Gone

Part 8

Chapter 8

"Hey pumpkin. You're up" She said to the little girl that was coming down the stairs to the living room, rubbing her eyes for the fact that she had woken up from her nap "Come here" She picked her up to sit on her lap and Camilla placed her head against the woman's chest.

"Is Daddy here already?" the little girl asked making the woman look down at her.

"No, not yet. Do you want to watch some cartoons?" She asked her trying to prevent the child from keep asking questions about her father. Camilla nodded against her chest. The woman leaned over to the table center to grab the control remote so that she could change to the cartoons' channel. They watched it with Camilla giggling every once in a while and then she lift her head and looked at the woman.

"Mommy, I'm hungry"

"Okay, let's eat then" She said getting up and carrying the little girl on her hip towards the kitchen "Do you want anything in particular?"

"What is particular?" the girl asked with a confused look on her face making the woman laugh a little at her.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I sometimes forget that you are only three. I meant if you want to choose what you will eat." She said sitting the little girl on a chair by the kitchen table.

"No, not really" Camilla said getting on her knees and putting her elbows on the table

"Okay" the woman responded and started to prepare a bowl of fruit, cereal and yogurt, chatting with kid while doing it. After a while, she noticed that Camilla had a sad look on her face. "What's wrong baby girl? Are you sad?" the girl nodded in response "Why is my baby sad?"

"I want to see my Daddy" Camilla said starting to whimper.

"Oh baby, you will see him soon, okay?" She walked to the other side of the kitchen to comfort the little girl "Don't cry, okay?" She kissed her temple and wiped her tear, and Camilla nodded "Come on, let's eat." She held her hand out to help Camilla out of the chair and they walked back to the living room.

Camilla was eating and watching cartoons kneeling on the carpet and sometimes getting up to sit on the couch, while the woman was pondering to make the little girl a little bit happier. And she decided to do it. She took the cellphone that was on the center table and dialed Alex's number. She placed the phone near her ear and waited for the other line to start ringing, when she heard Alex' voice she muted the call to speak to Camilla without being heard by him.

"Camilla I have someone that wants to talk to you, but you to promise me that you won't answer any of the questions that they ask you, okay?"

"Okay, I promise" the girl answered and then the woman un-muted the call and put it on speaker mode "Hello" Camilla said

"Camilla?" she heard a man's voice but didn't recognize it at first until she heard it again "Where are you baby? Who are you with? Where are you?" she looked at the woman standing beside her, widening her eyes so big in surprise and having an even bigger smile on her face, which made the woman smile too.

"Daddy!" She said jumping in contentment "Hi daddy, I miss you" she giggled for being speaking to the man she had been wanting to see since they left her house.

"Camilla tell daddy where you are okay? I will come there right now" she nodded her head as if he could see her "Where are you?" she opened her mouth to answer him but then remembered the promise she had made to the woman standing beside her, and looked up at her. The woman shook her head as no to Camilla's silent question "Baby where are you?"

"I am not supposed to tell where we are, Daddy" she said and looked up to the cartoon that was on because it had caught her attention, and then she giggled at it "You can't find us?"