A pause. I waited, squirming in my seat.
Officer Daniels rubbed his face. “Jesus, this is difficult. Maybe I should’ve let Sandra handle this.”
Sandra was my social worker. She smelled like mothballs and always squeezed my shoulder too hard. “I hate Sandra,” I confessed on a whisper.
“I know you do. That’s why I said I’d do this. Anyway, look, sweetheart, this is just an initial meeting, informal. Mr. Wanks wouldn’t submit to a blood test until he met you. Said he’d know his kid if he saw her. But the court will require a blood test before they let you go home with him. Addy …” Officer Daniels waited until he had my full attention. “I want you to know, if Mr. Wanks isn’t your dad or if he doesn’t have a place for you in his life, Mel and me have been talking and there’s room in our family for you. Would you like that?”
Warmth flooded my chest. I loved Officer Daniels’ family—his wife Mel, and his son Gabe, who was my age. “Would I get my own room?” I asked. Right now, I had to share with Becky. At night she picked her nose and ate it. She thought nobody saw. I totally did.
Officer Daniels smiled, the lines on his face deepening. “You sure would. And you could play with Gabe every day.”
“I’d like that.” I grinned.
“Good.” Officer Daniels’ smile warmed. “Whatever happens, you just remember you have a place with us. I’m going to go get Mr. Wanks. Wait here.” Officer Daniels stood, replaced his cap and walked out the front door.
I watched through the window as he banged on the limo door. Out came the tallest, skinniest man I’d ever seen. He wasn’t that thin in my picture. He wore all black and a lit cigarette hung from his mouth. He exhaled smoke from his nose, reminding me of an angry bull. Stomping out his cigarette, he followed Officer Daniels to the front door.
I held my breath, everything in my little body wound tight.
As soon as Officer Daniels opened the door, I straightened, locking eyes with the man. I saw a partial reflection of myself. My hair was darker, brown inherited from my mother. But I had his dark green eyes, his cheekbones, his lips.
I let out my breath just as the man spoke. “Fuck,” he drawled in a strange accent. “She’s fucking mine all right.”
“Mr. Wanks, please watch your language,” Officer Daniels said, shutting the door.
Billy ignored him. “What’s her name again?”
“You don’t remember her name?” Officer Daniels flushed.
“Give me a break, mate. You know how many bogus paternity phone calls I get a day? The only reason I came is ’cause I remember her ma.” Billy grinned and ran a hand through his greasy, white-blond hair. He wore a worn black leather jacket, black tee and black skinny jeans. All in all, he looked like no one’s father—too young, too much like a delinquent. “We used to call her Anything Goes Vicky.”
Officer Daniels moved so he blocked my view of Billy. “Vicky was her mother.” His voice lowered. “Her dead mother.”
“Right, sorry,” Billy mumbled.
“Addison,” I chirped from my place on the couch. “My name’s Addison. Most people call me Addy.”
Billy stepped around Officer Daniels. “Well, little bird. That’s not very rock ’n’ roll.” I shrugged and frowned, feeling suddenly bad. Billy noticed. “Ah, I’m shit at this parenting thing already, aren’t I?”
“Mr. Wanks, since you brought it up, I wanted you know that my wife, Mel, and I would like to adopt Addison. We have a son. And we’ve always wanted a little girl. She’d make a wonderful addition—”
“Hold up, chap.” Billy scowled. “I may be a lot of things.” Officer Daniels snorted. Billy scowled more fiercely. “I may be a lot of things. But a deadbeat pop, I’m not.”
Officer Daniels ripped off his hat. “And how do you think you’re going to care for a little girl? I saw your tour schedule. You’re booked solid for the next two years. Life on the road with a band isn’t any place for a kid.”
Billy’s gaze narrowed. “Now you’re starting to piss me off. I may not know the first thing about kids”—Officer Daniels opened his mouth, but Billy kept going—“but I know that kid is mine.” He pointed at me. My gaze bounced back and forth between Officer Daniels and Billy. “Blood is blood. I’m taking her with me. Today.”
“Mr. Wanks, this is just an informal meeting to establish if you want to pursue permanent guardianship. The court will require a blood test before releasing Addison into your custody.”
