by Roxy Wilson
Finally, after waiting for fifteen minutes, he went back home, not sure of his next move. Back in his apartment, he ordered dinner from a restaurant and sat in front of the TV as he wondered what he could do next. He called Jamie’s home number but there was no answer.
Ten minutes later, he called again. As Jamie’s phone rang for the first and then the second time, Brett debated whether he should go and talk to her neighbors. Someone might know what happened. To his relief, she picked up on the third ring.
“Hi,” he said. “Is everything all right? I came today at five…”
“Oh, dear!” she said in a contrite voice. “Were you here? I completely forgot about our appointment and took Mellie to the park again. She so loves going to the park.”
“Park?” He felt the anger bubbling inside him. While he’d been torturing himself with worry, she’d been lounging about in the park. “You forgot?”
“Yes, I feel awful about it. Simply awful. We could make another appointment…oh dear, Mellie needs to go to the bathroom. I’ll call you later.” She banged the phone.
Brett held the receiver to his ear, unable to believe that she’d hung up in the middle of their conversation. It was only when he put the phone down did he realize that she hadn’t even asked for his number. How was she planning to call him? Something was definitely fishy about her behavior.
Leaning back against his couch, he reviewed all his conversations with Jamie. Comprehension dawned and brought with it a quick rush of unchecked rage. Could it be possible that she was deliberately keeping him away from his daughter? Could she be that vicious and manipulative?
Brett rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to ease the stiffness there. He considered everything that had happened in the past weeks. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure that Jamie had been making a fool out of him.
Brett called his lawyer. “Lee, have you crafted the paperwork that is to be submitted to the court in order for me to gain custody of Melissa?”
“It’s almost ready. Would you like me to send it to you so you can take a look and sign it? We can file it as early as next week if you want.”
Brett thought about it. It was such a drastic move. He wasn’t sure that he was ready to snatch his child out of an environment in which she was happy and comfortable and bring her to his house. Not only would it be something that would go against her late mother’s wishes, but also Brett knew that he wasn’t capable of handling a two year old on his own. He would have to hire a nanny. Why would he want to do that if Melissa was in good hands?
“Send me the papers when they’re ready. I’ll look them over and sign them. But don’t submit anything until I say the word.”
After he put the phone down, Brett wondered about his next move. He really needed to think of a way to convince Jamie to give him a chance to have a relationship with his cheld. Suddenly, there were too many thoughts whirling about in his head and Brett wasn’t sure of anything.
Parenthood was definitely far more complicated that he’d envisioned.
Chapter Four
Jamie leaned back as she sipped her martini. She was at Heather and Sean’s house in the suburbs. Opening their first natural supplement shop was such a commercial success that they had branches across the country, and homes in both San Diego and here in New York. Jamie was excited when Heather had called and told her that she was coming to New York, for a few days, with the entire family. Jamie was delighted to see how much Heather and Sean’s twins, Aidan and Amaya, had grown. And she watched them now as they played a complicated game that involved catching and throwing a ball with Sean in the garden while Mellie was plopped on a mat, watching them, her eyes following the movements of the ball with all the fascination a two year old could muster.
Heather came out, carrying a tray on which were placed glasses of milk and cookies for the children. Mellie’s cup was bright yellow while the four-year old twins had graduated enough to be given bigger, ceramic mugs. “Sean, are you ready to take a break? I’ve got some milk and cookies for the kids.”
“Just a minute, honey,” he said as he threw the ball to Amaya. “The score is five to six. I’m beating these monsters.”
“Oh, nooo…Dad’s gonna lose. Dad’s gonna lose,” sang Aidan as he bounced on his feet. His antics amused Mellie who began to clap along, in time with his tune.
“You’re going to lose, buster. And remember our deal, whoever loses cleans the dinner table tonight.”
Jamie shook her head as she watched the twins bicker with Sean while the ball moved from one pair of hands to another. “Sean’s great with kids, isn’t he?”
