by Beth Rinyu
“Good morning, Jack!” I could feel the smile stretching across my face.
“Oh, and hello, Kathryn.” Everyone else called her Kitty, but when Jack talked about her, he always referred to her as Kathryn.
“Jack O’Maley. I see you still love to flirt with the beautiful women.”
“Jack, please let me get you some coffee.” I looked at him pleadingly.
I got up and fixed him his coffee the way that he liked it. He took Ella from her high chair and covered her in kisses. “So, Jack, how’s life been treating you?” Kitty asked.
“Pretty good, and yourself?”
“Can’t complain. I see your wife must be a better cook than I was. Looks like you put on a few pounds.”
“Anyone is a better cook than you, Kathryn,” Jack retorted with a smile.
“Well, when you’re trying to raise two little ones without any help, there’s not much time for cooking, is there?”
Oh my God, were they seriously going to hash out something that happened years ago right here in my kitchen? “Here’s your coffee, Jack.” I came in between the two of them, trying my best to break up their bickering.
“I’m just going to go lie down for a bit, Nicole. Being up at four a.m. is taking its toll on me,” Kitty said.
“Great seeing you again, Kathryn.” Jack smiled.
“Lovely to see you as well,” Kitty said half-heartedly as she walked off to the bedroom.
Jack smiled and shook his head. “How are you dealing with - ?” He pointed his chin in the direction in which Kitty had just walked off.
“I’m dealing, I guess. I just wish Dailan was around a little bit more to help take the brunt of some of her comments.”
“Where is he?” Jack asked.
“Oh, he’s working,” I sighed.
“On the weekend, again?” Jack asked.
“Yeah, it’s that huge case that he’s trying to get everything together for.”
Jack looked at me sympathetically. “What’s going on with that case? I never hear from him anymore.”
“Yeah, neither do I. I see him for maybe an hour a day. Last night was the first time that he actually had dinner with us in weeks.”
“Oh, well, it’s got be over soon, right?”
“I hope so.”
Ryan came into the kitchen dressed in his bathing suit as I got up to answer the knock on my door. “Hi, Grace,” I said to my mail lady.
“Good morning, Nicole. I have a certified letter here for you.” I looked down at the return address of the letter that I was holding in my hand: The Law Office of Preston Jacobs. My hand was shaking as I signed the certified slip. My stomach was churning as I tore open the envelope: Complaint for Custody/Partial Custody/Visitation. I felt like I was going to throw up. I hadn’t heard anything in the past few weeks regarding this matter, leading me to believe that Jonathan had given up on his quest.
I was frozen, unable to move from the doorway. “Nicole, we’re going to get-.” Jack began to say as he and Ryan approached me. “Ryan, take your sister and keep her busy in the living room for a few minutes.”
“But I thought we were leaving?” Ryan complained.
“We are. I just want to talk to your mom really quick.”
“Are you okay?” Ryan asked as I tried to wipe the tears from my eyes as quickly as possible.
I nodded. He took Ella from Jack and went into the living room. Jack wrapped his arm around me and we walked back in the kitchen. I handed Jack the letter and burst into tears. “What’s this all about?” Jack asked.
“So much for sleeping. I think I’ll just try having another cup of tea,” Kitty said as she walked into the kitchen. “Nicole, what’s the matter?” I explained to them how I had run into Jonathan when I was with Ryan.
“Well, why would he want to have anything to do with him after all this time, when he denied even being the father?” Jack asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know. He says that his dad is dying and he wants him to meet him. His parents were awful to me when I was pregnant with Ryan. I don’t understand why he would want to meet him. I can’t do this to Ryan. I can’t. I swear, if I have to take him away somewhere so he doesn’t have to be subjected to this, I will. He has been through way too much in his life.” I began to cry once again.
“That bastard!” Kitty shouted.
“Does Dailan know about this?” Jack asked.
“Well, not about this.” I pointed to the letter in Jack’s hand. “But we had received another letter about a month ago. He said not to worry about it; they don’t have a leg to stand on.”
“Well, Nicole, if Dailan is telling you not to worry about it, then don’t get yourself worked up over it,” Jack said, trying his best to calm me down.
“I know, but you have no clue how nasty this family can be. They’ve got a lot of money and would have no problem with a long, drawn out custody battle.”
“Well, I think they’re going to meet their match with Dailan.” Jack smiled. “You know that he would never let anything happen to Ryan. He loves that kid to death,” Jack said.
“I know. I just hope that’s enough.” I needed Dailan here with me now. This was too much for me to take on my own. As sure as I was ten years ago about making sure I gave birth to Ryan, I was equally as sure that they would never get their hands on him now. I didn’t care what it took. I would protect him now the same way I had before he was born.
Chapter 29
Dailan
I had told myself that I would be just an hour longer, whether I had finished or not. Even though I would never admit it to Nicole, she was right. I shouldn’t have been leaving her with the all of the responsibility of keeping my mother entertained. I felt like I hadn’t spent any time with Nicole, Ryan, and Ella in ages. Nicole and I hadn’t even had sex in over a week, which was a record for us. Ella was just starting to try and take her first steps and I hadn’t made one game of Ryan’s baseball tournament. I didn’t want to be one of those dads that missed out on everything because they were too busy with work, but this couldn’t be helped. If Nicole only knew the real reason that I had been working day and night on this case, then maybe she would be a little more understanding.
