I don’t know how I go on, but I do. “They said if I was woman enough, he wouldn’t have done what he did. That if I was more supportive and less demanding, he would have stayed with me.” I hear a hiss and expect it to be from Blake, but it’s from Henry.
“Yesterday, they served me with court papers,” I say, crying out now, the sobs too much to keep down. “They want my girls. I can’t let them have my girls.” I can’t go on because I’m in Blake’s arms. My face is against his chest as he whispers to me that everything is going to be okay. I force myself to stop, force myself to face the music.
“Oh my God.” I hear Blake’s mother whisper. I look up at Blake and then turn around.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t bring this to you. I know that my in-laws have done some despicable things to Hailey, and I just want you to know I had no idea.”
“You poor, poor child,” his mother says. “It almost killed Hailey, but she had us, and you had no one.” She shakes her head and gets up. Coming to my side, she grabs my hand. “Henry, what can she do?” she asks her husband.
I look and see that Henry is reading the court papers. “I called another lawyer yesterday, and he thinks I have a shot, but I would need character witnesses to show the judge how Eric was. I have a letter he wrote me that I found when I was cleaning out his closet.” Blake hands the paper to him, and he opens it and reads it. His hand squeezes the paper so tight that his knuckles turn white.
He gets up and calls Beatrice. “I need you to photocopy this, and I need you to call the lawyer and set up a phone meeting with him. See if he’s available now,” he says to her and then turns to look at me. “There is no fucking way those children will go to these people,” he says, using the F word again.
“I need to use the bathroom,” I whisper to Blake, who gets up and leads me to the washroom, where I wash off my face. Walking out, I see him leaning against the wall. “You didn’t have to wait.”
“I know”—he looks at me—“I wanted to.”
He leads the way back to the office, and I hear Henry’s voice rise. “You really think you have a leg to stand on?” His voice gets louder. “You’re as delusional as your clients are,” he says and then looks up. “See you in court.” He hangs up. “So it seems that your in-laws are out for blood. Do you have a savings account with just your name?” he asks, and I nod my head. “Transfer everything to that one. Do it now.” He looks at Blake. “I hope you know what you’re doing, son, because this isn’t good.”
I swallow as I look at him. “What is going on?” I ask him, my heart racing.
“You need to transfer all your money now because if I know this type of lawyer, they are already freezing everything that you own with Eric.”
“Fuck,” Blake says, and I turn to look at him. “Come with me,” he says. I follow him to Beatrice’s desk, and he asks her to get up. “Do it now.”
I log on and make all the transfers to the one account no one knows about because I just opened it. “Done,” I say. He nods, and we walk back into the room. “All done.”
“Is it just in your name?” he asks again.
“Yes, I just opened it when I went to the bank.” I shrug. “No idea why.”
“Okay, so I’m going to give it to you straight,” he says, and I stand here with Blake on one side of me, and now his mother on the other. “We have a court appearance in two days. The court is going to assign a social worker to talk to the girls.”
“But …” I shake my head, but I stop when I see him look at me.
“We need to get sworn statements from the kids’ teachers. Was Eric present?” he asks me, and I look at him.
“He lived here half the time,” I reply. “He didn’t even know what grade they are in.”
“Good, that will work. I’ll call the school today,” he says. “Now, I’m going to ask you some questions, and I want the truth. Don’t sugar coat anything.”
I nod at him. “Are you with anyone?”
“No,” I say, but I look down. “Blake is my only friend.”
“Are you on any type of drug?” he asks, and I almost step back. “If they test you, will you be clean?”
“Yes,” I say to him. “I barely take Advil.”
“Have you ever beaten the children, slapped them, sent them to bed without supper? Anything?”
“Dad,” Blake hisses.
“Never,” I say, and he nods. “I would never. I was a social worker before I got pregnant,” I tell him.
“When can I meet the girls?” he asks, and I look at him. “I need to talk to them.”
“Tonight,” Blake says. “We can get them and make it in time for dinner, then we can drive back.”
“Perfect,” he says. “Now that all this is out of the way, I need to have some lunch.” He looks at Mrs. Williams. “You going to take your husband to lunch?”
She looks at him like he hangs the moon and the stars. “You bet I will.” She smiles, and Blake groans while I laugh and turn to block the sound in his arm.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Blake
We make it home with a couple of minutes to spare, and she runs in the house, grabbing their pjs and packing it. “They can fall asleep on the way back,” she says. “I’m going to follow you, so you don’t have to come back and then go home.”
“Not a chance in hell are you driving back in the dark after what happened today,” he says. “I’ll be fine. I’m off all week, so I’ll sleep tomorrow.”
“What do we tell the girls?” She turns to ask me.
“The truth,” I tell her. “I mean, not about Hailey and all that, but that her grandparents want to take them away from you. They might not get it, but don’t let them scare you.”
She nods her head and then walks out of the house, going to the bus. She walks in a couple of minutes later with the cutest kids ever. They sure do have Eric’s eyes, but that’s it; they are just as gorgeous as their mom.