Heather picked up her glass and pulled on the straw as she watched her husband play with the children. “Yeah, he is. I’m so lucky! Can’t believe things turned out the way they did. It’s like a dream.”
“A dream that came true,” said Jamie as she thought back to the days when Heather had asked Sean to help her conceive a baby. Heather hadn’t been in a relationship, but she was ready to have a child. Sean was desperately in love with her, hence he agreed to her plan with the condition that she married him first. He’d hoped that their time together would allow her to fall in love with him. Their fake marriage turned into a real one, and soon the twins came along to cement the deal.
It was stuff fairy tales were made of.
Jamie’s gaze fell on her cherubic two-year-old daughter, who’d joined the fray and was dancing around the group as the twins chanted at the top of their lungs. Would she ever get such a happily-ever-after? Of course, she was happy with Melissa. They had everything; a family, her job, security, and love. They didn’t need a man to complete the picture, and if the occasional thought of Brett’s dreamy face made her ache with longing, she pushed aside that annoying image with a grim ferocity.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing, Jamie?” said Heather. “Brett’s her father. If he’s decided to take an interest in her, do you really think he’d be turned away by your shenanigans?”
Jamie brushed back her hair. “The chicken pox trick was a good one, wasn’t it? And the ruse of the wedding was the icing on the cake.” She grinned. The thought of playing such a trick on Brett filled her with glee. Of course, she felt guilty that she’d pretended that her daughter was sick, but the alternative of allowing him to meet her was worse. Although the fact that he bought a doll for Melissa did give him some brownie points.
Heather’s lips lifted in a smile. “It was. If nothing else, it bought you some time. But I’ve a feeling that he’s not going to disappear forever just because you wish he’d do so. He’s hired a lawyer. Clearly, he’s serious about this whole issue.”
“Brett’s just going through the motions to make himself feel better. If he had an interest in Mellie, he wouldn’t have abandoned her. Where was he when Brandi was pregnant? Where was he when Melissa was born? And when Brandi…” Her voice broke. Jamie took a moment to compose herself. “Sorry.”
Heather gripped her hand. “It’s all right, honey. I only got to know her a few years ago, but you knew her all her life. We all miss her; you most of all, especially as you have a daily reminder of her absence.” She nodded towards Melissa. “But you’ve got to understand that Brett and Brandi had serious issues. They simply didn’t get along. I think…” she hesitated.
“Go on.”
“I think Brandi wasn’t as in love with Brett as she thought she was. Maybe she liked the idea of being married to him, to be the wife of a movie director, to go to premieres and meet famous people…but she didn’t love Brett. She had this image of him in her head, and whenever he did something that contrasted with that image, she pushed it aside and focused on what she wanted to see. I loved Brandi,” Heather said when she saw Jamie bristle, “but the truth is that she was more in love with the idea of being in love with a movie director. Did you ever hear her talk about Brett as a person?”
“I…” Jamie raked her mind. Of course, Brandi used to talk about Brett. She would discus
s his…good looks, his work, the movie he was working on, and the people he knew. “She…”
“It was Brett who realized that what was between them wasn’t real. He made the choice of stepping away, and yes, he hurt Brandi but he would’ve hurt her more if he’d gone through the marriage and then gotten a divorce.”
“I just…I can’t see him as a person. He’s the guy who hurt my friend and abandoned his baby.”
Heather straightened. “Yeah, but for Mellie’s sake you might have to stop seeing him as the person who broke your friend’s heart and start seeing him as Mellie’s father. Are you really sure he abandoned Mellie? His current actions tell me that he didn’t have the intention of never seeing her. What if he wanted to see her and Brandi refused?”
Jamie shook her head. Her lips were pursed in a thin line. “It can’t be.”
“At least talk to him. See what he says and then make up your mind.”
Both women watched in silence as Sean swung Mellie up, tossed her high in the air, and caught her in his arms as she came down, squealing in delight. It was clear that Mellie was having the time of her life. She put both her arms around Sean’s neck and gave him a resounding kiss on his cheek.
