by Beth Rinyu
Chapter 34
Dailan
I was unable to sleep. It was driving me crazy that I still hadn’t been able to find those other transactions. They were key to this case. I looked at the clock and finally decided to get out of bed at four a.m. I looked over at Nicole sleeping, and couldn’t help but be reminded of last night. I never had that problem with her; if anything, I would be able to get her there multiple times. I knew that things had become a little stressful between us, but I didn’t think that they were that bad. I knew that she was worried about this whole thing with Ryan. I didn’t understand why she didn’t have enough faith in me and just let me take care of it. I was meeting with their attorney next week and everything would be put to rest then.
I went downstairs into the kitchen and pulled out the stack of statements that I had still yet to go through. I was so involved with going through the numbers that I didn’t even hear my mother entering the kitchen.
“What are you doing up?” I asked when I lifted my head and saw her standing in the doorway.
“I needed a drink of water. The same question could be asked of you. Why are you working at this hour in the morning?”
I told my mother all about the case I was working on and the deal that scumbag had offered me.
“Well, I really don’t think you should keep something like that from Nicole.”
“I don’t need her worrying about this. Besides, I know that she’ll get pissed that I didn’t just settle.”
“Well, why didn’t you? You know it would have benefitted you as well. You wouldn’t be working day in and day out on this case and you also wouldn’t have to be dealing with this whole custody matter with Ryan.”
She was right. That would have been the easy way out, but that wasn’t the route that I wanted to take. “Because, these people made Nicole’s life a living hell when she was pregnant with Ryan.” I went on and explained to her what had happened with Nicole’s father and how he basically disowned her for years because she wouldn’t take their deal back then.
“Oh my God, I had no idea. Poor Nicole, she really did go through hell and back for Ryan,” my mother said.
“Yeah, well that’s why I don’t want to take any deals that these people have to offer. I’m not going to let them dictate Nicole’s life anymore. I want Nicole to know that I’m not her father and I will fight for her and Ryan no matter what.”
My mother smiled. “Well, that’s very noble of you, Dailan, but don’t ignore the people that you’re fighting for in the process. That girl loves you with all her heart and I think she’s feeling a little neglected by her husband. I just don’t want to see the same thing that happened to your brother happen to you. Don’t become married to your job. Your wife and children come first.”
I nodded.
“Well, I’m going to lie back down,” my mother said. She placed her hand on my shoulder. “You have a beautiful family, Dailan. Please don’t do anything to mess that up,” she said before heading off to her bedroom.
My lack of sleep was starting to take its toll on me. I was staring at the statements for so long, I was beginning to see double. I put them away and decided to try and get at least a few hours of sleep. I went upstairs and got back into bed.
“Hey, where were you?” Nicole asked in a very sleepy voice.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
She moved closer to me and kissed me on the chest. “Hey, Dailan?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m really relaxed right now.”
I smiled as I pulled her on top of me. “Well then, allow me to relax you some more.”
Chapter 35
Nicole
The week passed by and not much had changed. Dailan was trying his best to be around, but was still spending much more time at the office than I had cared for. Kitty was back in Ireland, but I had felt a new connection with her when she was here, making me realize that she really wasn’t so bad after all.
I was spending my Saturday at the beach with my sister, her kids, and Tommy. Much to my dismay, they were still together. I thought that is was wrong of my sister to bring the kids around Tommy already. Just for the simple fact that her divorce wasn’t even final yet and these kids were forming a bond with someone who might possibly be taken from their lives. But I kept my mouth shut, like Dailan kept telling me – it wasn’t our business.
I was bummed, and Ryan even more so, when Dailan told us that he had to go into work for a few hours. Ryan’s face lit up when Dailan told him that he would meet us at the beach as soon as he was done so he could go boogie boarding with him. I sat up by the water, watching Ryan jump the waves with my nephews, while Ella dug in the sand. My sister and Tommy were back up at the blanket, ogling each other. My sister finally brought her chair down to join me. “Hey, Ryan, why don’t you go up to the blanket and get your boogie board?” Tommy said.
