by Tawna Fenske
“I think you just hit the nail on the head,” Miriam said. “What separates the good guys from the shitty ones is whether they even notice when they screw up. Whether it bothers them when that happens. Because let’s face it—they’re all going to screw up.”
“All of us,” Jason agreed cheerfully, swiping at his beard with a napkin. “How’s Henry handling things, anyway?”
“You mean with Ty not being around?” She shrugged. “He’s asked about him a couple of times in the last week. I guess it’s a good thing it was still so new. Henry only knew him as someone I worked with, so he’s not reading too much into it.”
“Ty was good with Henry,” Miriam said. “Regardless of what the dumbshit thinks, I have eyes. I saw them at that ball game together. Ty might not have had a lot of finesse, but he was kind and genuine. Kids pick up on that.”
“For sure.” Ellie took a sip of tea, wishing her heart didn’t ache with the memory of Ty and Henry together. “Speaking of Henry, did I tell you what he did?”
“Brought a vibrator to show-and-tell?” Jason suggested, earning a swat from Miriam.
“Of course not,” Miriam said. “You know she keeps that stuff under lock and key.”
“I know,” Jason said. “And I’ve been trying to find the key.”
Ellie rolled her eyes and picked up her fork again. “Henry signed me up to speak during career week,” she said. “I had no idea he’d done it until his teacher left a voicemail this morning trying to nail down a date.”
“Yikes,” Jason said. “Is she expecting you to give a demo of the different kinds of lube?”
Ellie shook her head. “She has no idea what I do for a living. All she knows is that I’m in sales. I haven’t had the heart to call back and explain things.”
“Yeah, that seems like it would be better as an in-person conversation,” Miriam agreed. “Plus, you can offer her a free Happy Jammer couple’s vibe so she’ll be more understanding.”
Ellie gave a dry laugh. “That’s exactly what I need. A reputation as the mom who gives sex toys to her son’s teacher.”
“What are you going to do?” Jason asked.
Ellie shrugged and swirled her fork through a puddle of dressing. “Mrs. Colt asked me to meet with her Tuesday morning before class starts,” she said. “I’ll explain things then, I guess.”
Miriam nodded and dabbed her mouth with a napkin. The baby kicked again, jolting her whole body this time. She looked up at Ellie, eyes wide with excitement. “Did you see that?”
“I did,” Ellie said, remembering what it was like when she was eight months pregnant with Henry. Back then, Chuck had cupped her belly in his hands and given Henry a pep talk about not hitting and kicking.
Her throat tightened. Chuck might be an asshole for leaving her. He might be an even bigger asshole for trying to get out of paying child support.
But as Jason rubbed Miriam’s belly, cooing softly to the baby inside, it occurred to Ellie that she owed it to herself and to Henry to grab the asshole by the balls.
She threw down her napkin and glanced at her watch. “Do you guys mind hanging out here for just a second?”
Miriam looked up, her expression curious. “What’s up?”
“I need to make a phone call.”
Jason nodded then went back to rubbing Miriam’s belly. “No problem, El,” he said. “No matter what, we’ve got your back.”
“Thank you,” she said, hopeful for the first time all week. “I know you do.”
…
Ellie glanced at her watch as she stepped into the quiet hallway outside the café restroom. She pulled out her phone, grateful she had another thirty minutes until Henry finished swimming lessons. This wouldn’t take long, and even if it did, Jason and Miriam would look after her son.
Knowing that—and realizing that no matter what, she was a strong, single mom who could protect her own kid—gave her the strength to hit the speed-dial number she hadn’t called for almost a year.
“Hello?”
“Chuck,” she said, a little surprised he’d answered.
“Ellie.” He sounded as surprised as she did.
She cleared her throat and pressed her back against the wall, steeling herself for the conversation. “I’ve gotten your letters,” she said. “And the texts. And I had my lawyer look over everything.”