Billy inhaled and nodded his head. He didn’t look happy. “Fine. Let me say goodbye then.” Officer Daniels moved. Billy walked forward and knelt in front of me, so we were eye to eye. “Hey there, little bird.” Billy’s lip turned up and he glanced behind him. “A little privacy.” Officer Daniels rolled his eyes and took a few steps into the dining room, where he still had a full view. Billy leaned forward so only I could hear. His breath smelled like cigarettes and coffee. “So I guess you’re my kid. I’m sorry I haven’t been around. But I’m going to make it up to you. Starting now. Do you want to come with me?”
I glanced at Officer Daniels, biting my lip. Trouble was brewing. Transferring my gaze back to Billy, I whispered, “What about Officer Daniels?”
“He’ll be all right. He’s already got a kid, yeah?”
I nodded. True.
“And me, I only got you. It’s up to you, Addy girl. I’ll do the blood test, and we’ll wait and then I’ll come get you. Or I can take you away now. If it was up to me, I wouldn’t wait another minute for us to be a family.”
I thought and thought. I’d never really liked television shows. I preferred commercials. My favorites were the ones for shelters, about dogs awaiting their forever homes. I loved Officer Daniels, liked playing with Gabe, and Mel cooked the best meals. My options were limited. I knew what I wanted: a forever home. And one with my own father, the one I’d dreamt about, was wildly tempting. I nodded slowly, without any doubt. “Yes,” I whispered. “I want to go with you.”
Billy’s face spread into a wide grin. “All right, here’s how we’re going to do this…”
I gazed out the tinted back window of the limo, my breath expelling in little huffs. Officer Daniels stood in the middle of the street, his frame getting smaller and smaller as we drove away. Beside me, Billy laughed and slapped his knee. “That was a fucking great getaway, kid.”
“Do you think he’s mad at me?” I asked, turning back around and sinking into the seat.
“Of course not. But he’s pissed as hell at me. I bet he’s got the cops at my hotel before we get there.” My eyes widened. Billy nudged me. “But that’s why we’re not going to the hotel. I’m taking you home to L.A. with me.”
At that, Billy dug a slim phone from his pocket. He dialed, then used his shoulder to hold the phone against his ear. He tapped out a cigarette from a pack beside him on the seat. Cigarette dangling from his mouth, he froze, eyes on me. “I guess I shouldn’t smoke around you, huh?” I shrugged. My mother smoked around me all the time. Billy tossed the cigarette on the limo floor. “Look at me, parent of the fucking year. I should get an award.” I wondered if he was a little “off his rocker,” a term I’d heard Mel use when describing their neighbor with ten cats.
Billy’s focus shifted to the phone. “Larry,” he said. A pause. Listening. “Yeah, she’s mine.” Another pause. “Because she’s a dead ringer for me. But better. Fucking gorgeous.” More listening. “Well, we’ve got a problem. I took her.” Muffled yelling. Blond eyebrows descended down ominously. “I wasn’t going to leave her. You should’ve seen the place they were keeping her at.” I didn’t understand what he meant by that. The foster family’s house was the nicest I’d ever been to, aside from Officer Daniels. “Look, are you or are you not my lawyer?” Billy listened again and seemed appeased. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. She’s coming to L.A. with me. And I want you to make sure nobody takes her away from me. Do what I hired you to do and we won’t have a problem.” His words were brisk, brittle. Billy hung up the ph
one and tossed it onto the seat.
I pressed myself further into the plush leather. Maybe I’d made a mistake coming with Billy. A long-ago lesson about stranger danger flitted through my memory.
“What’s the matter, little bird?” Billy asked. I just looked at him, huge tears forming in my eyes. “You scared?”
Admitting fear was a hard thing to do. I said the first things I thought of. “I don’t have any clothes and I left my toothbrush and my foster mom was going to finish reading Charlotte’s Web tonight.”
Billy gave a particularly pained-sounding sigh. He raised his arm. “C’mere,” he said.
I hesitated for a moment then scooted over. His arm fell around my shoulders, pressing me to him. He smelled like smoke but underneath there was an air of cleanliness, a downy scent, as if he’d just pulled on a T-shirt fresh from the drier. “I’m going to buy you whatever you need. Don’t worry about that. And I’ll read to you at night. We might need to stop by a bookstore. I think all I got at my house right now is Rolling Stone and Penthouse.”
