. You finally get that promotion? And who’s the flavor of the month right now—is that Greg still hanging around?”
“Oh, lord, Dad, Greg was years ago. Could you be thinking about George, maybe?”
“George, that’s it! You still with him? You seemed to really like him.”
“No, he’s actually engaged to my best friend now.”
“What? And you’re okay with this?”
They continued to talk, and Freya slowly eased into a sense of complaisance, even happiness at her father’s presence. Seeing this, I said nothing, but I was uneasy. It is clear to me that Sam does not know his daughter and that he is only here because it was the easy thing to do. But how does one make it clear that someone who is so loved and so closely connected does not return those feelings?
I will keep close watch over them both in the days to come. Maybe a solution will come to me then.