Chapter 14
Chapter fourteen
“Addy, get off the floor.”
My daughter didn’t react. Instead, she rolled faster. Not sure how she planned on getting down the steps.
“Adelaine. I said get up and walk. We’re running late.”
Elana tugged on my hand. “I need to go potty.”
I cast a wild glance back at the closed apartment door. We’d finally made it into the hallway. If we went back inside now, all progress would be lost. “You can go at daycare. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”
She groaned, throwing her head back. We made it to the stairs, where Addy had thankfully stopped rolling and was now sliding down on her bottom.
“It would be so much easier if you’d use your legs and walk.”
Addy continued sliding. “I don’t want to go to school.”
I continued pulling Elana along. “Girls, this has been a challenging morning. Don’t push me.”
Both of them looked at me with wide eyes. “But we didn’t touch you,” Addy cried out.
“I didn’t push you,” Elana joined in.
“That’s not what I meant. It means that I’m stressed, and it wouldn’t take much for me to get upset.”
When we finally arrived at the car, I was sweating, Elana was hopping from foot to foot, and Addy was rolling again. I refused to think about how dirty the ground was. It’ll build up her immune system. Hopefully. “Okay, girls, let’s get in the car.”
I wrangled my bag and their backpacks onto the passenger seat so I could pick up my children, since neither of them made a move to get in.
What I wasn’t prepared for when I turned back around was to see Elana squatting on the small—and mostly dead—nature strip in front of the car.
“Elana, what are you—”
She pulled her pants back up, grinning at me. “All done.”
Coming around to the side of the car, she climbed in while I blinked, wondering where I’d taken a wrong turn on my parenting journey. “You’re not supposed to pee in public.”
I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
I dropped the girls off at school and daycare, the car ride giving me a short reprieve between the craziness of my morning and walking into the office.
Since I was running late, I didn’t stop for coffee. Instead, I stumbled inside with my coat half on, one arm in, one out, holding my bag in one hand while attempting to free my hair from where it had gotten stuck in the coat buttons that had somehow ended up over my shoulder.
“Need help?”
Malena didn’t wait for an answer and rescued me.
A familiar laugh sounded from the door. “Having trouble dressing yourself this morning?”
I shrugged at Thad, who was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest, watching us with a smirk on his face.
“If that was the only problem I had this morning, then I’d be happy.”
The grumbled complaint was underlined by the growling of my stomach. I must have forgotten to eat breakfast again.
Thad pulled Malena into his side when she was close enough, and they both turned their attention on me. “What happened?” she asked, leaning against him.
“Addy refused to walk because she didn’t want to go to school. Apparently, the teacher makes her read words.” I feigned shock, and Malena tried—and failed—to hold back her laughter. “And Elana watered the dirt strip in the parking lot because she couldn’t wait until we got to daycare to go potty.”
She grinned. “Must be a Porter girls thing.”
I sighed, sinking into my chair and turning on the computer. “I’m going to ignore what you said since we all vowed to never speak of it again.”
“At least the office should be quiet today. It’s only Thad and me here. Keely is at court all day and took Riley with her, and Vance is in Chicago.”
I didn’t tell her that I already knew where Vance was and nodded. “That gives me a chance to catch up on emails. Holler if you need anything.”
They disappeared down the hallway, whispering to each other. They were still just as in love as when they first got together. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy at the way Thad doted on Malena.
I’d never experienced such devotion.
After a quiet morning, the bell ringing over the door startled me enough that I spilled the water I’d been about to drink. I was wearing a white blouse and now had a see-through spot right on my breast.
Since there was nothing I could do about it, I slid in closer under the desk, hoping I could hide behind the counter. “Welcome to…”
I trailed off when I saw who had come inside. Cockalorum.
“Hank. What are you doing here?”
This couldn’t be about the kids. They were at school for another two hours.
He stopped in front of my desk, studying the flowers that were delivered every Monday, his critical gaze wandering over the business cards. “I want the kids for the next school holidays. We want to take them to St. Barts.”
Stain on my blouse forgotten, I shot out of my chair. “But that’s two weeks.”
I didn’t say that he didn’t even seem to want them for two days. How would he handle having them for two whole weeks? Not to mention that it meant I wouldn’t get to see them for way too long.
“It’ll give you time to do something without them. You could get a haircut. A manicure. Or buy new clothes.” He raised his brows at my tangled mess of hair.
“I would if I had the expendable income.” Jackass.
I should have ignored his comment.
“I’ll pick them up on the first Sunday and drop them back on the following Saturday.”
