By the afternoon, our dining room looked completely different.
Pink balloons hung near the windows.
Silver decorations covered the table.
Lenora had arranged matching plates and napkins.
There was another birthday cake waiting on the counter.
Everything looked cheerful.
If someone had walked into our house without knowing what happened, they might have thought Lenora was the most devoted stepmother in the world.
She moved around the dining room, checking decorations and arranging chairs.
She seemed excited.
I watched her from the kitchen.
I couldn't understand how someone could prepare a birthday party for a girl she'd sent outside to sleep in freezing temperatures.
But Lenora acted as if nothing unusual had happened.
She smiled.
She talked about the decorations.
She asked whether I thought the cake looked good.
I answered when necessary.
I didn't argue.
Not yet.
Hallie was upstairs.
She had been quiet most of the morning.
I checked on her several times.
She was resting.
The doctor had recommended that she take things slowly, and I wanted her to have a peaceful day.
At one point, I found her sitting near the window.
She was looking at the backyard.
The camper was still there.
I wondered whether seeing it made her uncomfortable.
"Do you want me to close the curtains?"
She shook her head.
"No, Dad."
I sat beside her.
"Are you sure about having the party?"
She nodded.
"Yes."
"We can cancel it."
"I don't want to."
I looked at her.
She seemed certain.
"All right."
Then she asked something.
"Did you invite Aunt Marlene?"
"Yes."
"Grandma and Grandpa too?"
"Yes, sweetheart."
She nodded.
"Thank you."
I didn't ask anything else.
I was beginning to understand that she had a reason for wanting those particular people there.
I just didn't know what it was.
Around six, the doorbell rang.
It was Walter and Diane.
Evelyn's parents.
They had always been important in Hallie's life.
After Evelyn passed away, they continued visiting.
They remembered her school performances.
They remembered her birthdays.
They remembered the little things.
Diane entered first.
She carried a gift bag.
Walter followed with another present.
"Where's our birthday girl?"
"Upstairs," I said.
Diane smiled.
"Sixteen already. I can't believe it."
I called Hallie.
She came down slowly.
Her grandmother opened her arms.
"Oh, sweetheart."
Hallie hugged her.
Diane held on a little longer than usual.
Then she stepped back.
Her expression changed.
"Are you feeling all right?"
Hallie nodded.
"Yes, Grandma."
Diane looked at her face.
Then at her clothes.
I could see the questions forming.
Hallie had lost weight.
Even someone who hadn't seen her in several weeks could notice.
Diane touched her cheek.
"You look tired, honey."
"I'm okay."
I stepped closer.
"She's been unwell. We're taking care of it."
Diane looked at me.
There was concern in her eyes.
I quietly told her we'd talk later.
I didn't want to explain everything while Lenora was standing nearby.
Not yet.
Walter greeted Hallie with a hug.
He handed her his gift.
Then he asked whether she still liked the old movies he'd given her last Christmas.
She smiled.
"Of course."
That small conversation made me think of Evelyn.
She had loved those movies too.
For a moment, the room felt like it used to.
Then the doorbell rang again.
Marlene had arrived.
She walked inside carrying a gift bag.
The moment she saw Hallie, she put it down.
"Oh, sweetheart."
She hugged her.
It was a long hug.
Hallie closed her eyes.
I watched my sister's face over my daughter's shoulder.
Marlene looked at me.
She didn't say anything.
She didn't need to.
We both knew why she was there.
She pulled back and looked at Hallie.
"Happy birthday, kiddo."
"Thank you, Aunt Marlene."
Marlene handed her the present.
Then she gave me a quick glance.
I nodded.
We would talk later.
Travis appeared from the garage a little while afterward.
He was wearing jeans and an old sweatshirt.
He walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took out a soda.
Then he went back toward the television.
He didn't say much to anyone.
I watched him.
I remembered the night before.
His boots on my coffee table.
His body stretched across my recliner.
The way he had barely reacted when I asked about Hallie.
I wondered how much he'd known.
I wondered whether he'd helped Lenora with the camper.
But I didn't ask.
Not in front of everyone.
Lenora was busy greeting the guests.
She seemed determined to make the evening look perfect.
She offered Diane coffee.
She asked Walter about his drive.
She laughed at something Marlene said.
Then she turned toward Hallie.
"Look at you! Sixteen years old."
She placed a hand on Hallie's shoulder.
"Come on, let's get a picture."
Hallie stood beside her.
Lenora smiled broadly.
The camera flashed.
Hallie's smile was much smaller.
I noticed.
I noticed everything now.
I watched my wife move around the room.
I watched her speak warmly about Hallie.
I heard her tell Diane how quickly the years had passed.
She even mentioned how rewarding it was to help raise a teenage girl.
I stood near the kitchen doorway.
I remembered the camper.
The cold metal heater.
The cord.
The box of crackers.
I remembered carrying my daughter through the back door.
And I wondered how many people would have believed me if I'd told them what had happened.
The party continued.
Walter talked with me about work.
Marlene stayed close to Hallie.
Diane sat beside her granddaughter and looked through the birthday cards.
Lenora seemed pleased with everything.
Then, around seven thirty, she brought out the cake.
It was larger than the one I'd bought.
She placed it on the dining room table.
Everyone gathered around.
There were candles arranged across the top.
Pink and silver decorations surrounded the cake.
Hallie stood beside me.
I pulled out a chair for her.
Lenora began arranging the candles.
Then Travis called from the kitchen.
"Hey, we're out of ice."
Lenora turned.
"There's another bag in the freezer."
"I didn't see it."
She glanced toward the garage.
"Come with me. I'll help you find it."
The two of them disappeared through the garage door.
The dining room became quieter.
I looked at Hallie.
She was staring toward the doorway.
Then she turned to me.
Something about her expression had changed.
She didn't look as frightened as she had the night before.
She still seemed nervous.
But now there was purpose in her eyes.
"Dad?"
I leaned closer.
"What is it?"
"Can you sit beside me?"
I pulled out the chair next to hers.
She looked toward Marlene.
Then toward her grandparents.
They were all gathered around the table.
Hallie reached beneath it.
At first, I thought she was looking for something she'd dropped.
Then she brought out a small white device.
I stared at it.
It looked familiar.
Very familiar.
I leaned closer.
It was an old baby monitor.
The kind Evelyn and I had used when Hallie was an infant.
I hadn't seen it in years.
I remembered buying it before Hallie was born.
Evelyn used to carry the receiver around the house.
Sometimes we'd hear Hallie making little noises in her crib.
Other times, we'd hear nothing at all.
It had been one of those ordinary objects that disappeared into a box when Hallie grew older.
Now it was sitting on the birthday table.
Between the cakes.
I looked at my daughter.
"Where did you get that?"
She didn't answer immediately.
Marlene leaned forward.
"What's that, sweetheart?"
Hallie looked at her aunt.
Then at her grandparents.
"Something I found."
Her fingers were trembling.
She placed the device carefully on the table.
I recognized the buttons.
I recognized the speaker.
Then Hallie pushed it toward me.
"Turn it up, Dad."
I looked at the little volume dial.
For a moment, I didn't move.
I could hear the faint sound of people talking in the kitchen.
I could hear someone moving a chair.
But Hallie was watching me.
Waiting.
I reached for the device.
And turned the volume up.
Click here to continue reading: PART 5: The Baby Monitor Revealed a Conversation That Changed Everything I Thought I Knew About My Wife
I Thought I Was Bringing My Daughter the Best Birthday Surprise, Until I Opened the Door to the Bedroom That No Longer Belonged to Her
Part 4 of 20