“El,” he said in that vaguely patronizing tone she’d always hated. “What’s with the lawyer? We agreed when we split up that we’d handle it ourselves. That we didn’t need the courts telling us what to do.”
“Actually, no.” Ellie tucked a strand of hair behind one ear as she struggled to keep her voice calm. “We didn’t agree to that at all. That was your idea. Just like abandoning your wife and son was your idea. Just like failing to provide for his basic needs was your idea.”
There was a long pause, followed by a sigh. “Ellie, be reasonable. I shouldn’t have to stay in a job I hate just to support my kid.”
“You know, that’s where you’re wrong.” Ellie’s fist clenched at her side, and she reminded herself it would hurt like hell to punch the wall. “That’s exactly what you should do. That’s exactly what a father does. Or you should find a new job while you continue chipping in for your son’s medical bills.”
“Money isn’t everything,” he said in a patronizing tone that made her want to rip his hair out.
“It’s not, you’re right,” she said through gritted teeth. “But it sure comes in handy for school lunches and dentist visits and shoes to replace the ones he’s outgrown.”
“Ellie—”
“And in case you’re forgetting, you’re the one who pushed to have a child in the first place.”
“I’m not forgetting.” His voice was filled with irritation, and Ellie guessed he maybe had forgotten. “It’s just—look, what the state calculates I’m supposed to pay is nuts. It’s way too high.”
“It’s actually the bare minimum,” she pointed out. “It’s what the state has determined a living, breathing, gainfully employed father should contribute toward feeding and clothing and housing a child he chose to bring into the world.”
“Right, but I hardly ever see him,” he said. “I just think—”
“Whose fault is that?” Ellie interrupted as fire flared in her belly. “Who chose that, Chuck? Certainly not Henry.”
Her ex sighed again. “You know my schedule is crazy.”
“What I know is that our son is the number one priority. Always. That’s what you signed on for the day you tossed my birth control pills in the trash and said, ‘let’s make a baby.’”
“Ellie—”
“What I know is that being a dad requires more than sperm donation,” she interrupted, tired of him not getting it. “If you don’t want to show up and take him to ball games or teach him to bodysurf, that’s fine.” Her heart twisted a little as she remembered Ty doing those things. As she pictured Henry’s grin when Ty showed him how to make a lion face.
But this wasn’t about Ty. This was about Henry, and about Ellie knowing how to stand on her own two feet.
And right now, she wanted to plant one of them in her ex-husband’s ass.
“Look, I’m more than capable of molding our son into a decent man on my own,” she said. “And I’m also not going to be the one to tell him his father’s a raging asshole. But I want you to think long and hard about how you want your son to regard you twenty years from now. Will he remember you as they guy who forgot birthday cards and couldn’t be bothered to call him at Christmas? Or will he remember you as a guy who made an effort—even a tiny one—to make sure he was okay?”
She let the words hang there for a moment, giving him time to consider. To make the right decision. “Which will it be, Chuck?”
On the other end of the line, her ex was silent. When he cleared his throat, Ellie braced herself to do battle again.
“Wow,” he said. “I didn’t know it meant that much to you.”
“Damn righ
t, it does.”
“Okay, then. I…uh…I’ll crunch some numbers. And, um—would it be okay if I called Henry on Sunday just to say hi?”
“You can call him anytime,” she said. “You know that. All I want is for him to know he’s loved. That even if you’re not perfect, you give a shit about him. That’s what matters.”
“Damn,” he said. “What’s gotten into you?”
Ellie took a calming breath, surprised to see her hands weren’t shaking. That she felt relief instead of anger. “I’m standing up for my kid, Chuck. This is about me. And him. And making sure he has the sort of A-plus parenting he deserves.”
And with that, she hung up on her ex-husband.
Chapter Seventeen
Ty turned away from the computer monitor and looked up at his sister. “What do you think?”
Anna’s eyes glittered with tears. She wore a bright pink sweater and a polka-dotted scarf that she used to dab the corner of one eye as she slid off her chair.
