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Who would help her now that he was gone? Who would be her rock to lean on when the black rin and say, Come on in, Lina-ballerina …?

Daddy

She thought of the phantom that was her father, the man she’d dreamed of for years, waited for, prayed to, and believed in She needed him now more than she’d ever needed him

I want him to love you, Lina I want him to want you, but I’m afraid … I’m afraid he’ll break your heart

When she’d heard the words, Lina had known it was the truth Her mother was afraid he’d break her heart And maybe he would It was iirl fantasies of a perfect father anyhtening the world could be

Lina sniffed and wiped a flannel-sleeved ar nose This man as her father could hurt her She understood that now and knew her mother’s fear was real

But maybe he could save her, too

She wanted that to be true, wanted it so badly, she felt bruised by her need She was so achingly lonely, and her mother’s love didn’t seem to help She needed her father to open his arms to her and take her into his house, to ask about her life and listen Oh, God, just listen …

She’d lost Francis, and all she had left was her daddy

She would ranted, as she’d done with Francis With her daddy, she’d be perfect and witty and lovable So lovable he’d cry for the years he’d lost

It had to be possible

Because if it wasn’t—if he truly didn’t want her—she didn’t think she could survive

Angel dreaain It inter this ti, and the sky was a brilliant shade of blue

Like Francis’s eyes …

And suddenly he was in an eht strea shards of e statue of the Virgin Mary, carved of white marble, stared down at him, her arms folded protectively around a swaddled bundle