The morning sun was streaming through the windows earlier than I wanted it to. Liam was knocking at my door, talking about his growling stomach. Hadley was crying over the baby monitor and, by the sounds of it, she had been crying for a while. I sprang to my feet and threw open the door, teetering on my feet as I pushed passed Liam.

Melanie’s absence was hanging heavily over this cabin.

I’d tried calling her multiple times but got no answer. She had finally texted me saying she needed a little time and would be in touch soon. I was filled with worry for her as I stood at the stove and fixed breakfast, and my soul felt empty again.

Liam kept asking about her and I knew Hadley was looking around for her. Her head kept turning on a swivel before she looked back at Melanie’s seat at the table and it broke something inside of me. I had to conceal my growing tears from them as we ate breakfast, and then an idea crossed my mind.

We could all use some time out of the house.

Getting the kids dressed, we all hopped into my truck. I got Hadley buckled in her car seat before I got Liam situated in his, then we traveled into town. It was good for us to get out for a bit. The kids had been cooped up because of the snow and part of me hoped that by going out, we might run into Melanie.

For the past two nights, my body had ached for her. I slept lightly, wanting to make sure I heard the cabin door if she knocked. But that knock hadn’t come. I took the kids for a drive and we went through a drive-through. Liam was excited to get ice cream so early in the morning and Hadley was very happy with her squeeze-pouch applesauce. That would keep them occupied while we drove around town, and it would buy me some time to see if I could spot her. I knew where her house was and that in all reality she’d probably gone home, but it felt like too big of an intrusion to show up on her father’s doorstep. Not to mention, if she hadn’t gone home and had gone to a friend’s instead, I didn’t want to panic an old man with a heart issue.

After traveling most of Bozeman and not seeing her car anywhere, I decided to take the kids to the park. Liam was running around with ice cream frozen on his coat while I pushed Hadley in one of the infant swings. She was giggling and clapping and her little legs were just flapping in the wind with happiness.

It was one of those moments I wished Melanie was here to share with us.

“Uncle Evan! Look!”

I turned just in time to see Liam dive headfirst down a slide and tumble out onto the ground.

“That’s awesome, kiddo! Just be careful!”

“I will!” he yelled.

I gave Hadley one more push before I let the swing do the work. I pulled out my phone and tried calling Melanie again, and like always it shot me to voicemail. I left her another message, pleading with her to call me so I knew she was okay.

Then, I went back to spending time with the kids.

They wore themselves out at the playground but weren’t ready to go home. So, running out of ideas, I took them to the library. I got a membership so Liam could pick out a book to check out, then we went up to the second floor to look at the movies they had to rent. Every single Disney and children’s movie I could think of was in their video library, and Liam looked like he was in childhood heaven.

“Do they have Aladdin?” Liam asked.

“You’ve already got that at home. Why don’t you pick out something you haven’t seen yet?” I asked.

“Like what?” he asked.

“How about this. Since you picked out a book, why don’t I pick out a movie? I’m sure they’ve got movies I used to watch as a kid. We could watch it together tonight.”

“Okay,” Liam said. “But it’s gotta be good.”

“I promise it’ll be good,” I said, smiling.

I looked around at all the movies and it threw me back to another time. A time when I was running around outside with my mom while Dad was off working somewhere. Most children would’ve resented their fathers for working all the time, but my father did it a little differently. He never shooed me out of his office if I came to find him and he would always talk me through what he was doing. In fact, he bought me my own little leather chair, so I could sit next to him whenever I wanted to come spend time in his office.

I was always welcome in there, and it was his personal influence and acceptance of me that fueled my desire to run my own business.

I kept looking around for a movie I knew Liam would like while he flipped through the pages of the book he had checked out. I scanned all the titles and etched them into my memory, just in case I needed to rattle them off for Liam before the next time we came. But then, I came across a movie that punched me in my gut.

Beauty and the Beast.

It was one Liam hadn’t seen and one I didn’t even think to own until now. But it was eerily reminiscent of everything that had happened. I was a beast until Melanie stumbled onto our porch. An angry, cooped up, mangled beast who snarled at the world. Then she came charging into my life on the wings of a snowstorm and sassed her way into our hearts.

She transformed me, and all I wanted to do in return was transform her.

I took the video from the shelf and headed for the check-out station. I checked it out while Liam continued to wander around the room, then I grabbed his hand and headed for the elevator. This library was much larger and more kid-friendly than I ever thought it could be, and I was excited that the kids were so fascinated with it.

Maybe it would get us back into town a little more often.

When we got back to the cabin, the kids were asleep. I gathered them up into my arms and laid them down, then went back to fetch the book and the movie. I set them down on the kitchen table for Liam to see when he woke up, and then I sat down on the couch.

The couch that Melanie and I used to occupy.

I pulled my phone out again and tried calling her, only this time it didn’t even ring. Her voicemail popped up and her sweet little voice fluttered over my ear. I closed my eyes and listened to it, trying to grab onto any part of her I could have. I missed her more than I was willing to admit to myself, and I prepared to leave a voice message before I hung up.

But my phone vibrated at my ear and caught my attention.

I had a message from Melanie and I almost dropped my phone opening it. I hung up the phone call and navigated to my texts, my fingertips trembling with each button I pressed. I opened the message and felt relief cascade over my body. Even if it was just four little words, the fact that she sent me the message meant she was okay.

“I’m ready to talk.”