“It’s amazing,” she said, leaning down to hug him before Ty made it to his feet for a proper embrace. “I never knew my big brother was so talented.”
Ty patted her back, awkward and out-of-sorts. Their late-in-life connection meant he and Anna were still pretty new to displays of affection, and it felt odd to be sitting in his office after work accepting hearty praise and hugs from his half-sister.
Odd, but nice. Since he hadn’t slept well all week, Ty would take all the nice that was offered to him.
“I’m glad you like it,” he said as Anna let go and slid back onto her seat. “Can’t say I’ve ever done a digital wedding invitation before, but I think it turned out pretty well.”
“It’s wonderful,” she said, tucking a dark strand of hair behind one ear. “Thanks for working around my crazy schedule, too. You’re sure it’s okay to do this in your office?”
“Positive,” Ty said. “One of the upsides of being a partner.”
“I’m proud of you, big brother. You’ve come a long way.”
“We both have.”
She squeezed his hand, and something pinched tight in the center of his chest. Human contact was nice, even if it was his sister.
Ellie had emailed yesterday with a breezy note about finding a different space to rent for her after-hours parties. “Thanks for everything!” she’d signed off at the end, the finality of it making Ty ache all over.
“Seriously, Ty.” Anna took a sip of the kombucha he’d handed her, which made his throat squeeze the way it did every time he heard Ellie’s voice in those damn commercials. “Thanks for doing this. I can’t ever repay you.”
“Sure you can,” he said. “Save a dance for me at the wedding.”
“That I can do,” she said.
Ty leaned back in his chair grateful for his sister’s company. “Martin is a great guy.”
“I know. I’m lucky to be marrying him.”
“He’s the lucky one.” He hesitated, not sure it was his place to ask the question that was on his mind. “You think you’ll have kids?”
“Definitely! Actually, we’ve already been trying—”
“Aaaah!” Ty held up his hands and pretended to cover his ears. “I don’t need details.”
She laughed and gave him a swat. “You’ll be a great uncle.”
Ty winced but tried to hide it. He couldn’t think of anything to say, so he turned back to his monitor and made a quick adjustment to the sound on the video.
“I keep meaning to thank you for the other thing you did.” Anna’s voice was softer now, and Ty could guess what she meant.
“The engagement photos?” He toggled to Photoshop and pulled up the series of images, unexpectedly uncomfortable with the change in conversation. “I’m not really a still photographer, but I think they turned out pretty nice. If you want, I’d be happy to—”
“I was talking about Dad,” Anna said. “About heading him off so he wouldn’t show up on my doorstep.”
“Right.” Ty nodded, not sure what else to say.
“You have great instincts,” she said. “I probably would have let him waltz right back through the door and into my life. Hell, I would have invited the asshole to the wedding.”
“There was no way for you to know he planned to shake down your new husband for half-a-million bucks.”
“No, but you did. Well, not the specifics, but you were guarded enough to be suspicious.”
“Yeah,” Ty agreed, not sure that was necessarily a trait worth bragging about. “I just know you don’t deserve that sort of crap in your life.”
He looked back in time to see her smiling, her face bright and open and grateful. “Well,” she said, “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but it must have been pretty good.”
Ty offered a hollow smile in return, not feeling much like the good guy. He cleared his throat, eager to change the subject. “I can do a little more editing on this last series of imaging. If we wanted it to be perfect, I’d just need to—”
“I don’t want it to be perfect,” she interrupted. “That’s not what marriage is about. A few flaws give it character.”
“Character,” Ty repeated, not sure he understood. But she was the one getting married, not him. Clearly, she’d figured out something he hadn’t.
“So, you’re okay with next Tuesday for the tux fitting?” Anna asked.
“I can make that work.”
Anna stood up, beaming, then bent to kiss him on the forehead. “Thanks again, Ty. For everything.”
“My pleasure. Want me to send you a link for the video and the photos?”