"Knock, knock." I looked up to find Rachel standing in my doorway, with two cups in her hand.
"Rachel, why are you here on a Saturday?"
“I was out for my morning coffee run and saw your car, and I figured you could use some coffee.”
"Thanks."
"Well, my plans for the rest of the day were cancelled, so is there anything I can help you with?"
"Oh, no. Nothing that can't wait until Monday."
"Well, what are you working on?"
"Just researching some things."
"Well, I can help. I'm really good at researching."
I stopped to think about it for a second. Nicole would freak out if she were to walk in and see me alone in the office with Rachel, but if it would get me out of here quicker, what the hell.
Two hours later, and we had only made a small dent in the pile of statements and only found one of the transactions. I looked at my watch, knowing that Nicole was probably going crazy by now, being left alone with my mother. "Well, that's enough for today. I'm sure you've got better things to be doing with your weekend than this."
"Actually, I don't. My boyfriend and I just broke up, so this is actually a nice distraction." I put my head down and adjusted the piles of statements. I could care less about her personal life. "His wife didn't want to share him."
"What?" I finally lifted my head and looked up at her.
"My boyfriend. He told me that he was going to leave his wife for me. Boy, was that a lie."
What the fuck? Do I look like a shrink? "Oh, well, that sucks - I guess.”
She lifted up the picture of Nicole, Ryan, and Ella on my desk and stared at it. "She's really lucky to have a great guy like you. I hope she realizes it."
"No, I'm really lucky to have her."
>
She shrugged her shoulders and raised her eyebrows. "Well, she always did get all the good guys, even in high school."
All right, I was done with this conversation with her. I grabbed my keys and a stack of statements that I was hoping to have time to go through at home. She reluctantly got up and walked out with me. "Thanks for your help," I said, once we reached our cars.
"Well, sorry I couldn't be of much more of it. Oh, what the hell!” she shouted as she looked down at her tire. “It’s completely flat and I don’t have a spare.”
She pulled out her cell phone and immediately started texting someone. “Well, did you need a ride home?”
“That would be great. I just texted my brother to see if he could get me a tire and put it on for me.”
I unlocked the doors and she got it in. I was just about to get in myself when my phone began to vibrate. Nicole, shit. She would be freaking out right now if she knew I was giving Rachel a ride home. “Hey, Nicole, I’m just leaving now. Can I talk to you when I get home?” I could tell by the tone in her voice that she was upset by something. My mother, no doubt.
“You didn’t have to hang up on my account,” Rachel said as I hung up the phone.
“Oh, don’t worry, I didn’t.”
She looked at me like I had taken her off guard with my statement. She gave me directions and I was glad when I finally pulled up to her house.
"Thank you so much. Did you want to come in for a beer?"
"No. I have to get home. Nicole's waiting for me."
I could see the anger in her eyes at the mention of Nicole's name. "Oh, yeah, of course. Well, thanks again," she said as she got out the car and walked up to her front door.
I headed home, deciding that giving Rachel a ride home was another thing that Nicole didn’t need to know.
Chapter 30
Nicole
I actually had an enjoyable day with Kitty. She and Ella and I had spent the day shopping. She had gotten Ella more clothes than she would ever be able to wear, all in pink and lavender. She even talked me into going to a company dinner with Dalian that I hadn’t planned on attending, which required me to buy a new dress, of course. I was quite impressed with her keen sense of fashion. She forced me into trying on a dress that I would never in a million years have picked out on my own. Much to my surprise, I loved it!
I put Ella down for a nap when we got home and called Dailan. I was so happy to hear that he was on his way home. I went down to the kitchen. Kitty was sitting at the kitchen table, examining all of her purchases that she had made for Ella.
“Do you want some tea?” I asked.
“That would be lovely.” I looked out the kitchen window as I filled the teakettle with water.
“It must have been hard on you?” Kitty blurted out of nowhere.
I placed the teakettle on the stove and turned around. “What’s that?” I asked.
“Giving up Ryan.”
I felt a huge lump in my throat. “It was. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do.”
“Well, thank you.”
“For what?” I asked.
“For giving both of my sons such happiness. Gerry loved Ryan with all his heart. He wanted a son more than anything in this world.” I could see her eyes filling up with tears. “He and Connie tried for a while and she just couldn’t get pregnant and then Ryan came along. He was a gift from Heaven.”
I found it so ironic that my pregnancy, which made everyone in my life so miserable, actually gave such happiness to others. “Well, that makes me happy.”
“I admire your strength, Nicole. I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I knew from the moment I met you that there was something different about you; besides the fact that you totally had Dailan eating out your hand, which is not an easy feat.”
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far.” I laughed.
“I would. I know him better than anyone and he is crazy about you. He could be a real pain in the arse and I never thought I’d see the day that he committed himself to one woman. I never thought that I would get a grandchild from him. I thought Ryan was going to be my one and only. So, thank you for giving me two beautiful grandchildren.”