“Girls,” she says, “this is my friend Blake.” The girls look at me; Daisy almost hides her face with Lizzie standing beside her mother. “His family invited us over for dinner, isn’t that fun?”
I squat down so I’m eye level with Daisy. “It’s so nice to meet you guys. Your mom has told me all about you,” I say, and Daisy finally smiles. “We should get going; I live a little far,” I say, getting up. “Is it okay if we take my truck, or did you guys want to take your mom’s?” I ask Lizzie to have her make the decision.
“Can we take Mom’s?” she asks unsure.
“Yup. I’ve always wanted to drive a mini-van,” I say, smiling, and Lizzie even laughs.
“We can watch movies in Mommy’s car,” Daisy says as we walk out of the house. I watch as Lizzie gets in, and Samantha helps Daisy in.
Halfway there, she turns around and looks in the back of the car. “Okay, girls,” she starts, and they both look at her. “Grandma and Grandpa want you to go live with them,” she says. Lizzie bursts out crying, and she reaches in the back to hold Lizzie’s hand. “But I am going to fight them to make sure you stay with me.”
“I don’t want to go,” Daisy now starts. “I want to stay with you, Mommy.”
“I know you do, honey, which is why we are going to meet Blake’s dad. He’s going to help me fight to keep you.”
“Okay,” Lizzie says.
“He’s going to want to talk to you and ask you questions, and you have to be honest with him, okay?” She looks at me as they both say yes. She turns around and looks out the window, a tear coming down.
“I never want to see them again,” Lizzie says quietly. “I’m never going there.”
“Me too,” Daisy says, copying her sister. I look at Samantha, who closes her eyes, putting her hand in front of her mouth to stop the sob. I reach over, grabbing her hand. We pull up to my parents’ house, and I see Nanny’s car right away. I knew my mother wouldn’t let this opportunity pass.
“Ready?” I ask as I shut off the car. Looking back, I see the girls nodding
and getting out. I round the car and see that Samantha is carrying Daisy with Lizzie holding her hand. I walk to them, and Lizzie grabs my hand. All of us are connected. “It’s going to be okay, Lizzie,” I tell her, and she just nods.
We walk into the house, and the smell of roast fills the air. That and apple pie. I hear the hustle coming from the kitchen and walk with them. “I’m here,” I say, and my mother turns around and takes in me holding hands with Lizzie.
“Oh my God,” she whispers as she blinks tears away. She takes off her apron and comes to us. “You are so beautiful,” she says to Lizzie who smiles at her. “My name is Joanne,” she tells them as she looks at Daisy, “and you. I’ve never seen a more beautiful five-year-old.”
“I’m almost six,” she says, and my mother laughs. My father comes to her side.
“Hello, girls, I’m so happy you could come and have dinner with us,” he says, holding my mother’s shoulder like he always does.
“Are you going to be the one who is going to fight for Mommy?” Lizzie is the first to ask, and my mother has to look down, and I know why because the tear falls. “I want to stay with my mommy.”
“I’m going to do everything I can to make it happen. I promise,” he says, and then I hear Nanny in the background from somewhere in the house.
“If that doesn’t happen, we can go underground.” Samantha looks shocked and laughs as my grandmother comes in the room with tears in her eyes as she spots me with Samantha. “My name is Nanny,” she says to Samantha. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. And your beautiful girls.” She looks at them and then at me. “Look at you. I never thought I would live to see the day.”
She turns around. “Who is going to help me set the table?” she asks, and Daisy squirms out of Samantha’s arms.
“I do the forks at home. But not the knives. It’s dangerous,” she says, following Nanny. “Lizzie does the glasses,” she informs Nanny, but Lizzie doesn’t leave the kitchen as she looks at my father.
“Mommy said you need to ask me questions,” she says, and he nods at her. “Can we do it now?”
“Yes,” my father says and walks to the study that he converted into an office. I follow him with Lizzie and Samantha.
“Is it okay that your mom and Blake stay in the room, or would you like them to go?” he asks her, grabbing a yellow legal pad.
“They can stay,” she says, and my father points at the big couch he has against the wall. Samantha sits with Lizzie next to her and me on the other side of Lizzie. “I know who you are,” she tells us quietly, looking down and then looking up.
“You’re Hailey’s brother.” I sit here shocked, but not more shocked than Samantha, whose mouth is hanging open.
“I heard Uncle Ethan and Elliot talk in the garage about Hailey’s brother, Blake.” She looks down at her hands. “Are you still going to make sure I stay with Mommy even if Daddy hurt Hailey?” she asks my father the question.
“Yes,” he says right away. “You didn’t do that, and your mom didn’t do that. But your dad did. It’s no one’s fault but his.”
“Okay,” she says, and then he starts asking her questions. She answers them perfectly.
“Can I go see if I can set the table?” She turns to Samantha, and I answer for her.
“Yes. If not, I’m sure my mom will give you something to do.”
We wait for the door to close, and then Samantha looks at us. “I had no idea she would piece it together. I knew she heard them, but …”
“Doesn’t matter,” my father says, getting up. “I meant what I told her. This isn’t on you; it’s on Eric. Your daughter loves you, and from what she told me, you’re a great mom.”
