Page 145 of Blue Gold

“Blue Gold?” Elliot asked, his magnificent eyes shining so bright.

“Indeed.”

“Why blue if it’s purple?” he chuckled.

“I absolutely have no idea.”

Pure sadness gripped my heart, and once again, I was left in utter hopelessness. While I was here, he was out there, hurting. I’d promised to protect him at all costs, and yet, I failed miserably. My Blue Gold vanished overnight, leaving me with nothing but memories and pain I didn’t even know was possible to experience, so much so that a flower made me want to weep like a child.

“Here,” Maya said, before placing something in my hand.

I looked down to see a small ladybug.

“Oh,” I said, my eyes slightly teary.

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?”

I bent down to be eye level with my kid. “She really is.”

“I like her dots.” She pointed at the bug. “They make her different from all the other bugs.”

“I guess you’re right.”

“Why are you sad, Daddy?”

Surprised by her question, I looked up from the ladybug to meet her blue eyes.

“Why would you ask that?” My voice came out tight and full of worry.

“Because you’re sad. I can see it.” She looked back at the ladybug and gently stroked it with her small finger. “We can invite Elli to play with us if you want.”

My heart just about stopped, and I gaped at her.

“Elli?”

She nodded before taking the ladybug from me. “Mommy said he’s your friend now.”

Shocked, but also overwhelmed, I continued to stare at my daughter.

“She did?”

“Yes.” Maya nodded, then carefully placed the ladybug back in the flower bed. “We can call him and ask him to make us pancakes.”

I chuckled, a genuine smile stretching on my lips for the first time this week. “Pancakes?” I nearly cried out the word.

Turning to face me, Maya hummed a yes. “He makes the best pancakes. Not like you.”

I pretended to scowl as I swallowed down my tears. “What do you mean, not like mine?”

Taking one step closer, she poked my nose. “He doesn’t use the box stuff.”

“You mean the pancake mix?”

She nodded, and the smile on her cute face made my chest bloom with so much love. I then reached forward and hugged her. Without a second to doubt, she wrapped her small arms around me and hugged me back. And as I breathed her in, I understood what she was doing—comforting me. It brought tears to my eyes because, honestly, the last few weeks had been so hard that I didn’t even realize how much I lacked this.

“So can we call him?”

Tightening my arms around her, I hugged her harder, breathing her in. If this little angel still had it in her to love me this way, who was I to disappoint her?