“Penthouse?” I asked, lifting my head.
Billy patted my hair. “Don’t worry about that, little bird.”
“How come you don’t call me Addy?”
“I don’t know. Don’t you like ‘little bird’?”
I thought about what Billy had said back at my foster parents’ house. “Is it more rock ’n’ roll?”
Billy chuckled. “It sure is.”
“It’s okay then. What should I call you?”
Billy sighed and was quiet for a moment. “People call me lots of things. My friends call me Wanks. A lot of chicks call me ‘asshole.’ Someday I hope you’ll call me Dad. But we can start with Billy for now, sound good?”
“That sounds good,” I said, and then, “Billy.”
Billy absentmindedly petted my hair again. “You and me, kid, we’re going to be all right, yeah?” I nodded into his side. “Charlotte’s Web? That the one about the pig?”
“Uh-huh, there’s Wilbur, the pig, and Charlotte, and Templeton, and…” My eyes started to close.
After a while I felt Billy adjust me, so I was lying on the limo’s bench seat. Carefully, he draped his leather jacket over my body. “Fucking father of the year,” he muttered to himself.
Two years later
I swayed in the plastic chair, humming a Wanks and Janks song under my breath. It was the middle of the school day. I was missing free choice time. Again. This was my third visit to the office in the same week. Sigh. By the time I returned, all the good choices like board games, Play-Doh and puppets would be taken.
Mrs. Richards, the dour-faced headmistress, had placed me in the hallway. “I’m calling your father this time,” she’d said. I’d been waiting for what felt like an eternity. Tugging at the scratchy collar of my uniform shirt, I wished I could remove it. I’d taken it off once before, leaving me in the checkered jumper sans shirt. Mrs. Inglewood, my nanny, had been appalled. Being half-naked in public wasn’t ladylike. Billy had been delighted. Being half-naked in public was very rock ’n’ roll-like.
The double doors swung open and Billy entered in a cloud of smoke. Dark sunglasses obscured his eyes. He was dressed in all black, his clothes wrinkled as if he’d just rolled out of bed. This was highly likely. Usually, Mrs. Inglewood drove me to school. If Billy weren’t on tour, he’d pick me up and take me to the zoo, or the recording studio, or just home, where we’d eat snacks and watch cartoons. Most days Billy seemed more friend than father.
I smiled, seeing Billy wasn’t alone. Jett Janks, the other half of the band Wanks and Janks, followed close behind. Jett was an amazing guitarist. But even more amazing was his hair, wild, curly and long, it reminded me of an electric cloud. I’d learned to braid on it.
“Uncle Jett!” I cried, jumping from my seat, wrapping my arms around his waist. Jett wasn’t as tall as Billy nor as thin. But he was strong. Sometimes I’d go stiff as a board and Jett would lift me as if bench-pressing weights.
“What trouble did you get into now, little bird?” Billy tugged one of my pigtails. Releasing Jett, I scowled up at my father. “It wasn’t my fault.”
Billy removed his sunglasses and rolled his eyes. “It’s never your fault.”
“This time it really wasn’t.” Cue foot-stomping.
“We’ll see about that,” Billy said. He sauntered to the front desk where Mrs. Paulson, the secretary, watched them. Billy leaned forward, into Mrs. Paulson’s space. A blush crept from her ample bosom to her forehead. “Hey there, love. Could you do me a favor and let Mrs. Dicks know Addison’s old man is here?”
Mrs. Paulson nodded. Pushing a button on the intercom, she stammered into the receiver, “Mrs. Di… I mean Mrs. Richards. Addison’s father is here.”
“Send them in,” came the curt reply.
“Go ahead,” Mrs. Paulson said. “Third door on your right.”
Billy winked. “Oh, we know the way. Don’t we, little bird?” Billy grabbed my hand, pulling me down the hallway. “You coming, Jett?” Billy called back.
“Wouldn’t miss this for the world.” Jett smirked, following.
“Wait, Billy.” I halted.
My father turned to me. “What is it, little bird? You got something you want to tell your old man before we go in there?”
A crook of my finger, and Billy leaned down. “It was kind of my fault.” I played with my hands. I couldn’t meet his eyes. “Parker Woods took my crayons and…”
“And?”
