Chapter 39

I pointed to the figure to the side. "If she's angry, how come she's smiling?" I asked.

Erica laughed. "She's only trying to be angry. She's really happy. She just isn't allowed to show it. She has to act sad because Daddy's gone."

I held the picture up, then made a show of hugging it. "It's my very favorite Christmas present. I'm going to frame it and put it on my desk."

Erica climbed up on the couch and hugged me. "Will you hook up my PS3?"

"Of course I will," I told her, returning her hug.

"And I'll start breakfast," Sandy announced. I looked up, and she was wiping tears from her face again. What a roller-coaster of emotions.

It only took a few minutes, and we had the game system hooked up and Erica was debating which game to start with. She barely got it loaded before we were called over for breakfast.

"Mo-om!" Erica pouted.

"It's not going anywhere. You can play after breakfast."

It was surrealistic, sitting there at the table, with eggs, toast and sausage on my plate, a