Chapter Text
“Do you like it, princess?”
Chloé stared at her father, then at the numerous boxes that now littered the foot of her bed. There were necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings – never mind the fact that she’d refused to have her ears pierced only a couple of months prior (she’d cried and begged and her mother had sneered at her and told her she didn’t deserve to be treated like a big girl anyway); never mind the fact that Chloé didn’t even like jewelry in the first place. These were all small, meaningless, childish things a man as important and busy as daddy didn’t have to know.
Chloé stared at all the presents, then at her father.
“Daddy, where’s Mommy?”
His much too big smile faltered for a second, but then he was picking up a box and practically shoving it in her face. “Mommy’s not here right now, sweetheart, but look at all the things she picked out for you!”
The five-year old’s gaze shifted down at the paraphernalia of jewelry boxes once again. She could barely glimpse her white bedspread beneath all the gold.
“You see this necklace, pumpkin? It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Don’t you like it? Don’t you want to try it on?”
Chloé mechanically flipped her ponytail out of the way to allow him to clasp the necklace around her neck, stared at her reflection on her vanity table. The necklace was delicate, a fine gold chain holding a small golden sphere. She kept her eyes on it, refusing to see the tears she knew were welling up in her eyes. She dropped her head so her father wouldn’t see them either. Her vision was getting blurry and all she could see was-
“It’s… they’re all so… golden.” she muttered, fingering the sphere at her throat.
“Nothing but the best for my baby girl.” Her father tried to chuckle, but it sounded wrong and forced. Chloé swallowed the tears like her mother had taught her then lifted her head and forced a smile of her own. “Thank you, daddy. They’re beautiful.”
Her father smiled back then cleared his throat. “I’m glad, pumpkin.” He took her hand in his and looked down at her, and his smile turned sadder. “Now, it’s going to be just the two of us for a while, but I want you to know I will be here for everything you want.”
Chloé frowned as she saw him spiral and ramble. “And from now on, you’ll tell me exactly what that is, okay? Whatever you like. Whatever you want done, or undone, or…”
Chloé squeezed his hand. “It’s okay, daddy. You did a great job. You remembered I liked pretty, golden things.” He looked at her in stunned surprise, and she smiled at him. “I don’t like earrings, though.”
André’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he smiled back at her with a little more sentiment to it, and he picked up the smaller boxes in which the earrings were, throwing them behind his back. “Earrings be gone!” he proclaimed in his official Mayor voice, before reaching over to tickle her. Chloé squealed in delight. Perhaps her father did care about all the small, meaningless, childish things; at least her mother wasn’t there to tell her otherwise.