“That would be great. Actually, will you copy Martin, too? Let me give you his address.”
Anna reached across him to grab a sticky-note pad then bent low to scrawl the email. Ty tried to scoot back but hit the corner of his desk, so he was stuck with his sister leaning awkwardly over his lap.
Naturally, that’s when Miriam walked in. She froze in the doorway, eyes wide with surprise. As she started to back up, Ty held up a hand.
“Miriam, this is my sister, Anna,” he said. “Anna, this is the boss lady, Miriam. She owns the company.”
“Oh!” Anna stood up and hurried across the room, hand extended in greeting. “It’s so great to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Likewise,” Miriam said, even though Ty was pretty sure he’d never said Anna’s name to her. Being tight-lipped about his family had its downsides. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I can come back another time.”
“No, it’s fine,” Anna said. “I was just leaving. Great meeting you!”
She stooped down to give Ty one last hug then scurried out of the room. Miriam watched her go then turned back to face Ty. “I hope I didn’t chase her off.”
“Nah, she really was leaving. She just stopped by to see the engagement video I made for her.”
“I’d love to see it sometime,” she said, easing onto the barstool Anna had just vacated. “But first, I have some good news.”
Relief sloshed in Ty’s veins. Miriam had been nothing but professional since his split with Ellie, but he’d sensed a prickliness just the same. It wasn’t anger or wrath or anything like that. Just a hint of disappointment mixed with the occasional look that said, man, you messed up.
Or maybe Ty was projecting.
“What’s the news?” he asked.
“I had lunch today with Bob Weisinger. The marketing director for Great Wolf Lodge?”
“Oh yeah?” Ty gestured at his phone. “I had a voicemail from him an hour ago, but it was too late to call him back by the time I got it.”
“He was calling to tell you that you won the RFP,” she said. “We got the job!”
She held up her hand for a high-five, and Ty gave her palm an obedient slap. The gesture reminded him of his last high-five with Henry and the fact that he hadn’t seen the kid for over a week.
It made him a lot sadder than he thought it would.<
br />
“That’s great,” Ty said. “Congratulations!”
“Why the hell are you congratulating me? You’re the one who landed the job. This is your first big win since we launched Speak Up.”
“You’re right,” Ty said, annoyed to realize he felt hollow. It was his video with Henry and Ellie that had clinched the deal, and he knew it.
“He loved your video,” Miriam said, reading his mind. “He kept talking about how it wasn’t just a bunch of pretty images. That you showed a connection to the subject. That you brought the viewer into that connection and made it real.”
A hot ball of lead wedged itself in Ty’s throat, making it hard for him to breathe. He tried anyway, taking a few gulps of air and hoping Miriam didn’t notice.
No such luck. She stared at him a moment then folded her hands over her bulging baby belly. “Do you mind if I speak frankly for a second?”
“Go right ahead.” Like she’d ever needed permission.
Miriam took a deep breath. “What in fucking hell is wrong with you?”
Ty flinched, feeling his throat pinch around the lead ball. “What do you mean?”
“Spare me, Ty. We’ve worked together for more than six years. Let’s be honest.”
“Okay.” He folded his hands on his desk and tried to look professional. “I care about Ellie and Henry a lot. I want what’s best for them, and you do, too.”
Miriam shook her head a little sadly. “It sounds like a bullshit line, but I can tell you mean it,” she said. “That’s the really depressing thing.”
“Miriam, with all due respect, you don’t know me that well. I know how much it sucks to get attached and then lose someone,” he said softly. “And I know it’s easier to cut things off before that can happen.”
She didn’t respond, so Ty looked up to see her studying him with something that looked like pity. “I think you underestimated Ellie’s feelings for you,” she said. “And I think you really underestimated yours for her.”
“Maybe.” He took a shaky breath, not sure how much he should share. Did it matter at this point? “You don’t know the backstory here. You don’t know about my childhood and the sort of shitty personality traits it left me with.”