“Thank you.” He nods and walks out. “I don’t think I can ever thank him enough.” She looks at me. “Or you.” She smiles and looks down.
“It’s nothing,” I tell her, and it’s the truth. We would do it for anyone, but she isn’t nobody. She’s somebody.
“Come and eat!” I hear my mother yell, so I get up and hold my hand out to her. Dinner goes off without a hitch, my father taking the chance to ask Daisy questions without her knowing.
When everyone is finally finished, we look at the clock and see it’s already past eight. “We should get going. By the time we get home, it’s going to be past eleven,” she says from beside me.
She thanks my mother for the meal and is a little bit shocked when she hugs her. The girls are all giggly when Nanny tells them the next time, she is going to take them for ice cream.
The kids change right before we leave and are asleep within thirty minutes from leaving my parents. “I think I’m going to sleep for a whole week when this is over,” she says. Leaning her head on the window, she too falls asleep. I pull up to the house, just after ten forty-five, and look over at her. She is softly snoring. I take my finger and rub her cheek softly; she is so beautiful and strong. “You’re home,” I say when she blinks her eyes open. “Go open the door, and I’ll bring the girls in,” I tell her, and she opens the door as I carry in first Daisy and then Lizzie.
“Do you want a coffee before you go?” she asks, yawning.
“No. I’m going to go so you can get some sleep,” I tell her as she walks me to the door. She reaches up on her tippy toes and hugs me.
Her arms go around my neck as she whispers, “Thank you for everything.” I just nod.
“Lock up,” I tell her, walking to my truck. She waits for me to drive away before going inside. Thirty minutes later, the phone rings. “What are you still doing up?” I ask her.
“I couldn’t fall asleep knowing you were driving,” she says softly into the phone. “So it’s just easier if we talk till you get home.”
I laugh, and she asks about Nanny, and how crazy she is. I tell her the story of her husband dying and leaving her a widow with three children and debt. I don’t even see the time fly by, and I’m suddenly pulling up into my driveway a little after eleven thirty. “I’m home,” I tell her.
“Okay,” she says, and she asks me the question she usually does. “What would you change if you could?”
I don’t stop, nor do I have to think twice about it. “I would have kissed you tonight before I left.” I don’t wait for her to disconnect; this time, it’s me who does it.
I walk into the house and am locking the door when my phone beeps. I know it’s from her; I’m just not sure I want to know what she says, but I stop when I read it.
I would have let you.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Samantha
I pull on the blue pants, shimmying myself into them. I still haven’t gained much weight back, so they are a little loose. I pair it with a white silk button-up shirt that has vertical blue stripes. Today is our first appearance in front of the judge, and I barely slept a wink last night.
I grab my blue high heels and walk downstairs, opting to leave my hair down. The doorbell rings, and I open the front door to see Blake and his parents. “Come in,” I say, smiling at them, surprised that his mother came.
We haven’t discussed what he said, nor have we discussed my text I sent him after. “I didn’t know that you were coming, Mrs. Williams.” I look at her.
“Call me Joanne,” she says, “Oh, of course, I would come.”
“We really should go, so we aren’t late,” Henry says to me as I turn, grabbing my heels and purse. “Let’s take my car and arrive together, so they don’t get you without me.”
I walk down the steps to the car and sit in the back with Blake. He reaches out to hold my hand. “Thank God tomorrow is Saturday,” I tell him, thankful I’ll be able to sleep in. He just looks out the window and nods. Maybe he didn’t mean it; maybe it was in the moment and now the moment has passed.
My stomach starts swirling when we pull up in the parking lot. I see Ethan’s truck is there. “I think I’m going to be sick,” I say out loud when I didn’t mean to.
“You got this,” Blake says, and I wish I had as much faith in me as he did.
/>
I walk up the steps to the courthouse with Henry next to me, followed by Blake and his mother. We walk in, and Henry walks to courtroom number two. I’m looking down when he stops, and I see why he stopped. In front of the courtroom door stands the Schneiders.
I look at them as my mother-in-law just looks past me, and my father-in-law looks at me with a sneer. Ethan and Elliot don’t even bother making eye contact with me but look straight into Blake’s eyes.
Henry doesn’t even bother giving them the time of day. He opens the door and smiles at me. “Shall we?” he says, and I nod at him.
“How?” I hear Joanne behind me, and I turn to look at her. “How can they treat family like that?”
“Easy,” I say. “I’m not their family.” I’ve come to terms with it.
“Let’s go sit down,” Henry says as we sit down at the table on the left-hand side. The door opens, and the Schneiders walk in with their lawyer. Judy and Adrian sit down next to each other at the table to the right. The lawyer walks over to our table, extending his hand, and Henry takes it.
“I’ve been instructed to offer you fifty thousand dollars for the girls. All she has to do is sign and it can be over.” My skin goes cold, but I’m not the only one. Henry looks at him and leans back in his chair.
“I’d really hate to see you lose in court, so how about they drop this shit and keep their fifty thousand dollars. In the end, they can probably have a relationship with the girls.”
Broken Love Story Page 13
