Page 43 of Like Home
“When men are made to feel small, they tend to lash out. Just like a damn dog.” She huffs and stands, giving me a reassuring pat on the back. “It will all work out. It always does. It just may not look how you predicted it would in the end. That doesn’t mean you’re going down the wrong path.” She spends a moment looking down at the still sleeping Emma, her face softening, “Get as much rest as you can on that crappy bed tonight, mama. Let the night nurse take care of your girl. You’ll be on full nurse and mom duty tomorrow.”
“Thank you for your kindness,” I say, patting her hand.
“Of course. We mothers have to look out for one another.” She exits the room as quietly as she entered.
CHAPTER 28
Summer
Ipress play on Emma’s favorite movie and sit back next to her on the couch. We’ve been home for the last couple hours and she’s so much more relaxed here. She was not a fan of all the fuss at the hospital. Can’t say I blame her, poor girl.
She’s taken more catnaps today than she has since she was a newborn. Jared’s mom drove us home from the hospital this morning (which was incredibly awkward for everyone but Emma), and even that short drive has her exhausted.
She snuggles into my side carefully, being mindful of the small surgical sites on her belly. She keeps her eyes on the screen when she asks, “Mommy? Why wasn’t Daddy at the hospital when I woke up this morning?” She hadn’t gotten to the question in the hospital because we were constantly bombarded with nurses and discharge paperwork. Small mercies.
“I’m sorry sweetie. He’s okay, but he couldn’t get to the hospital this morning. I think he’ll be by to see you soon. Probably today,” I reply, feeling like I’m walking over a field of landmines. How do you explain to your six-year-old that her dad is a jerk who got a long-deserved punch in the face without causing any trauma? You don’t.Sigh.
“Whenever you say ‘soon’ it means it’s not gonna happen,” Emma says, finally breaking eye contact with the island princess to look up at me wearily.
I huff out a laugh and say, “Well, ‘soon’ this time just means I don’t have an answer yet, but I’m sure you’ll see your dad either today or tomorrow. I know he wants to see you too.” I gently squeeze her to my side and kiss the top of her head.
She sighs out, “Okay.” And just like that, her attention is back on the screen as the princess sails across the ocean.
I stand and go through the aging sliding door that leads to the small backyard and pull out my phone. Nerves ball my stomach into a knot I can’t untangle no matter how many deep breaths I take. I don’t want to make this call, but I have to.
“Hello?” The voice on the other end of the line is a little nasally and a lot annoyed.
“Jared, hey. How’s your nose?” I’d rather just address the elephant on the line straight away.
“Bad. That asshole broke it,” he says gruffly. I make a noncommittal noise that could hopefully be taken as sympathetic. “What do you want?” he asks.
I count to ten in my head before I answer, not wanting to start yelling again, “Well, Emma is asking about you and I don’t know what to tell her. I figured we should probably come up with a plan.”
“Yeah. Sure. I’ll have my lawyer contact your lawyer and we’ll go from there.”
I work hard to control the panic in my voice, and then say, “Lawyer? What are you talking about?” I was hoping to be the one to contact a lawyer first.
“Yeah, a lawyer. We’re going to figure out custody through a third-party because I’m not going to stand by while that asshole plays daddy to my little girl. Especially not after yesterday.”
“You were the one that was going to punch him first!He acted in self-defense you self-righteous piece of—” I cut myself off before I can stoop to his level.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m the one with the broken nose and a filed police report. Good luck getting custody if you plan to keep him around.”
I feel my heart pound out of my chest, and my ears ring with adrenaline. “You’re going to leverage our daughter against me? That’s how low you’re willing to go?” I sit on the patio chair, pretzeling my legs on the seat. The warm, late May day had felt pleasant before, but now the heat is stifling.
“That’s not what’s happening, Summer. If you continue to have him around her, I have no other choice.” His voice takes on a haughty quality.
“This is ridiculous and you know it. The only time he’s been near her was when he was driving her to the emergency room!” I exclaim, raking my hand through my unkempt hair.
“Call it whatever you want. I’ll be by around four to see Emma. Make sure that boyfriend of yours isn’t around.” Before I can respond, my phone beeps and the call has been disconnected. I pull it away from my ear and stare at the black screen blankly.How much more can I take? How much more before I fall apart and can’t find the pieces?
I peek through the glass of the sliding door to see that Emma has fallen asleep on the couch. As I watch my innocent, little girl rest, I feel my resolve come back. I refuse to go down without a fight. I sit back on my chair and start Googling lawyers around me. I recognize one of my frequent patrons at First Bank of Lakeland and give her a call.
Mrs. Lucas and I chat on the phone for a while before we decide to do a virtual meeting later this afternoon to discuss my needs in more detail. She sounded calm and reassuring over the phone, so I can only hope that our Zoom meeting will put me even more at ease.
I shake my head in disbelief that in such a short period, Jaredand I have gone from co-parenting amicably, to whatever this is. It makes me wonder how much of his ambivalent pleasantness of the past few years would have disappeared if I had been the one to turn away first.
Despite his earlier nastiness, Jared is playing it remarkably cool while he’s here visiting Emma. To be fair, I’ve made myself scarce and stuck to cleaning the bathrooms and kitchen, allowing them to have one-on-one time in the living room. He even got her to venture into the backyard and sit on the porch swing with him.
