The Wrong Sister by Leanne Davis

watched Tracy often from then on, but made sure to keep it discreet. His interest wasn’t sexual in nature, but rather, sheer amazement. She was so good with kids. That simple revelation was something he never knew before. She always said the right thing, and it was never trite or insignificant. It was heartfelt. She listened to children and easily interacted with them. Every day. All the time. It wasn’t anything special to her. She simply cared for them and wanted to be there. She could take Julia and fix whatever ailed her in less than five minutes, while he and Vickie struggled for over an hour. Donny was as inept as Vickie at first, but he was anxious to learn. For the first three months, Julia cried non-stop while suffering an awful case of colic.
    The only person who could soothe her was Tracy. Hence, that was how Tracy became their go-to babysitter, rather than his own mother or Tracy’s mother. Last year, Tracy started school, and Donny was selfishly annoyed at that. It meant she preferred not to watch Julia. She didn’t ever really want to. He knew that too. As he more fully realized the repercussions of Vickie’s problems, he became increasingly desperate for Tracy’s help, sometimes, even taking advantage of her kindness. He knew, right down to his core, that Tracy would take excellent care of Julia, no matter what. And Vickie would not.
    Now, he found it hard to watch them. He felt like he was watching a bridge implode with the girls on it, and he was standing off to the side, without giving any warning to them. He stared at his own hands and dreaded what was coming. His stomach turned. Never mind his own circumstances, now he had to face his nieces after losing their house and father all in one day? It was excruciating.
    Tracy was the strongest person he knew. She dragged herself out of bed only for them. That was something he was pretty sure Vickie would never do for Julia. Rarely did she even drag herself out of bed to feed her.
    Tracy took in a deep breath and starting speaking in a soft, kind voice. “Dad… he made a mistake. A really, really big mistake. The kind that adults know better than to make. He was supposed to be punished for it. He should have been punished for it. But he didn’t think he could handle it.”
    Ally’s entire face scrunched in confusion. “What did he do? D-did he do it with someone else?” “Do it” was whispered in a shameful tone.
    Tracy grabbed her hand. “No. Do you hear me? No. He wouldn’t do that.”
    “Then what did he do?”
    “He made some mistakes at work. He lost some people’s money, including our own. And he tried to make up for it in ways that are not allowed. Ways he thought would make everything all right again. Instead… it went all wrong.” Tracy paused as she looked from one daughter to the other. With a large gulp, she went in for the kill. “He would have gone to prison for what he did. It’s called stealing. Embezzling. Insider trading.”
    “The police took him away?” Kylie said in a horrified squeak.
    Donny’s heart squeezed. Fuck. This was so wrong . What could have possibly possessed Micah to do that to them? How was Tracy getting through it? The woman who collapsed on him last night was a mess of emotions he doubted she even remembered. The woman he saw before him now? Fearless. A warrior. The way she managed to rally herself for the children, who relied on her, was nothing short of epic. And it wasn’t missed by Donny. Perhaps that was because his own wife could barely change his baby’s diaper. “No. Dad… Dad ran away. He ran off. Instead of doing what was right. He ran off.”
    Stunned silence. Then Ally wailed, “Yes, but where is he?! I want to talk to him! Right now! I want to talk to my dad!”
    Tracy’s face streamed with tears. Her hands shook as she stroked both girls’ hair. Her voice shaking, she continued, “He’s gone, sweetie. As in, he left us. Left the state, I guess. I don’t know where he went.