Chapter 37
thirty-seven
. . .
Al
I’ve never been so nervous. Not the day I was drafted. Not my first game in the big leagues. Not even when Riley and I got married.
Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Today, the judge will decide if I get to keep my kid. If I’m a fit parent.
Luckily, Emmy doesn’t realize anything important is going on.
She babbles in her car seat as we drive to the courthouse, playing with her bare feet.
I’ve learned it’s best not to fight her on socks or shoes until the last possible moment.
Clothes are a nonnegotiable, especially in this icy, freezing weather.
Riley’s hand lands on my thigh. “It’s going to be okay,” she says. “They’re just releasing the results of the paternity test.”
“What if there’s a mistake? What if she’s not mine?” Panic laces through my veins. “What if they tell us she belongs to someone else? She’s mine. Ours.”
Joanne was supposed to come by to evaluate me with Emmy, but that hasn’t happened. Did she already decide I’m not fit to be a father? Is our case already closed?
“She’s your kid,” she argues. “Even if she’s not yours biologically, which we both know she is, then you still love her all the same. Family is more than blood relatives. It’s the people you choose to keep in your life.”
“Fuck, I love you.” My hand falls to hers on my thigh, squeezing, before I return my focus to the road. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well, hopefully you never have to find out.”
Glancing at her out of the corner of my eye, I ask, “What about in two years?”
The exit strategy. Our plan was to wait a year or two after custody is determined, and since that’s today… the clock’s ticking. Just because we’re together now doesn’t mean she won’t want out.
“I think we can make it work for eighteen, at least until she goes to college.” She pauses. “Unless you wanted another.”
“Another kid?” My heart jumps in my chest, pounding like a brass band.
“I just…”
Yanking the steering wheel sharply to the right, I pull off to the side of the road and throw the car into park. I turn to face her in the cramped car, then take her hand in mine.
“Riley. Are you saying you want to have kids with me?”
“I mean, we already have Emmy. She should have siblings.” She looks away, but my fingers on her chin direct her attention back to me.
“You want to have more kids?”
“She shouldn’t be an only child. It’s lonely being on your own. And you have siblings. She should, too.”
Leaning over the console, I pull her as close as I can before I kiss her. Contentment and excitement hum happily in my veins.
“I would love to have more babies with you,” I tell my wife. “We should start now.”
Riley’s laugh echoes throughout the SUV, keeping me warm and fuzzy inside. “Right this minute?”
The clock on the dashboard taunts me. “Well, no. We’ve got a custody hearing to get to. But after. We should start trying.”
“How about we just practice for a little while?” She threads her fingers through mine. “We can start trying for real after her first birthday. I don’t want two kids in diapers at the same time.”
“I like that plan.”
With one last kiss to seal the deal, I navigate the car back onto the road. In a few quick minutes, we arrive at our destination. My lawyer meets us in the lobby and ushers us to the courtroom.
Because of my status as a public figure, the hearing is supposed to be closed, but as we wheel in the stroller, a ton of people already crowd the gallery.
My stomach twists into knots. I don’t want to be a spectacle.
I don’t want drama. All I want is for my baby to be mine so nobody can take her away from me.
“Alberto!” a sharp voice calls, and I hunch my shoulders as I turn to face my doom.
My eyes widen. Riley’s hand finds mine, and her firm grip grounds me.
Sitting in the gallery are my brother and sister, along with Viv and Chuck Gallagher, and—my parents?
“What are you doing here?” I ask.
“You think we’d miss this?” My father chuckles. “Come here and introduce us to our nieta.”
Granddaughter.
They accept her. Just like that, they accept her as theirs—ours.
Riley steers the stroller in their direction, and I follow her like we’re tied together, a puppy on a leash. I’ll follow her anywhere.
“Hi, I’m—”
My mother cuts her off, tugging her into a forceful hug. “Mija. We know who you are.” Still hugging her, she reaches out and swats me in the arm. “You didn’t invite us to the wedding, Alberto. I had to hear about it from the puck bunny sites!”
“Sorry, Ma,” I mumble.
“We’ll do a big wedding in the offseason,” she declares. “We’ll have the entire family there. Your abuela is devastated.”
“Sorry,” I repeat. There isn’t much I can do or say. I knew there would be repercussions; guilt trips are part of the deal. With any luck, they’ll move on as soon as one of my cousins does something boneheaded.
My mother harrumphs. “Now, introduce me to my granddaughter.”
Riley unbuckles Emmy and lifts her into her arms, preparing to hand her over. But as soon as the baby sees Tony, she squeals in delight and reaches for him. He stands and strolls toward her, hefting her into his arms.
“Hi, princess,” he coos, smoothing her wispy hair. “Did ya miss me?”
She shrieks with delight, kicking her little legs. My mother moves beside him, gazing down at my daughter with adoration on her face.
“Alberto, she’s beautiful,” she says.
“She’s perfect,” Dad adds.
“Yeah, she is.”
The lawyer clears her throat. “We’re about ready to get started.”
I take Emmy back from my brother, snuggling her close. She clings to me, and I know that no matter what happens next, we’ll get through this—the three of us.
Joanne enters the courtroom, and to my surprise, she gives us a nod with a pained smile. That’s the closest we’re going to get to approval.
The judge takes her seat at the stand and calls the hearing to order. I do my best to pay attention, but it’s not until Joanne says her piece that I can finally breathe.
“The State finds that Alberto Gonzales is the biological father, and as such, should have full physical and legal custody.”
We wait with bated breath as the judge reviews the files, but in short order, she declares the matter closed, and I officially have custody of my daughter. The echo of the gavel might be the best sound I’ve ever heard.
Riley tugs me into a hug, squishing Emmy between us. She gives me a soft kiss, so sweet it nearly brings tears to my eyes. She breaks apart first and rests her forehead on mine, the two of us breathing the same air.
We did it. We beat this thing. The three of us are officially a family, and nobody can change that.
This moment feels almost as monumental as the last time we were in the judge’s chambers, when he pronounced us married.
My life is irrevocably changed, and I’m so fucking glad.
I can’t imagine a world without Riley and Emmy in it.
I go to kiss her again, but the baby squawks, and reluctantly, we pull apart.
“I love you,” my beautiful wife says, and no—that is the best sound.
“I love you, too.”
“Come along, Alberto,” my mother calls. “It’s time to celebrate.”