by Eve Rabi
He nods and turns away. Quickly, I walk away. Lucas is ill. Now’s not the time.
* * *
Something does happen. I get a call from Reed telling me that I can see Wyatt whenever I want and that he forgives me and all is forgotten.
Yeah, right. That’s just wishful thinking on my part.
I do get a call from Reed. An irate Reed. “Are you out of your fucking mind? You went to an attorney? Do you know what you’re letting yourself in for?”
I expected this call, so I’m sort of prepared. “I wanna be able to see my baby, and if it means a fight, then so be it, Reed. I don’t wanna fight, but …”
“Why? You abandoned him, Megan. You don’t deserve him.”
“I had my reasons for abandoning him, Reed, and I don’t think you are being fair by keeping my son away from …”
“Fair? Fair?” With a sneer of disgust, Reed hangs up.
Jake calls shortly after that. “I requested a meeting and he told me to take a hike. Can you believe it?”
“Call him again.”
“Megan!”
“Please, Jake! Tell him … tell him if we can’t work it out at the meeting, we’ll leave him alone.”
After ranting about how he doesn’t ever do shit like this, Jake calls Reed again and to our surprise … Reed reluctantly agrees to meet at his offices.
I feel like waltzing. In fact, I do so, without music.
Chapter Eighteen
The meeting starts out badly. Reed is arrogant and totally uncooperative.
“You need to sever all ties with Wyatt,” he says.
Like hell I will.
“How could you discuss our personal life with a stranger, Megan? Do you want me to retaliate with another attorney? Have you ever considered the possibility that I may do that? Can you handle prison, Megan? Because that will be the end result, you cheat!”
I try my best to stay calm. “You left me no choice, Reed. I want to see Wyatt, because he’s my baby.”
“You’re not his mother anymore! You abandoned him remember? Awww, forget it!”
“I gave birth to him!”
“Yes, I know, you lying, cheating, trailer-trash …”
“Hey, watch it, buddy!” Jake cautions.
Reed looks at Jake. “I’m not your buddy. Don’t ever call me that. Understand?”
Jake fires back. “Understand, that we can sue for full custody and take him away. You don’t want to lose your child, do you? Buddy?”
Reed stands up so fast, his chair flies back.
I quickly jump to my feet and block Reed’s path to Jake. “Jake!” I hiss. “Don’t say that!”
Too late, Reed shoves me aside and swings at Jake, catching him in the chin.
“Reed, no!” I grab Reed’s arm but he shrugs me off like a kid.
Jake is immediately on his feet. “You’re going to be so sorry you did that, buddy!” Jake spits, wiping blood from his mouth and advancing toward Reed. “You have a house? A car? Huh? I’m going to sue your sorry ass for everything!”
“Stop, Jake, please!” I cry as I stand between the two men, a hand on each chest, trying desperately to keep them apart and failing.
Margot, Jake’s secretary, runs into the office and gasps at the sight of Jake’s bloodied lip. Immediately, she dials 911.
“Hello I need the police …”
“Oh, God, she’s phoning the cops!” I cry, picturing Damien on the scene, handcuffing Reed and throwing him in prison for assault. “Damien’s gonna kill him, Jake!”
Both men look at me.
“Please, Jake, don’t. Please!”
Jake glares at Reed, then to my surprise, snaps his fingers at Margot and runs a finger across his neck.
“You can’t be serious!” Margot says. When she sees that he is, she hesitantly says, “It’s okay. We got it under control,” and hangs up.
The arrogant look on Reed’s face morphs into confusion and surprise at Jake’s instructions to Margot.
The two men face each other. “Consider yourself lucky, asshole,” Jake hisses, wiping his lip. “I did this for Megan.”
“I did that for my son,” Reed replies. He turns to me. “No one takes him away from me. No one!”
Jake turns to Margot. “Leave us, we’re okay.”
Margot reluctantly shuts the door on her way out.
I try to wipe the blood from Jake’s mouth with a Kleenex, but he pushes me away. “I’m okay.”
I turn to Reed. “Reed …”
“Forget it. I’m out of here.” He grabs his jacket and storms out.
I slump in a chair and cover my face with my hands.
“Megan?”
I look at Jake, my eyes brimming with tears. “That was our last chance.”
“Don’t worry, it will … everything will work out,” he says in a flat, unconvincing tone.
“How?” I wail. “Look what he just did!”
