Page 37 of Make Me

His jaw drops, and Laura cranes her neck to look at him. Her husband won’t meet her gaze, so she turns back to me.

“I did my time.” He mumbles the words while looking down at the floor. “And I haven’t done anything since I’ve been out.”

“You didn’t know your husband is a convicted felon? He did eight years for fraud, so if I were you, I’d be careful,” I say to them both. “And you.” I point my finger at Laura. “You’ve put Laci through enough. Instead of being there for your daughter, you forced her into a loveless marriage.”

“What are you going to do about it?” she asks. “I don’t have a record.”

“No, but I’m in construction. I’ll bury your body where no one will find it.” She gasps loudly and tries to move away from me, but I hold on to her elbow. Again, her husband does nothing while I manhandle his wife. “This is your last warning,” I say before I let go of her elbow. She stumbles and rubs her arm.

“I thought I was doing the best thing for her,” she says. Tears fall down her face, and her husband offers her no comfort.

“No, you didn’t. No one is that stupid, lady. Remember what Laci said? You’re a chameleon. You do whatever it takes to fit in with the man you’re with. This one just happened to have found God in the pen. And look, he’s about to leave you just like all the other men you chose over your own flesh and blood. You’ve burned your bridge with your daughter and sister. You do know this house doesn’t belong to your husband, right? It’s in his sister’s name. You’ll be out on your ass soon. Good luck.” With that, I walk out of the house and return to my car.

The ride back to my downtown hotel is fraught with traffic and holiday shoppers. By the time I get to my room, I’m exhausted and famished, but all I want to do is talk to my girls.

I grab my phone and FaceTime Laci.

“Daddy!” Ivy screams. Sam barks in the background, and I think I hear a meow from Midnight.

“Hey, Ivy.” I smile for the first time in hours at the sight of my daughter’s face. “Where’s Mama?”

“Mama sweeping. She say she tired.”

“Mama’s sleeping?” It’s barely eight o’clock in Michigan, and Laci never gets in bed before ten-thirty. Ivy is usually bathed and in pajamas by now, but she’s wearing a spaghetti sauce-stained tee shirt. Even her mouth is orange with sauce.

“Who is there with you, Ivy?” Someone grabs the phone, and the tired face of Aunt Mae fills the screen. She smiles, but it’s not the happy smile that I’m used to.

“Hey, Cooper,” she says. “I’m just about to get Ivy in the tub. Ivy, honey, why don’t you go wait for Aunt Mae in the bathroom? Go ahead and get undressed for Auntie, okay?” I don’t hear what Ivy says, but when Aunt Mae looks into the phone again, her fake smile is gone.

“What happened?” I ask Aunt Mae.

“This is how she gets whenever things kick off with her mother. She’s been distant with me all week.” I nod at her and run a tired hand over my face.

“I’m coming home.” I’m dreading the three-hour drive, but I’m needed at home.

“She’s going to push you away,” she warns.

“She already has. She’s been doing it all week, and I’ve had enough of it. What do I do, Aunt Mae? I’ve tried to give her time and space to snap out of it, but she’s only retreated further away from me.”

“Do what you’ve been doing. Let her know you’re not going anywhere. Now, hurry up. I’m going to put Ivy to bed before I head home. Laci is off tomorrow, so make sure she sleeps in.”

All thoughts of being hungry and tired flee as I check out of the hotel. I ignore the odd looks coming from the woman behind the front desk, the same one who checked me in only minutes ago.

The ride home is a blur, and by the time I turn down our sleepy street three and a half hours later, I’m exhausted, and my shoulders are tense from all the pressure.

It’s been five days, and each day, Laci has withdrawn further. It was a mistake to give her time to bounce back. I won’t make that mistake again. She needs me now more than ever. The porch light is on, casting a low light to the house. A feeling of foreboding hits, but I pull out my key and open the door.

Sam greets me, and I see she dragged her doggy bed in front of the door as her way of protecting our girls. I scratch behind her ears, and she gets on her hind legs, putting her front paws on my stomach. She follows me to the kitchen, and I give her a snack.

After making sure the front door is locked, something I never did until Laci and Ivy came into my life, I walk down the hall and slowly open Ivy’s door. She’s holding onto a stuffed Minnie Mouse, fast asleep. I close the door and tiptoe to the master bedroom.

Laci is in the middle of the bed. She always ends up in the middle of the bed. She confessed to me one night that she’d never shared a bed with someone every night before I came along. Her husband had slept on the couch most nights, and after Ivy was born, he slept there every night.

I quickly undress, too tired and hungry to bother with any pushups tonight, I climb into the bed and take Laci into my arms. She moves around restlessly, doing her best to get out of my arms, but I hold her tight until she settles down and resumes her sleep.

But her sleep is not very restful. She moves around most of the night, thrashing in the bed. She even hits me square in the face with the back of her hand sometime during the night.

I finally fall asleep with my arms holding her securely in place. I’m awakened hours later when I feel little hands on my face. When I open my eyes, Ivy is sitting on top of me, giggling.