Do I Dream Again

Henrik struggled trying to knock on Kyra’s door while he carried a sleeping Sophia in his arms. After her little breakdown, he had suggested that they go out for ice cream, knowing that Sophia didn’t want to face anyone that was at the dance. She had fallen asleep while he was driving her home, and instead of waking her up to get her inside, he decided just to carry her instead.

He resituated her in his arms so he could knock on the door, and moments later, Kyra opened the door, smiling at the sight in front of her. Henrik walked in, going back to Sophia’s bedroom, placing the sleeping girl underneath the covers before walking back out into the living room with Kyra.

“So, how was it?” Kyra inquired.

“I need to talk to you,” Henrik said, and Kyra immediately began to worry.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Did everything go okay? Was everything alright with Sophia?”

Henrik immediately began telling her everything that had happened at the dance, from Sophia seeing who she thought was Lance to her having a breakdown to her nightmares she had been having. “Kyra, I think you need to get her some help,” Henrik finished.

Kyra looked up at him, confused by his final statement. “What do you mean?”

“I think she needs to go to counseling, see a psychiatrist, something,” Henrik explained. “She’s obviously not over what happened with Lance, and she’s not coping with it.”

“Hank,” Kyra began, but Henrik continued talking.

“She’s having nightmares, Kyra,” Henrik told her. “She needs some help. She shouldn’t be going through what she is.”

“No,” Kyra stated, and Henrik looked at her in shock, unable to believe she refused to even think about getting help for her daughter. “I am not sending my daughter to some shrink.”

“Kyra, I don’t think you understand how bad this is. Sophia was crying because she thought that Lance was going to come to your apartment and hurt her and you. She’s scared, and there’s nothing we can do for her. She needs to see a professional,” Henrik insisted.

“Hank, listen to me,” Kyra said slowly, making sure he was listening. “My daughter is not seeing a psychiatrist. She is not crazy.”

“I’m not saying she’s crazy. I’m saying she needs someone who’s going to help her through all of this. She needs help, Kyra! And, obviously as much as you or I or Sadie or Jon tries, we’re not helping her. She needs professional help. I don’t think it’s uncommon for someone to need help after what she’s gone through. Kyra, she’s not getting over it!”

“I’ll get her through it,” Kyra assured him. “Without her going to see a shrink,” she added.

“Kyra,” Henrik began protesting.

“Hank! She is my daughter, not yours. You’re not her father,” Kyra said, getting irritated at his relentlessness. She wished he would just let it go. She knew what her daughter needed, and she wasn’t going to send her to some psychiatrist and let her believe that she was crazy.

“I feel like I need to fill that father-figure role because she’s got no one else in her life to do so. Her father’s not around, so who else is going to fill the role?” he questioned. “I’m dating you, Kyra. It’s like a given that now I have to play father to Sophia, too,” he said, not realizing what he was actually saying. As soon as the words left his mouth, he instantly regretted them, knowing they were the wrong thing to say.

Kyra narrowed her eyes at him. “It has been just Sophia and me for the last five years, and we’ve been just fine. You don’t need to feel obligated to play father to her,” she practically screamed. “I never asked you to act like a father to Sophia, nor would I ever do that. So, don’t start with all this bullshit about it being a given that you have to pretend to be her father. We’ve been just fine without you, and we’ll continue to be just fine without you.”

“She needs help,” Henrik said calmly, trying to go back to the original point he needed to talk to her about.

“Henrik!” she yelled, and Henrik knew she was furious. “She is my daughter, okay? Mine. I get to make the decisions for her, not you. So stop telling me how to raise my own daughter. I know how to raise her already!”

“Kyra,” Henrik began.

“Stop it!” she screamed. “Just stop it!”

“Mommy!” they heard Sophia cry, and Kyra sighed, knowing that she had woken her daughter up.

“I’ve got to go take care of my daughter, but I believe you know the way out,” she said, making her way down the hallway towards Sophia’s room, not even glancing back at Henrik. She heard the front door shut, and she shook her head at what had just taken place as she stepped into Sophia’s room. “Hey, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” she asked, seeing Sophia sitting up in bed.