“That isn’t going to cut it, young lady. You made me lose.”
“She didn’t. She didn’t,” said Amaya as she danced ahead of her father. “Dad lost.”
“Only because you both recruited this tornado of disaster to distract me.”
“Don’t be a sore loser, dad,” said Aidan in a perfect mimicry of Sean’s own words. “We won fair and square.”
“Dad, it’s your turn to clean up.”Amaya covered her mouth to suppress her giggles.
Sean deposited Mellie on the patio floor. “Fine,” he huffed and stole a cookie before his wife could slap his hands.
“Wash your hands,” she told the twins. “And take Mellie with you. Help her, okay? You too, Sean,” she told her husband when he attempted to take another cookie. “Set an example for the children,” she hissed.
Sean rolled his eyes but followed the kids inside. Jamie smiled as she saw the amused look on his face. He loved teasing Heather, but adored her with a passion that hadn’t dimmed in the years they’d become friends and then husband and wife.
Together, they made for a wonderful family. Maybe that wasn’t in Jamie’s destiny or in Mellie’s but by keeping a closed mind, was she denying the child something that she needed? Perhaps it wouldn’t hurt to review Brett’s intentions. Certainly, it wouldn’t cost her anything to look beyond the past and judge him on his actions today.
Maybe she needed to give him a chance to prove himself.
****
Brett pressed the bell. No answer. Maybe Jamie was inside, but not opening the door on purpose. Brett pounded on the door, not caring who heard him. He was desperate to meet his daughter and that conniving woman was doing everything possible to keep him away from her.
How dare she do that?
Today, Brett had come determined to sort everything out. He’d already scrutinized and signed the custody papers and handed them back to his lawyer. He wasn’t ready to file them as yet, but the past few days had given him a clear indication that he might need to do so soon. After his last visit to Jamie’s apartment when she hadn’t been there at the appointed hour, he’d called her a number of times. Still, she hadn’t answered her house phone.
He was Melissa’s biological father. It was his right to meet her, to be a part of her life. How could Jamie deny him his basic right?
As the elevator door pinged opened behind him, he whirled around hoping to see the neighbors who could perhaps give him some nugget of information that would lead him to Jamie and Melissa’s whereabouts.
His gaze took in Jamie’s lovely face, a broad smile plastered on her face, as she looked down at the muddy toddler. His gazed then slid to her slender hand that was tightly gripped in the fingers of his daughter. None of them had noticed that he was standing a few feet away at Jamie’s front door.,
And then Jamie spotted him. Her gasp was audible; her dark eyes bulged.
“You…” He took a step forward.
Jamie shuffled back a step.
“Mama!” Melissa’s squeal of apprehension brought him quickly to his senses. It must be a frightening sight to a child to be confronted by a tall, enraged adult who was rushing at her with a furious gleam in his eyes. Jamie hugged Mellie tightly against her chest.
This wasn’t the way he wanted to meet his daughter for the first time.
“Isn’t this a pleasant surprise?” He took a cautious step back and forced a smile on his face. “Finally, I managed to catch you at home.”
“Brett.” Jamie’s gaze traveled to Melissa, who stared at her to figure out if all was well. “Hi. What are you doing here?”
“I came to see Melissa, and it’s about time I did.” Brett hope Jamie would realize, right here, right now, that he was dead serious. He wasn’t going to let her get away with any more excuses.
“Well.” After a brief hesitation, Jamie walked towards him. She dug into her bag until she finally fetched her keys, all the while staring at him warily. Jamie inserted one of the keys into the keyhole and unlocked door. She twisted the handle as she opened the door and shooed the toddler inside. Before she could turn around to talk to Brett, he slid past her and went inside.
“We’re going to talk now,” he said in a voice that he knew invited no arguments.
“Fine,” she huffed. “Mellie, come darling. We have to wash the sand off you. Brett, you can wait in the living room. This will take ten or fifteen minutes.”
