Red Side of the Moon

XVI

Around nine o'clock the next morning, I heard someone knock on our hotel door. I rolled out of bed and trudged over to open it up. I pushed my mop top out of the way to greet who ever it was.

"Morning, sunshine," Phil beamed.
"Luna!" I called.
"Yes, dad?"
"Daddy's here."
"Yay!"

She hopped off the desk chair, completely abandoning her coloring book, to meet Phil at the door. Phil fell to his knees to give her a tight hug—he kissed her cheeks several times before standing back up.

"I'll have her back by five, okay?" he said as he set her on his hip.
"Yeah, fine," I mumbled.
"You're more than welcome to come with us... I hope you know that..."
"No, it's fine."
"Dan, come with us. I miss you," he whispered.
"Have fun, guys," I sighed as I closed the door.
"Daddy," Luna said.
"Yes, princess?" Phil said as he headed for the elevator.
"Why is dad mad at you?"
"Don't focus on that right now, okay? Let's focus on having a good day. Does that sound good?" She nodded in response. "Awesome." He kissed her temple before stepping into the elevator.

***

I began tapping my foot in anticipation. It was nearly six o'clock and Phil still wasn't back with Luna. I fucking knew I couldn't trust him. As I tried calling his cell phone for the seventh time, I heard a knock on the hotel door. I swung it open and immediately snatched Luna up in my arms.

"You have a show to get to," I snarled.
"Thank you," Phil replied.
"Whatever."

I slammed the door and got Luna dressed for the show. She was in a yellow dress with embroidered daisies lining the bottom and neckline. There was a white ribbon tied around her waist and I matched the whole outfit with a white pair of shoes.

For her hair, I pulled her bangs back and stuck a barrette in to hold it in place. I placed a kiss on the top of her head before picking her up and holding her on my left hip. We walked down to the lobby where there was a car waiting to take us to the theater.

Once everything was taken care of, I got my wine and Luna got her snacks, we sat in our seats and waited for the show to begin. After about ten minutes, Luna started tapping my arm.

"Dad, where's daddy?"
"Getting ready for the show. He'll be on stage soon, okay?" I mumbled.
"Okay..."

Luna sat in her chair and kicked her legs back and forth as we waited for the show to begin. The lights eventually went down and the overture began to play. Luna and I contently watched the show—anytime something licentious happened, I either covered her ears or eyes, depending on the situation.

When the show was over, the company gathered on stage to do their bows. At the very end, Phil stepped forward and started waving to everyone. Luna got up from her seat and started waving her arms and cheering—I lazily clapped as I watched over Luna.

"Hi, everyone!" Phil smiled. Everyone either cheered or said hi back. "I would just like to thank my wonderful husband for bringing our daughter, all the way from London, to come see this show. It really means the world to me." He blew us a few kisses and waved. "I love you both very much."

The whole theater started clapping and cheering for us—I couldn't help but cower in my seat. Luna continued waving and laughing as she tried getting his attention.

Once the lights in the theater went up, I grabbed the happy toddler and hurried towards the exit of the theater. We tried finding our driver and eventually were off back to the hotel. On our drive, we noticed it started down pouring, thundering, and lightning.

Luna clung to me and started whining—she was never a fan of lightning. As the driver pulled up to the hotel, I took off my jacket and draped it over Luna's shoulders. Once we were out of the car, I held the jacket over her head so she wouldn't get wet—she ran into the hotel and made a b-line for the lift.

"Luna," I groaned.

I followed her up to the room where I gave her a quick bath and got her ready for bed. Once she was tucked in for the night, I kissed her forehead and noticed it felt a little warm. I took it upon myself to go down to the lobby and see if that carried any cold medicine—I wanted to be sure in case anything happened.

I made sure she was sound asleep before leaving the room. I grabbed my phone, wallet, and the room key before heading for the lift. As it went down, I started humming to myself—then I was jolted across the elevator floor.

The lift stopped moving as the emergency lights went on. My eyes widened as my breathing picked up immensely. Beads of sweat dripped down my face as I shakily reaches for my vibrating phone.

"H-Hello?" I stuttered.
"Are you guys okay?" Phil asked. "Power went out at the theater. We have a generator, I really hope you guys do too."
"Phil," I whispered.
"I mean, it'd be crazy not to have one!"
"Phil!" I cried.
"Yeah?"
"The powers out and I'm stuck in the lift..."
"What?"
"I'm–"
"Where's Luna?"
"In the room..."
"She's alone!"
"Phil–"
"I'm on my way."
"No, it's awful outside. It's not safe."
"It's safer than our four year old daughter being alone!"
"Phil–"
"She is currently in a foreign country, alone, Daniel. I-I can't believe you!"
"I was just going to the lobby to get her some medicine. I think she is sick. I was just trying to help our daughter!" I sobbed.
"I'm still coming down there."
"No, Phil–"
"I don't give a shit if you don't want to see me. You need help to get out of the lift and Luna needs someone to be there with her. I am showing up."
"Phil–"
"Be there soon."
"Phil–"

End Call.

"Damnit..."