One huge breath for bravery. “And I… I put superglue on his chair,” I finished, feeling better after confessing, but I’d deliberately left out the worst part. When Parker went to stand, his pants had ripped, torn straight down the middle, and he’d effectively mooned the entire class. Who knew Parker Woods didn’t wear underwear? Someone should speak to his mother about that.
“Did you?” Billy quirked a brow.
“Yes,” I said firmly.
“Thank you for telling me. I forgive you.”
I beamed as if blessed by the pope. Billy knocked once on Mrs. Richards’ door and walked through. We settled into the chairs in front of Mrs. Richards’ desk. Jett lounged against the wall, unlit cigarette hanging loose from his mouth.
“Mr. Wanks and Mr…” Mrs. Richards raised a brow, a pointed look at Jett.
“Janks, love,” Jett said. His voice made gravel seem smooth. “Jett Janks.”
Mrs. Richards recognized the name. “Mr. Wanks, you brought your band mate to a meeting at your daughter’s school?” Her tone was even, but the tightness of her lips spoke volumes.
Billy grew indignant. “Hey, now, curb the judgment, Richards. Jett’s much more than a band mate. He’s like Addy’s second parent.”
Mrs. Richards’ cheeks reddened. “I’m sorry, Mr. Wanks, I didn’t know that you were… That you are…”
Billy snorted. “I love the ladies, Richards. I’m not gay,” he stated emphatically. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
“Nothing wrong with that at all,” Jett echoed in his deep voice.
“That band that opened for us two summers ago, they had a drummer who was gay, yeah?” Billy turned, asking Jett.
Jett scratched his stubbly cheek. “No, it was the lead guitarist, and I think he was bi.”
“What’s gay? What’s bi?” I asked.
Billy swiveled to me. “Shi—I mean shoot, little bird, I wasn’t planning on having this conversation with you until you were older. Like thirty or so. But I guess now is as good a time as any. When a man and woman, or a man and a man, or a woman and a woman—”
“Or a man and a man and a woman,” Jett chimed in.
Billy smiled. “Right, thanks, mate. Or when a man and a man and a woman really love each other or like each other or feel attracted—”
“Mr. Wanks!” Mrs. Richards practically yelled. She put her hand to her chest. “Can we please focus?”
Jett coughed out a laugh.
Billy grinned,
all white teeth. “Oh, right, sorry. We’ll talk about this at home, little bird.” He plucked my nose.
I nodded, eyes as big as saucers.
“Now, Mr. Wanks,” Mrs. Richards said, spreading her hands on her desk, “regarding Addison, this is the third time this week she’s been sent to my office. I fear that Addison’s behavior in the classroom is a reflection of her unusual, unstructured home environment.”
Billy stuck a finger in his ear, pretended to clean it out. “I’m sorry, Richards, but it sounds an awful lot like you’re calling me a crap parent. Did you hear that, Jett?”
“I heard it, mate. I heard it,” said Jett.
Mrs. Richards was quick to correct, to cover. “Mr. Wanks, that’s not what I’m saying at all. Addison is a very spirited young lady—”
Billy leaned forward. “That’s right. She is spirited. And she doesn’t do shi—crap unprovoked. I say that Parker kid had it coming.”
“Had it coming,” Jett echoed.
I dipped my chin in agreement. He totally had it coming. Thievery would not be tolerated. Not on my watch. I had a very strong sense of justice.
Mrs. Richards took a deep breath. “Be that as it may, Mr. Wanks, I’m no longer sure Berkshire Academy is the right learning institution for Addison.”
Billy’s face changed, his eyes narrowed and his cheeks flushed. “You’re kicking her out? After all I’ve done for this school? I coughed up a hundred grand at the school auction and my band played.” Heavy pause. “For free.”
“We appreciate your generous contributions, Mr. Wanks. But I have other students to think of, and Addison is a continuous disruption. Perhaps if the circumstances of her home life were dramatically changed, we may reconsider, but until then…” she trailed off.
“This is bullshit.” Billy stood, face outraged. “My little bird is an angel. An angel. You know what? You’re not kicking her out. I’m withdrawing her. Effective immediately.” He held out his hand to me. I knew better than to not take it. “C’mon.” To Mrs. Richards he said, “I’ll have someone come by later and get her stuff.”
Bad Rules_Wild Minds Novel Page 20