44. Chapter 44
Chapter 44
A thick silence fell over the kitchen for several long moments before David finally responded. “Are you serious?”
Paige nodded.
“Jacob’s never come home with … bruises … or anything like that,” he told her.
“That’s good,” she said, relieved to hear that, even though it didn’t change her mind. “But not all physical abuse leaves bruises. Spanking, for instance. Now, I know a lot of people don’t consider it abuse to spank their kids, but I do, and I bet every kid that’s ever had intentional pain inflicted on their ass does, too, especially if there’s anger behind it. And,” she added, “not all abuse is physical. Emotional abuse is probably the most common form, and can sometimes be the most damaging because of the psychological aspect. It leaves no physical marks, but the impact is huge and can last a lifetime.”
David thought back to how Jacob had looked and behaved when he got home, and took another drink. He wanted to tell Paige she was wrong, because for it to be true was unbearable. But, she wouldn’t have voiced such an opinion if she didn’t think it was true. “Well, fuck. Just … fuck.”
“Right now, it’s obviously just a theory,” she told him. “I know what she’s capable of with adults, but I don’t know for sure if she’d be emotionally or physically abusive to her own child. However, from what I saw this afternoon—and heard—both of them are possible, in my opinion. Something unpleasant is happening to Jacob and it goes beyond the crap that Ashley’s peddling. He may have been ‘fine’ before you decided to break up with Ashley, but I’m positive that his being ‘not fine’ now, has nothing to do with that.
“So, to find out what’s happening, you need to start by taking a hard look into Jacob’s visits with her. If there’s nothing there, then you look in another direction, but I truly believe whatever’s happening is happening at her place, by her words, or her hands. Or … both. It’s making him not want to go there, and it’s making him not want to be separated from you. And you need to find out before he sees her again.”
David exhaled a huge sigh, and was about to respond when a voice in the doorway stopped him.
“I’m hungry.”
Paige and David both froze and looked over to see Jacob standing on the other side of the island.
“You’re supposed to be taking a nap, Little Man,” David told him, going over and picking him up.
“I’m hungry,” Jacob repeated.
David frowned a little, surprised that Jacob would be so hungry only a few hours after lunch. “What did you have for lunch?”
Jacob shook his head.
David frowned. “You didn’t have lunch?”
Jacob shook his head again.
“What about a snack?”
This time, Jacob nodded.
“Well, no wonder you’re hungry,” David said, striving to keep his voice neutral as he set Jacob down on the island. Then, after exchanging a quick look with Paige, he quickly got Jacob a granola bar and a cup of milk. “Here. This should tide you over until dinner.”
Jacob immediately took a bite of the granola bar, and as he washed it down with a sip of milk, his eyes cut over to Paige. She was glad to see his gaze was a little less vacant, but he was still too quiet for her liking. She’d never wanted to do anything as much as she wanted to crush him to her in a hug, but instead, she smiled and said, “Hi, Jacob.”
Jacob looked at her with solemn eyes and returned the greeting. “Hi, Paige.”
As she watched Jacob begin eating his granola bar again, an idea started taking shape. “Actually, I think we should have linner, instead.”
“What’s that?” Jacob asked, looking confused.
Paige pretended to be shocked. “You’ve never had linner?”
“No.”
“Have you ever had brunch?”
He thought for a second, then answered, “Yes.”
“Okay, so, you know brunch is eaten halfway between breakfast and lunch, right?” She waited until Jacob nodded, before continuing. “Well, linner is eaten halfway between lunch and dinner.”
“Oh.”
“I eat linner all the time on the weekends, especially when I’m too hungry to wait for dinner. And you know what? I think I’m too hungry to wait for dinner today. What about you?”
Jacob nodded.
“It’s settled, then.” Paige looked over at David with an exaggerated, skeptical expression. “Wait. Have you ever made linner before?”
David wasn’t quite sure what Paige was up to, but he was pretty good at reading cues. “Um, actually, no, I’ve never made … linner.”
“Well, why don’t I make it, then?”
“You want to make us … linner?”
“Sure,” she answered, glancing from one to the other. “I mean, if that’s okay.”
David leaned down and whispered in Jacob’s ear, who whispered something in return. Then, to Paige’s amusement, the back-and-forth continued for another thirty seconds before David straightened up and announced, “We need to know what you’re actually going to make, before we decide.”
Paige shrugged. “Honestly, I have no idea. It’ll depend on what I find in the fridge,” she answered, even though she was pretty familiar with the contents of the fridge, having been foraging in it for the past few days.
Another back-and-forth whisper-session ensued, although this one was much shorter.
“You can make us linner,” David said, as if having reached a difficult decision. Then, in an aside obviously meant for Paige to overhear, he told Jacob, “If it’s not good, we’ll go to McDonald’s.”
Jacob quickly shook his head, clearly not open to that.
“No?” David was utterly shocked at the response. Like most kids, Jacob loved McDonald’s and never turned it down, especially since getting to go was a bit of a treat for him. “Okay, well, then …” David trailed off and met Paige’s eyes. “Let’s hope linner is good.”
“It’s going to be great, not good,” she corrected him with a reassuring smile. “Now, why don’t you two go and let me work my magic?”
“You sure? You don’t want any help?”
“Nope.”
David decided to take her at her word and whispered to Jacob again, this time quiet enough so that Paige couldn’t hear. When he nodded, David lifted the boy off the counter and set him on the floor, then watched as he left the kitchen.
David pulled her forward for a kiss. “Please … whatever you make, don’t use any Thanksgiving leftovers.”
She chuckled softly since that’s all they’d eaten since Friday night. “I won’t. I have something else in mind.”
“Is it macaroni and cheese?”
The pointed question had her tilting her head. “Should it be?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “It’s his favorite.”
“I can work with that, but I need to know if you’re talking about real macaroni and cheese, or that shit in a box?”
“Definitely not that shit in a box. He’s a total snob when it comes to macaroni and cheese.”
“Hmm, I wonder where he gets his snobbery from?” Paige mused innocently.
“I have no idea.”
He gave her another kiss, this time on her forehead, and when he pulled back, he told her, “I’m going to give Jacob a bath. Is forty-five minutes enough time for you to make … linner?”
“It’s perfect.”