“She needs us too, Daddy,” Tinley says.
Sebastian lowers her to the ground and lets her go.
Aiylin writes in her journal the new stanza and sits back with her head against the wood-paneled wall.
“Are you very sad, Miss Aiylin and missing your family?” Tinley asks softly.
Her eyes fly open wide, and she wipes away her own stray tear.
“A little bit,” she turns and lets Tinley tuck in beside her. The child touches the guitar reverently.
“I feel that way too. Sometimes, I miss my Mama so bad my heart feels like it has a hole in it. How can you miss someone you’ve never met?” Tinley asks as Sebastian listens from the top of the stairs around the corner. Aiylin sets her guitar against the wall and pulls the child into her arms.
“That’s the flaw of a human heart, Tinley. Our hearts aren’t meant to be hoarded like a dragon’s treasure. They’re meant to be given and shared. Your Mama shared you with the world, and now she’s protected in God’s arms. It’s okay to miss her Tinley.”
“Does the hole get bigger if you don’t share?” Tinley sniffs.
“Yes, so big that it can swallow you up in the loneliness,” Aiylin replies and the ache in her voice cuts him to the core.
“But I’ll tell you a secret, our Lord Jesus died on the cross for us so that we would know everlasting love. The kind of love that never fails us, never deserts us, and never leaves us. I gave my heart to Jesus to protect until the right man came along, and I trust that he is watching over yours too.”
Tinley hugs her, “I will pray and ask my Mama to help both of us.”
“Thank you, sweetie. Now, I need to put my guitar away, and I think I would like to bake some cookies. Do you want to help me?” she asks. Sebastian leaves quickly.
“I think I’m gonna play in my room for a little while.” Tinley skips away leaving Aiylin staring after her.
Slowly, she walks down to the second floor and into her bedroom to put the guitar away. She tucks the journal inside the case, and the guitar follows before she closes it tightly. The sound of him clearing his throat has her turning quickly.
Before she can speak, Sebastian strides over to her and presses a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you,” he says hoarsely.
“For what?” she gasps.
“For talking to Tinley about her mother. May I sit for a moment?”
Aiylin glances into his eyes and nods. Sebastian walks over to sit on a chair near the window seat, and Aiylin follows.
“My marriage to my wife, Ann, was a business arrangement. She was so young, and I thought she’d come around to the idea. I tried everything to romance her, flowers, shopping, traveling. It didn’t take long for her to learn to love my money.” He glances away from her bitterly. Needing something to do, he jumps up and walks over to her fireplace adding a log while he talks.
“I realized too late that you can’t make someone love you. The first time she disappeared was for three months. I told everyone she was overseas.” He stands and paces while she sits quietly.
“She came home different. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. The next few months were better. I told myself that maybe she just needed a break. It wasn’t until she ran out of her special drops that I realized she had a serious problem.”
“What are drops?” Aiylin asks.
“Opium.”
Aiylin’s heart breaks for him. “What did you do?” she asks.
“I took her to our country house and locked her in the room. I hired security to keep her from escaping, and I brought her parents to the house.” He glances up when she gasps.
“Shocked? Why? I was fighting for her life. The doctor’s told me it was the only way. They were right. I spent every day with her, even when she screamed and shouted how she hated me, had never loved me, and had only used me for my money.”
Aiylin closes her eyes against his pain. “After two weeks, she was a different person. We cleaned her up, and she seemed to be recovering. Her parents decided to give us some time alone. They went home, and things were better. I began spending more time with her. When I found out she was pregnant, I can’t tell you…” his voice breaks. “I was so happy.”
She doesn’t try to fight the tears this time. Just lets them flow.
“Ann was thrilled. She was a completely different person. It was amazing. We went home, and she threw herself into preparing for the baby. Designing a nursery, shopping, and I spent as much time at home with her as I could.” His voice fades away as he remembers.
“What happened?” she asks.
“Three months after Tinley was born, she left. She ran to New York with another man.”
Aiylin wipes her eyes and shakes her head at the injustice of it.
“I followed and tried to bring her home, but she refused. She said that I had what I wanted from her, and she deserved her freedom. The divorce papers were a shock, but she said if I fought her, she would take Tinley with her the next time.”
“What did you do?” she asks softly.
“What could I do? Lock her up forever? I thought about it, but the truth was I was afraid she would hurt Tinley, so I let her go. She died of an overdose six months later.”
Aiylin reaches out and takes his hands.
“I’m sorry,
