Remember When by A. D. Ryan Read Free Book Online

Charlie.
    “How about after bath time we come to the living room and snuggle. Then you can show me and tell me all about your day,” I suggested.
    “Okay!”
    We continued to eat our meal, occasionally talking about her day and what she and Grandma had planned for the next day. When we finished, I took our plates to the kitchen to begin the cleanup and grabbed Charlie her ice cream. As she ate, I filled the dishwasher and washed the pot and pan.
    “Please may I be excused?” she asked from the table.
    I looked up and smiled. “Of course. Can you please bring me your bowl?”
    Charlie hopped down from the table and cradled her bowl between her hands as she crossed the floor to me. I put the dish in the dishwasher, turned it on and gave the counter one final wipe-down before turning to her. “All right, who's ready for bath time?”
    Charlie jumped up and down, raising her arm in the air. “I am! I am!” she squealed. We walked upstairs together and I ran her bath, being sure to add plenty of bubble bath as she got ready and climbed in.
    Charlie snatched up her toys and played until it was time to wash her hair. Once she was clean, she played some more until the water was chilled and her fingertips pruned. She pulled the plug as I grabbed her towel, and I bundled her up tightly before pulling her from the tub.
    She held her towel tightly as I combed the tangles from her hair and helped her brush her teeth. Once we finished in the bathroom, I walked with her to her room and stood in her doorway.
    I bent down until I was face-to-face with her. “All right, now. How about you get into your jammies and I will go and do the same? Then, we'll meet downstairs and look at the pictures you took today. Sound good?”
    “Yup!” she exclaimed, darting over to her dresser for her pajamas.
    I went off to my room and got ready for bed before heading back down to meet Charlie for our date. When I entered the living room I saw Charlie sitting on the couch dressed in her two-piece blue flannel pajamas. With her back right against the couch, her little legs stuck straight out in front of her, and as I got closer, I saw she had the camera resting on her lap.
    I snuggled up next to her as I picked the camera up and turned it on. “Okay, so what are we looking at here?” I asked as I started flipping through the multiple images.
    Charlie narrated the entire time we looked at the pictures; my mother wasn't kidding when she said Charlie and Seth had taken hundreds around the house. The pictures were ranging from the fresh flowers on the dining room table, to pictures of Jen reading on the couch in the family room.
    We finally got to the zoo pictures and Charlie squirmed excitedly next to me. “Oh! These are the lions, Daddy! They were neat! There was a daddy lion and a bunch of mommy lions and some babies, too!” she exclaimed.
    We flipped through the rest of the animals, each one more exciting than the last for her, and I hadn't realized we were at the end of her zoo adventure until I flipped to a picture of Cassie and me sitting at our piano.
    In an instant, my mind drifted back to that day; it was one of the last days we were truly happy.
     
     

Chapter 3 | Whispered Promises

    C assie had just hoisted a two-year-old Charlie into her arms and carried her upstairs for bed while I stayed downstairs and finished tidying up the toys scattered about the living room. When everything was put away, I sat down at the piano and started playing.
    I looked up when I heard Cassie's soft sigh, and I melted inside when she smiled. “I love hearing you play,” she said softly as she crossed the room to me, stopping momentarily to grab the camera from the shelf.
    She sat down next to me as I continued to play for her. She pressed a series of buttons and placed the camera on the sleek black wood. She leaned her head on my shoulder and, with a smile, I pressed my lips to her forehead as the camera flashed, capturing that moment forever.
    She picked