“I’m gonna wait for my Uncle Dailan to get here,” Ryan answered.
Ryan was so disappointed when Dailan never showed up for his last baseball game of the tournament the other night; once again, this case came first. I was hoping that Dailan showed up and didn’t let Ryan down today. Ryan’s heart and my heart wouldn’t be able to handle it. “He’s so close to Dailan, that’s really nice,” my sister said.
“Yeah, he is.”
“Have you heard anything else from Jonathan about the custody?” my sister asked.
“Nope. Dailan’s handling it. So I’m trying my best not to think about it.” Even though that was one of the things that had been consuming my every thought lately, I tried to play it cool for everyone else.
“Well, I can tell you from experience that custody battles aren’t fun.” Leave it to my sister always to help make me feel worse than I already did.
“Hey, sexy girl.” I jumped when I turned around to find Dailan kneeling alongside of me. I smiled upon seeing the excitement on Ryan’s face when he saw Dailan.
“Uncle D!” Ryan screamed, running out of the water and almost getting knocked over by a wave.
“Well, now that you’re here, I’m going to feed Ella and try to get her to take a nap.” Dailan picked up Ella. She was covered in sand. She smiled and kissed him all over his face. We walked up to the blanket. Ryan couldn’t get to the boogie boards quickly enough. I placed Ella down on the blanket and changed her into dry, clean clothes. I made sure that Dailan covered himself in sunblock and re-applied more to Ryan, who couldn’t get back into the water fast enough.
“Come on, Uncle D!” Ryan screamed as he stood at the edge of the water. Dailan handed me his cell phone to hold onto and kissed me and Ella on the cheek before heading down to Ryan. I sat on the chair under the umbrella, holding Ella in my arms while she sucked down her bottle. I placed a tiny kiss on her head when I looked down to find her fast asleep. I smiled as I watched Dailan and Ryan in the water. Ryan, who had seemed so down all morning, was now unable to wipe the smile from his face. Watching the two of them together made me temporarily forget all of my worries. The ocean breeze was beginning to pick up. I reached into my bag and grabbed my beach towel to cover Ella. I couldn’t help but pull Dailan’s cell phone out as well when I saw one missed call from Rachel. Why the hell did he have her number stored into his phone? My happy mood from just moments ago was now fleeting. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying my best to calm myself.
“Aw, look at that little angel sound asleep.” My sister’s voice made me jump. “Do you guys want to go grab something to eat with us?” she asked.
“No, I have to get Ella home and bathed and I’m really tired,” I said. My sister sat beside me and began to talk my ear off. I wasn’t paying one bit of attention to her; my mind was a million miles away. I watched Dailan and Ryan, looking like they were having a great time boogie boarding, wishing that I could feel that happy again. Every time I would begin to feel the littlest ping of happiness these days, something would happen to remind me that I shouldn’t be feeling that way.
Ella w
as just beginning to stir when Dailan and Ryan finally made it out of the water. I tried very hard not to have an attitude with him, but I was having a really hard time with it. “Nicole, are you coming to get some dinner with us?” Tommy asked.
“Um, no. I need to get Ella home and fed.”
“Aw…” my nephews groaned.
I handed Ryan and Dailan a towel. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop myself. I pulled his phone out of the bag and gave it to him. “Here’s your phone; someone’s looking for you.” He looked down at his phone and then looked back up and met my glaring eyes with his. I could tell that Tommy picked up on the tension between the two of us and was beginning to feel very uncomfortable.
“Really, Nicole?”
“What?” I asked, trying to play innocent.
“She was returning my call because I needed to know what time she had scheduled a conference call on Monday morning.”
“Whatever.” I continued to pack up my stuff, trying my best to act as if I wasn’t bothered by it.
