Siblings' Quest |Phineas and Ferb Story|

Part Eight: Endless Letters

July 13th, 1999

"Candace, honey." Linda spoke softly as she opened the door to her daughter's bedroom. As she entered the light pink room with stickers and glitter overwhelming the walls, she took notice to the six-year-old sitting at the bay window, hugging her knees while lightly sniffling. "Candace? Baby, what's wrong?" She asked, furrowing her brows in concern.

Candace lifted her head and looked at her mother with a red tearstained face, "I miss Daddy."

Linda's heart nearly shattered at those words. She only just realized that Father's Day was weeks ago, and it was getting harder and harder to keep the secret from her innocent little girl. How many more excuses could she make before her daughter began to grow suspicious?

"I know, sweetie. I know." She said as she made her way over to her daughter. She picked her up and sat down at the window, setting Candace in her lap. "But your father's a busy man, he can't be home like he used to be. Trust me when I say he really wishes he could be here."

That technically wasn't a lie. Her ex-husband had been sending countless letters to her through the mail, mostly addressing financial issues or updating her on where he was staying. But for the most part, he was repeatedly asking if there was any chance he could come back to visit, just to see Candace. But Linda had been ignoring every single one.

Candace sniffed and looked over at her Ducky Momo plush on her bed. "Why can't he?" She asked with a pout, "Why can't Daddy get a new job that doesn't take him away from us?"

"That's just the way it is, honey." Linda sighed, then groaned softly and put a hand to her bloated belly. "God, I can't wait to get this baby out of me." She mumbled to herself.

Candace looked up at her, "Mommy, why do you have to have another baby? I don't even want a brother!"

Linda sighed, "We've been over this, Candace."

"I know." The little girl frowned, bowing her head. "Will Daddy at least come home when the baby's born?"

Linda blinked and frowned wearily. She knew the answer. Even if her ex wanted to come, she wouldn't have it. She was trying to get that man out of her life as quickly as she could. And it didn't help that Candace kept asking about him every ten minutes.
But she could understand that the change was going to be difficult for them. And with a new baby on the way, due in the next week or so, it was only going to get harder from here.

She just hoped with all the excitement of a new addition to the family would take Candace's mind off of the disappearance of her father.

—

March 2nd, 2001

"Candace, honey! Time for bed!" Linda called out from down the hall, as she was placing her baby in his crib. Thankfully, he rarely cried at night, so she and Candace were always able to fall asleep peacefully.

Candace began to speed up her writing in her little journal from Christmas. It was pink and purple with sparkly sequins shaping the letter C on the front. She loved writing in it, mostly about inside jokes with her best friend, Stacy, or about funny things that happened at school.

So that's it for tonight. I hope tomorrow will be better. She wrote, closing up her entry. P.S. I hope Dad comes home soon. Phineas is already learning stuff like the alphabet and I think he needs to see that.

She quickly closed the book, just in time for her mother to walk through the doorway. "You all ready for bed?" Linda asked her curiously.

Candace stood up, revealing her long princess nightgown and grinned to show off her brushed teeth. "All set, Mommy!"

Linda smiled and tucked Candace in, wishing her sweet dreams as she turned on the nightlight. She then left the door halfway open and walked down the stairs to lock up the house. Even if it was early, she was exhausted and wanted to sleep. Plus, she had to drive Candace to school the next day.

"Oh shoot, I forgot to get the mail earlier." She thought aloud, walking over to the front door. She hurried outside and grabbed the mail from the mailbox. As she observed the envelopes in her hand, she walked back into the house and locked the door behind her. She took notice to the bills and threw out the catalogues.

But then she saw one letter with a familiar return address. Linda was getting so sick of seeing his name on a letter every few weeks. She only read and kept his letters in case she needed evidence to get some sort of restraining order in the future.

She opened the envelope and walked back upstairs to her bedroom, scanning over the paragraph in the letter. She turned on the closet light and reached up to grab the shoebox. Honestly, if she kept receiving letters from him, the box might not even hold it all.

With a heavy sigh, Linda gently placed the letter atop the other items, and set the lid over the box to enclose the secrets inside.