“You’re welcome,” I whispered, taken a little by surprise at Kitty’s kind words.
“What was she like?”
“Who?” Kitty asked.
“Connie.”
“She was a lot like you in some ways. She was carefree and genuine. But in other ways, not so much.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“She wasn’t as strong as you. She was afraid to stand up to Gerry and let him know how she felt. Not like you. You don’t take any nonsense from Dailan and I think that’s wonderful. But I will say this; she was an excellent mother, despite the problems that she and Gerry may have had in their marriage. Ryan was the light of her life. You couldn’t have asked for a better mother to your little boy.”
I smiled, realizing just how much Ryan was loved. My smile became even wider when I heard Dailan coming through the front door. He walked into the kitchen and raised his eyebrows, seeing all of the bags scattered about.
“Oh relax, Dailan! I went on a little shopping spree for my granddaughter.”
“A little shopping spree?”
“Wait until you see your wife in the beautiful dress that she bought for your work party.”
He turned around and looked at me as if he were surprised. “I thought you weren’t going?”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“I talked her into it. I will be here, so I can watch the kids. The two of you need to take the opportunities to get out and do things together when you can,” Kitty said. “Well, this time I really am going to take a nap,” she said, taking one last sip of her tea and heading off to the bedroom.
“Did you not want me to go now?” I asked Dailan.
“No, why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. You just looked surprised when your mother said that I was going.”
“Yeah, because you said that -. Never mind, I’m not going to turn this into a fight. I am very happy that you’re going, Nicole.”
“Here this is the reason that I called you.” I handed him the letter that came in the mail today.
He carefully read it over and placed it down on the counter. “Can you get me a bottle of water from the fridge?”
“Is that all you have to say about that letter, Dailan? He’s going to sue for visitation and possible custody!”
“So let him waste his money. He’s not going to get anything.”
“Dailan, how can you be so sure of that? You don’t know how a judge would rule.”
“Nicole, just stop. I have this all under control.”
I was getting annoyed. Really annoyed. Was he really that much into this case that he was actually going to dismiss this as nothing? “Really, Dailan? I just wish that you would get your priorities straight.”
“I’m not going to get into it with you, Nicole. You can try and provoke a fight with me all you want, but I’m not biting. I told you that I have everything handled. If that’s not good enough for you, then go sulk somewhere else, because I can’t deal with your mood swings today.”
Oh, the things that I wanted to say to him! But I stopped myself just in time, knowing that his mother was right in the next room. “I’m not sulking, Dailan. I’m concerned about Ryan. I’m sorry if he doesn’t take priority over your precious case that you’re working on, but he and Ella are my first priority!”
He rolled his eyes at me. “You just don’t ever stop, do you? I love Ryan and Ella just as much as you do and I told you I’m taking care of this. What fuckin’ more do you want from me, Nicole?”
“I don’t know, Dailan. Maybe you could figure that out while you’re spending all that time at work.”
That was it; I was done. We would just now play the silent game that the two of us had become so accustomed to lately. He got up and walked into the living room. I decided to ma
ke up more bottles for Ella and realized that I didn’t have any more formula left. She had one bottle left and I knew I had to get to the store to get more or this would give Kitty the perfect excuse to give her milk. I grabbed my purse and keys. When I opened up the front door, I realized that Dailan’s car was behind mine. Shit, now I’m going to have to be the first one to speak!
I poked my head into the living room. “Could you move your car? I need to run to the store to get Ella more formula.”
He took his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to me. “Just take my car,” he said, like it was killing him even to talk to me.
I headed out the door, feeling a little like a prisoner being let out on parole. I was ashamed to admit it, but I was actually excited to be going out to buy formula all by myself. Not that my time spent with Kitty was bad today, but I just needed some alone time, even if was only for ten minutes. I got into his car and immediately turned down the blasting radio. I rolled down the windows until the air conditioner kicked in. As I adjusted the seat, I took a deep breath, breathing in that scent; the scent that brought back so many horrible memories - Rachel Wiser's favorite perfume. I quickly texted Donna and told her to meet me outside. I rolled the windows back up to preserve the smell on the way to Donna’s house. She came walking over to the car and I made her get in. "Take a deep breath," I said.
She inhaled deeply. "Perfume?"
"Yeah, but do you remember who wears that perfume?" She shook her head and looked at me strangely. "Rachel!"
"Wo, wo, why does Dailan's car smell like Rachel Wiser's perfume?"
"Don't know; he was supposedly working this morning. Oh my God, I am so pissed at him right now."
"Nicole, don't go jumping to conclusions. Ask him before you accuse him of anything."
"Well, just for that, I'm going to take my time going to get Ella's formula."
"Come inside and hang out with me. Anna’s sleeping and Michael's working and I need to catch up with my best friend."
I sat down and had a cup of coffee with Donna. I told her about the complaint that I received today and how Dailan still wasn't the least bit worried over the whole thing. "Well, if he's not worried, then I'm sure that everything will be fine," Donna said.