Brett was inclined to argue. He wanted to settle this matter quickly but seeing the toddler’s grubby hands and the sand that filtered out of her clothes, he changed his mind. “All right. I’ll wait.”
As he watched them go inside, Brett decided that he was going to have to work things with Jamie. No more games. No more tricks. He’d had enough of it, and he wasn’t going to allow her to play him for a fool anymore.
And then another thought stuck him. He realized that he’d just met his daughter. She was a beauty. In fact, she was probably the most beautiful child he’d ever seen. Her black eyes were his. Her hair was soft, dark, and hung in ringlets down to the nape of her neck but her heart-shaped face was her mother’s. He sat on the couch, overwhelmed by the thought that he was finally going to spend some time with his child.
What an amazing experience this was. And he was sure that his life was never going to be the same ever again.
Chapter Five
She was caught. Jamie realized that she had no choice but to tell Brett the truth. Heather’s words were still echoing in her ears. Had she unwittingly made a bad decision by trying to force Brett out of Mellie’s life? He was the child’s biological father and seemed to care enough to want to be in her life.
Above all, Jamie took pride in her sense of fairness. And it wasn’t fair to keep him out of the picture if he wanted to be a part of Melissa’s life. Jamie bathed her child, taking the same amount of time she always took to wash her. She allowed Mellie to play with the ducks in the bathtub. After bundling the little girl in a fluffy pink towel, she carried her over to her room. “Here you go, darling.” Jamie helped her into her pajamas. After making sure that the little girl’s curls were brushed, she took her out to meet her father.
“Hi,” she looked at Brett who was seated in the comfortable, couch in the living room. Mellie tried to hide behind Jamie’s legs when she caught sight of her father. Jamie dropped to her knees. “Darling, would you like to meet a friend of mine?”
Mellie shook her shook vehemently. “No.”
“Do you know who he is?”
“No.”
“Jamie pulled Mellie against her bosom. Taking a deep breath, she said, “He’s your dad.” Jamie’s breath hitched at the word. She released Mellie, and turned her to face Brett. “Dad,” she repeated. Melissa pouted, her chubby face showing no reaction. She was too young t
o realize the significance of that word. “Do you want to talk to him?”
“No.” Mellie whipped around and buried her head in Jamie’s bosom.
“But he’s the one who gave you Sue? Your new doll, remember?”
The child peeked at Brett. “Sue.”
“Do you want to show him how you put your doll to sleep?”
Mellie ran off to get her doll. Jamie stood, feeling tense and nervous. “She takes time to get to know people, but once she’s familiar with you, she’ll warm up.”
He nodded, looking slightly confused. Was he anxious about his relationship with his daughter? Jamie realized that she wasn’t the only one having second thoughts. This must be a big deal for Brett, too.
Mellie came back with the doll in her arms. It was nearly half her size. “Sue.” Walking over, she thrust out the doll at Brett.
He looked hesitantly at Jamie. She nodded. He took the doll from Mellie’s pudgy hands. “Do you like Sue? She’s beautiful, isn’t she?”
“Good doll,” said Mellie.
Brett smiled as he stroked the doll’s hair, his eyes fixed on Mellie’s cherubic face. Jamie thought she detected a sheen of tears in his eyes. “Would you like me to play with you and Sue?”
Mellie considered him a moment, her head cocked to one side. “Play.” She announced, took Brett’s hand, and began to drag him towards her room. His eyes widened and once again, he stared at Jamie for guidance.
“You’ve done it now,” said Jamie. “It’s time to have a tea party. And I suppose she has decided that you’re going to be her guest.”
His lips lifted in a wry smile as they followed the little girl to her room. Walking over to the child-sized table, Mellie put Sue on one of the chairs. “Sit,” she said.
Brett sat on one of the tiny chairs. “It’s not going to break?” He fidgeted nervously.
“No. Don’t worry. Would you mind if I started dinner while you played with her? We can talk later. She’s going to be hungry soon.”