My sister and Tommy were all packed up and ready to go. My sister came over to say her goodbyes to everyone. “Hey, Nicole, I’m staying at Mom and Dad’s until Thursday, so I can watch Ryan and Ella if you and Dailan want to go out for your anniversary on Wednesday.”
“I can’t on Wednesday,” Dailan said very nonchalantly.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because I will be in Boston to finalize this case.”
Really, and when was he planning on letting me know this? I guess right now!
“Oh, that stinks!” my sister said. “Well, how about Monday or Tuesday night?”
“Oh no, that’s okay. I’m sure Dailan will be working late both those nights too.” I realized that I was acting a little bitchy, but I was pissed that he was just springing his business trip on me now. Not to mention the question remained in the back of my mind – just exactly who else would be attending this trip with him?
“Nicole, stop being such a freakin’ bitch, would you? I’m sorry if my job interferes with your social life.”
“Well, we’re going to get out of here,” my sister said, not wanting witness the wrath that I was about to unleash on Dailan.
I looked over at Ryan, who was down by the water cleaning off his boogie board and thankfully didn’t hear the argument that had just ensued. “You know what, Dailan? That was uncalled for. I’m not a bitch and it has nothing to do with it interfering with my social life, because I don’t have a social life anymore. My kids are my life and I’m fine with that. It’s called having a little consideration. You’re married and have a family now; it would be nice if you gave me a little ample warning when you’re planning on going away.”
“Whatever, Nicole. You’ve had an attitude ever since you saw that phone call from her and now you’re just looking for excuses to start a fight.”
“You know what? I am done with this conversation.” I wasn’t done by any means. I was seething inside. But I didn’t feel like getting into a screaming match on the beach in front of everyone. “Here, can you at least hold your daughter?” I said as I handed him Ella and finished packing up my stuff.
“Why do you have to do this, Nicole? You can never just be happy anymore; everything has to turn into a fight.”
“Because I’m a bitch, remember?” I grabbed my things, took Ella from his arms, and walked off the beach. I cried all the way home and was thankful that Ryan drove home with Dailan, so he didn’t have to see it. What was happening to me and Dailan? He was right; I did turn everything into a fight. I knew that these long hours and time away from us wouldn’t bother me nearly as much if Rachel weren’t in the picture, but Dailan was my husband and I wasn’t going to let her intimidate me like she did back in high school.
I pulled into the driveway, noticing that Dailan and Ryan weren’t home yet. I immediately got Ella into the bathtub. After I washed all of the sand from her, I sat on the ledge of the tub and let her splash around for a while. She got so much enjoyment from it, which in turn always put a smile on my face. I was so engrossed in watching her play in the water that I jumped when I saw Dailan standing in the bathroom door.
“God, you scared me,” I said, feeling like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.
“Why were you crying?” he asked.
“I wasn’t crying,” I lied.
“Nicole, I’m not stupid. Your eyes are all swollen and red.”
I bit my lip and tried to hold back the tears once again. “Because, I don’t like what’s happening to us, Dailan. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.”
He grabbed my hand, pulled me up from the ledge of bathtub, and hugged me tightly.
“I’m sorry, Nicole. Just please bear with me until I get through this case and I promise you that things will get better.”
“I hate that she calls you, Dailan. I hate that you have her phone number saved in your phone and I hate the fact that you’ve been spending more time with her than me. You can call me a baby or a bitch, but I’m just being honest with how I feel. You honestly will never know how deep my hatred is for that girl.”
He kissed me on the forehead. “I think I do know, Nicole.”
“Dailan, is she going to Boston with you?”
His long pause confirmed it. “Yes, Nicole, but there are also a bunch of other people coming along as well. I promise you I will be back by Thursday and we will celebrate our anniversary then.” He wiped the tear that was rolling down my face and kissed me softly on the lips. “Go downstairs and eat; Ryan talked me into getting pizza. I got Ella.”
