Page 33 of The Gathered Fragments of Us
"Hey, Jess."
"I need Macy home. Now."
No hello. No pleasantries. Straight to demands. Classic Jessica.
"What's wrong? Is everything okay?"
"Nothing's wrong. I just want my daughter back. You've had her all weekend."
I glanced at the clock. Felicity's flight should be landing soon if my calculations are correct. "Can it wait until tonight? I was hoping—"
"No, it can't wait. Brad's taking us to dinner, and I want Macy there. Family dinner."
Family dinner. The phrase hit like a slap. Since when did Jessica care about family dinners? Last I heard, Brad was the guy who complained about everything related to Macy.
"Jess, Macy was really hoping to be here today. Felicity's coming home from her trip, and Macy wanted to see her before she headed home la—"
"Why’s that? Because you’re putting Felicity over Macy’s interests? Gaslighting Macy into thinking Felicity is some sort of mom to her? I’m her mom. Felicity is nothing but a weekend addition to her life. Enough is enough Caden."
Her words hit like acid, burning through my chest. I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles whitening. "Hey!" My voice cracked, higher than I intended. "That's—" I swallowed hard, tasting bile. "That's completely unfair and absolutely uncalled for."
"You know what Caden, I have a headache right now and don’t have the time or energy for this. Get her ready to come home Caden. I don’t need to defend my decisions."
“Jess, I’m supposed to have her for a couple more hours.”
“You never cared before if I picked her up early. You start don’t now.”
I froze. Did she just trip over her words?
“Ugh. Caden, are you dumb? I said you don’t get to start now!”
What the fuck? I forced myself to cool my jets. She wasn’t completely wrong.
“Look, can we just—”
“No. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone, frustration bubbling in my chest. What the fuck had just happened? I pictured Jessica's face, that tight smile she wore at Macy's fifth birthday when I arrived with Felicity. The same smile from our custody hearing, when the judge granted me weekend visitation. The same smile when she'd "accidentally" forgotten to tell me that Macy's first dance recital was during one of my weekends and I needed to change plans. Now here she was again, yanking the rug out just as Felicity's plane touched down. Maybe it’s time for a co-parenting app.
I climbed the stairs. Macy's door was cracked open, and she was sitting on her bed, listening to music.
"Hey, kiddo."
She looked up, grinning. "Hi!" She looked really happy.
My heart sank. "So... your mom called. She wants you to come home."
The smile fell from her face. "But I thought I was staying until after Felicity gets here."
"I know. I thought so too."
"Can't I just call her back? Tell her I want to stay for a little while longer?"
Before I could answer, her phone rang. Mom flashed on the screen.
Macy looked at me, then at the phone. "Maybe I can tell her now."