“I had a bad dream,” Sophia told her.

Kyra climbed into her bed next to her, and Sophia put her head on Kyra’s chest. “What about?” Kyra inquired.

“Lance,” Sophia admitted quietly, and Kyra leaned her head back against the headboard behind her. “Hank pinky promised that he wouldn’t let Lance hurt you or me,” she continued, and Kyra looked down at her. “Do you think he’ll keep that promise?”

Kyra didn’t know what to say to that. “Yeah,” she said, barely above a whisper. “How about you go back to sleep, though. I’ll stay here with you in the meantime,” Kyra suggested.

“Okay,” Sophia nodded, slowly getting resituated underneath the covers. “Goodnight, Mommy.”

“Goodnight, sweetie,” Kyra said, kissing her on the head as she leaned back against the headboard once again, trying to figure out how to fix everything.

***

“Have you thought that maybe Hank is right?” Sadie asked softly. Kyra had just finished telling her about what had happened at the dance and the fight that she and Henrik had had after he had gotten back to her apartment. “I mean, Soph really isn’t getting better. Maybe taking her to a psychiatrist would be a good thing,” Sadie explained.

“You’re taking his side?” Kyra asked in disbelief.

“I’m not taking sides,” Sadie argued. “I’m just saying that he has a good point. Maybe she does need some professional help. And, Kyra, I think you need to apologize to him,” Sadie continued, and Kyra glared at her. “You know he was only trying to help. He loves Sophia. And, you know that he doesn’t really feel obligated to be a father figure to her. He would do that whether he was dating you or not,” Sadie defended him.

“Sadie, you didn’t hear the things he said to me. He made it seem like I’m forcing him to try to be a father to Sophia. You know that’s not true. I was even worried about him taking her to that dance because I didn’t want him to feel like he had to do it,” Kyra pointed out.

“Listen, everyone’s a little on edge with what happened to Sophia. You both want the best for her, and it’ll be better if you’re with each other than if you’re apart.”

Kyra contemplated Sadie’s words for a few minutes before slowly nodding her head. “You’re right,” she sighed. “I’ll talk to him.”

“Go now,” Sadie ordered. “I’ll watch Sophia,” she added.

“Fine,” Kyra said, knowing she had no reason to say no. She walked out the door, slowly going to her car, wondering if she was doing the right thing. She knew that it was mainly her fault for her and Henrik fighting, but she still couldn’t get past all the things he had said to her without thinking. Was that how he really felt?

Before she knew it, she was sitting in the parking lot outside of Henrik’s condominium. She looked up to see the light in the living room on, and she turned the ignition off, procrastinating. She walked up the stairs, lightly knocking on his door, part of her hoping that he wouldn’t hear it. Moments later, the door opened, and Henrik stood in front of her, dressed only in a pair of jeans. “Hi,” Kyra said, a small smile on her face.

“Kyra, I’m glad you came over here,” Henrik told her sincerely, letting her come inside.

“I came to apologize,” she blurted out. “I’m sorry for acting the way I did. I know you were only trying to help, but I don’t want Sophia seeing a shrink.”

Henrik nodded his head. “I get it.”

“You do?” Kyra asked, unsure of whether to believe him or not.

“I know you don’t want Sophia to go see a shrink. You’re her mother, and you get to make that decision,” Henrik explained.

“I’m sorry for what I said to you about not being her father,” Kyra apologized. “I know that you only want what’s best for her, and I shouldn’t have said what I did.”

“I shouldn’t have said what I did, either. You’re right. I’m not her father, and you never asked me to be. But, I really do only want what’s best for her,” Henrik insisted.

“I know,” Kyra nodded her head. “Can we just go back to how we were? Try to move past all of this?” she asked.

Henrik nodded his head, reaching his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him. “Of course we can,” he assured her before bending down and kissing her deeply.

“Good,” Kyra smiled up at him as they slowly separated, happy that they had settled their little argument. But, in the back of her mind, Kyra still wondered if Henrik really did feel obligated to fulfill the father-figure role in Sophia’s life, and if he had made his true feelings known during their fight.