Page 63 of Single Mom's Guide to Love

“I know you think the marriage to Vivian was quick, but I want you to know it wasn’t,” he begins. “I’ve wanted to ask her for months. We just sped up some parts.”

I’m glad he’s addressing the elephant in the room. “I’ll admit, I do think it was fast. But as long as you're happy, then I’m happy for you.”

I don’t know what else to say. Does he want my approval or something?

“And she really loves Jayce,” he adds. “You should’ve seen them together this weekend. She wanted to go on every ride with him and take pictures of everything.”

“Great,” I grit out. “Why are you telling me this?”

He lets out a sigh, but it’s the seriousness in his gaze right now that’s making my stomach flip in the worst kind of way. “Vivian and I want primary custody.”

At first I’m sure I’m not hearing him right. I couldn’t have. He didn’t say that. This is a man who just opened a savings account two years ago. I’ve had to beg him to take an extra day here and there to help me out.

I’m waiting for him to start laughing. To tell me that he’s playing an April Fool’s Day joke on me in November. To say thatPunk’dis coming back, and I’m the first victim.

Except he doesn’t. His face is as serious as I’ve ever seen it.

“What do you mean you want primary custody?”

“I know it seems out of the blue, but it’s not.”

“The fuck it isn’t!” I scream and stand up, but quickly remember that Jayce is upstairs and I need to keep my voice down. “Where is this coming from Josh? Never once have you asked for more time, let alone a change in the custody arrangement.”

“Things change,” he says. “I want Jayce in my life.”

“He is!” I yell. I know I need to keep my voice down but it’s pretty hard right now. “And why the fuck are we just skipping past the fifty-fifty compromise of co-parenting and going straight to you having him a majority of the time?”

None of this makes sense. And I want answers, but I can feel myself spiraling.

“Let’s think about it, Maeve,” he begins. “You’ve been traveling a lot with work lately. How long was that last trip? Ten, eleven days?”

“Yes. Eleven with a weather delay. And I asked you to keep him for five. You couldn’t even do that.”

“Because it was last minute,” he defends. “If Jayce is with us primarily, we’d get into a routine. And think about it, Maeve. Then you can travel as much as you need for work. This is really to help you.”

It takes every ounce of strength in me not to throat punch him. I won’t because I’m an adult, my son is upstairs, and I don’t want to get vomit on my freshly cleaned carpet.

But holy fuck do I want to.

“Josh, this doesn’t make sense,” I try to say rationally. “You spent one weekend together as a happy little family and suddenly you’ve got the itch to do this all the time?”

“Give me more credit than that, Maeve. Vivian and I have been discuss?—”

And there it is. The reason my Spidey senses have been going off. “Oh! I see. This is Vivian’s idea.”

“No. It’s not,” he says, though maybe a little too defensively. “Yes, she has mentioned that she thinks we should have Jayce more. But I make my own decisions.”

I can’t keep in my laughter. “Sureyou do. I’m sure getting married on a whim was your idea too. How about her new car? Just think of that out of the blue?”

My sarcasm isn’t appreciated, based on his glare. Good thing I’m impervious to the moods of men. “Listen, Maeve. I don’t want this to get ugly.”

“Ha! Fucking rich coming from the man who’s trying to take my son out of the life he’s used to.”

“But that’s where you’re wrong. Yes, he’s used to being with you and just visiting with me. But is it good for him? What do you think it’s like for him when you travel and he has to bounce around houses? Or has to go to work with you because he’s off school or sick and you refuse to ask me for help?”

He is really saying all of this with the confidence only a mediocre man can possess, and I am not having it. “I’ve asked. More than a few times. You’ve never been able to. And also never volunteered. Your rewriting of history is impressive right now but since I’m not senile, please don’t gaslight me.”

Apparently I’m right, because he doesn’t try to defend those things. Instead he just skips to his finale. “Vivian and I are married now. Jayce should grow up primarily with parents who can back each other up when something happens to the other. A true family.”

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