“No, that’s okay, I can get her.” He totally ignored me and lifted Ella from the tub, wrapping her up in a towel.
“Go!” he said.
I went downstairs to find Ryan sitting in front of the TV. I sat down on the floor next to him. “Hey, Ryan, did you have fun today?”
He smiled widely. “Lots, I’m so glad that Uncle D was able to come.” I smiled back and nodded.
Dailan came downstairs with Ella. She wiggled to get out of his arms. He placed her on the floor and she crawled over to the couch and lifted herself up. She looked at me and smiled as she held onto the couch.
“Come on, Ella, come to Mommy,” I said. She smiled and buried her face into the couch before looking over at me again. She took her hands off the couch, balanced herself, and took three wobbly steps, with a smile on her face the whole way, before plopping into my lap. “Yay! You did it.” I began to clap my hands as Ella mimicked me and clapped hers. Dailan sat down on the floor next to us and kissed Ella on the head. She still was unable to wipe the smile from her face, almost as if she was proud of herself.
“Uh oh, I think we’re in trouble now!” Ryan joked.
My little girl took her first steps. It was bittersweet; I wanted her to remain my little baby forever. I looked at Dailan and smiled. His smile back made my stomach flutter. This moment made me realize that nothing else mattered as long as we had the happy times like this one, we could overcome anything – I hoped.
Chapter 36
Nicole
I was up and out the door extra early. I tried my best to forget that today was my and Dailan’s second anniversary. I hated that he wasn’t here so that we could spend it together and most of all I hated it because I knew who he was with. Ella had woken up two times in the middle of the night. I had finally fallen back asleep for a few hours, only to have her wake up again at five a.m. She was very out of sorts today and I hated even dragging her and Ryan out into the sweltering heat. But I was in desperate to go food shopping. Ryan had toasted the last two pieces of bread for breakfast.
We walked through the parking lot and into the store. It was only eight a.m. and it felt like it was one hundred degrees already. The heat coming from the blacktop of the parking lot was unbearable. Ella began to scream, stiffening herself out straight so I couldn’t put her into the shopping cart. “Come on, Ella, be a good girl,” I coaxed.
She screeched loudly, just
as an older man passed by us. “Uh oh, someone’s not very happy,” the man joked, allowing her to pay attention to him just long enough for me to get her into the cart without her noticing.
“Okay, Ryan, we’re going to make this quick,” I said, knowing that it was just a matter of time before Ella had another meltdown.
I went down the produce aisle, and was picking through the peaches when I heard Ryan shout, “Ella, no!” I turned around to find the whole tableful of lemons rolling onto the floor. I grabbed the lemon that Ella was just about to place in her mouth and the meltdown began. Ryan crawled around on the floor, trying to pick up the lemons that were rolling all over the place, while I tried my best to calm Ella down. Ella’s screams caused several people to turn around to see what was going on. The man working in the produce department came over to help Ryan. “I’m so sorry,” I said through Ella’s shrill screams.
“That’s okay.” The man gave me a sympathetic smile. “Been there and done that with my kids. They don’t stay little for long. One day you will be looking back and wishing for this time.” Somehow, I didn’t think I would be wishing for this particular moment, but he did help to alleviate some of my embarrassment. “You do good work, young man,” he said to Ryan as he placed the last lemon on the pile.
“Thank you so much,” I said. He gave me a warm smile and we were on our way. I found Ella’s pacifier in her bag and stuck it in her mouth to help try and keep her quiet. We had made it to the lunchmeat counter without any major issues, until Ella decided that she wanted the piece of cheese that the lady working behind the counter had given Ryan. She screamed as loud as she could. Ryan and I tried to appease her, but nothing was working. I felt like I had to apologize to everyone who was in a two-mile radius. I felt my stomach begin to churn even more when I looked out the corner of my eye and saw Jonathan’s mother approaching the lunchmeat counter.