Hold your pants. Why does he assume that I’ve already agreed?
“I don’t think so.”
“Do you think you have any power here? If I say I want to take the kids on a vacation, then I’ll take the kids on a vacation.
They don’t have to stay with you. All it would take is one look at Addy’s birth certificate and I’d have full custody.
And since I know you wouldn’t want to split the girls up, Elana would follow. ”
For the thousandth time, I asked myself if I’d been temporarily insane when I first agreed to go out with him.
He’d always been cocky. But back then I’d thought it was confidence.
Something I didn’t have and admired in others.
And then the whole mess with Addy. And adding another baby to the already-crumbling relationship.
I am an idiot. One who would now pay for her desperation to have a family. But it was hard to regret meeting him, because without him, I wouldn’t have my girls.
“I was granted full custody.”
“In a divorce that hasn’t even gone through yet. And I can always contest the ruling.”
Something that would not only cost a lot of money but, if he wanted, he could win. Hank didn’t want the kids, so there had to be another motivation behind his sudden interest.
“One week. Otherwise, I will contact my lawyer.”
He rolled his eyes, and a ball of red-hot fury formed in my stomach at the dismissive gesture. “Fine. Whatever.”
He left without a backward glance.
I still stood in the empty reception area long after he’d left, staring at the door, when Malena came back out, a stack of papers in her hand.
“Hey, chiquita, why are you staring at the door?”
I blinked a few times, shaking off the millions of scenarios that had been going through my head that each ended with me losing the girls. “Hank was just here.”
She stopped mid-step, her head tilting to the side. “He what?”
“He wants to take the girls on a vacation. For two weeks.”
Narrowing her eyes, her hands went to her hips, crinkling the papers she was holding. Her short pleated skirt flared out when she cocked her hip, her white blouse tucked in, the small pearl buttons on the front sparkling in the office light. “I hope you told him to get lost.”
“He’s taking them for one week.”
“Mae—”
I held up my hand, dropping ungraciously into my chair. “No. I have to learn to share. And one week isn’t too bad. It’ll give me a chance to catch up on housework.”
She stalked over to me, her raised brows making it clear that she wasn’t buying my bullshit. “You do realize you have rights as well? And you have the best lawyer money can buy. Have you called him to let him know?”
“No. And I’m not going to. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fine. The girls barely know him. You said that they don’t sleep more than a few hours a night on the weekends they spend with him.”
It was a fact that I couldn’t ignore. Every Sunday when they returned home, they were irritable and fell asleep at six. I also knew that they never went to bed before eleven when they were with Cockalorum. “He’s their dad. He has a right to see them.”
She huffed and threw up her hands, nearly smacking herself in the head with the papers she was still holding. “Call Vance.”
She stomped down the hallway, and I couldn’t help but lean back in my chair. “Your skirt looks great, by the way.”
Her muffled voice replied from the end of the hallway where her office was. “Thanks.”
I straightened my clothes, the fitted knee-length moss-green skirt wrinkling easily since it was made out of some silky material I had to iron after every wash. But I loved the way it fit, and it was comfortable too. It paired great with my favorite—and now wet—white blouse.
There was no dress code at the office, but I wanted to make the best possible impression on clients walking through the door. And I enjoyed having a reason to get dressed up again.
The next half hour was as unproductive as watching paint dry. And equally as exciting. I couldn’t shake the fear that had enveloped me at the thought of losing the girls.
My cell rang, making me jump in my chair before I fumbled for it on my desk. The display read “Vance.”
Malena, you traitorous bitch.
“Vance. How are you?”
“Why didn’t you call me as soon as your ex-husband walked in the door?”
I tapped my right foot on the floor in rapid succession, my hands suddenly sweaty. Clutching my phone tighter, I sat up straight. “You said yourself he has a right to see the girls.”
The growl that followed made a lump form in my throat. I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or anticipation of what was going to happen.
“If Hank is doing something that makes you feel uneasy, then I should know as your lawyer. Anything to do with the girls, I need to know, as your lawyer. Anything to do with the divorce, I need to know, as your lawyer. But most importantly, whenever you run into your ex, I need to know, as your friend.” A banging sounded through the line, as if he’d hit something.
“Promise you’ll call next time. Whatever it is, at whatever time. Call me.”
I blinked at my cluttered desk. “I—”
He interrupted me. “No. All I want to hear is that you’ll call me.”
“Okay. I’ll call next time.”
The words slipped out before I had a chance to think about it. How did he always get me to agree?
“Good.”
He hung up.
And I accomplished even less for the rest of the day.
So much for catching up on emails.