“Hey, that’s okay. He’s being protective of his son. I’d do the same thing – I’d protect my son with my life. If anything, I actually respect the son of a bitch.” He leans forward conspiratorially. “Look, if it helps, I’ll go talk to him next week. Give him time to cool off.”
“No! After what I just saw? Are you crazy?”
Jake waves his hand dismissively. “I’ll work something out. Leave it to me.”
***
It’s been a week since our disastrous meeting with Reed and I’m losing hope.
Just then Jake calls. “Can you come over? I need to talk to you about Dr. Grumpy.”
Sensing some news, good or bad, I don’t care; I race over to Jake.
Jake’s eyes are bright as he talks. “Last night, Lucas had a new doctor see him and they did a series of tests.”
“Yeah …?”
“Guess who the new doctor was?”
Dare I hope? “Reed?”
“Yep.”
“Oh my God! How …?”
“Well, at first, he was like all stiff and shit, but after a while he had to go into doctor mode and eventually, he bought me a cup of coffee at the hospital cafeteria, where we talked.”
I move to the edge of my seat, my eyes fixed to his face.
Jakes strokes his chin. “He’s hurt, Megan. He really is.”
“I know. Oh, God, I know, I know, I know.”
“It was tempting to tell him about your asshole husband, but I didn’t because I know if he finds out that Damien may come after him, he will leave with the baby. Wyatt is very, very important to him.
“Anyway, I fought for you, not as a lawyer, but as a friend. And …”
With hope surging through me, I lean my whole body forward. “And …?”
“He’ll allow you to see Wyatt every Friday.”
“Oh, my God!” I get up and throw my arms around Jake. “Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!”
“Hey, mind the suit, will you? Just had it dry-cleaned.”
I laugh and run my hands fast over his suit, wrinkling it further. “I’ll have it dry-cleaned!” Suddenly, I stand very still. “Jake, tomorrow is … Friday?”
“So…?”
“I want to see him tomorrow.”
Jake shakes his head from side to side. “C’mon, Megan, not so soon.”
“Call him, Jake!”
“No!”
“Call him, Jake. Please. Tell him that … tell him … whatever! I just wanna see Wyatt tomorrow. Please!”
“I can’t do that, Megan, it’s too soon! It’s like I’m badgering …”
“Yes, you can, Jake. Please!”
“No, I won’t.”
“I need you to make this call, Jake. You have to.”
“I don’t have to do anything I don’t want to,” he grumbles as he dials Reed’s number. “How you doing, doc?”
I pace and chew on my nails as they talk.
Jake hangs up. “Tomorrow, 2 p.m. We meet at my office for a talk first. Ground rules ...”
“Oh.”
“He’s brin
ging Wyatt.”
“Oh, my God! You’re such a great attorney. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
He rolls his eyes. “Well, Mrs. Saunders, I have to kick you out of my office now. See you tomorrow at 2 p.m. and don’t piss off my client, whatever you do.”
“Your client?”
“Yes. He would only talk to me about you if he retained my services as well.”
“Your … what about conflict of interest and all that crap?”
Jake dismisses it with the wave of his hand. “Don’t worry, it’s just the privileged information aspect he’s concerned about. Clever Arab. Now get out of my office so I can do some work!”
“I’m outta here, I’m outta here!” I say and scoot. Then, I stop and turn back. With a mischievous smile, I rush back to Jake and rub my hands all over his suit again.
“Get the hell outta here!” he yells as I run out of his office.
As I drive, I give a “Whoop! Whoop!” and drum on my steering wheel. “I’m going to hold and kiss my baby boy!”
***
Armed with presents, I arrive forty-five minutes early for my meeting with Reed and Wyatt and wear out Jake’s carpet with my pacing.
When they walk through the door, Wyatt looks at me and I see a flicker of recognition in his eyes. Then, he shyly tucks his head into Reed’s jacket and won’t look at me again.
Disappointment seeps through me. “Wyatt? It’s Mommy, darling. Baby? Come to me. Please?”
Slowly, he lifts his head, looks at me, then breaks into a toothless grin and it’s like summer rain. I open my arms. My baby springs into them. Tears cascade down my cheeks as I squeeze him to me. My tears today are a combination of happiness and sadness.
“Mommy’s back, baby. Mommy’s back, honey.”
Jake silently watches as Reed sits, stone-faced.
Within minutes, Wyatt unpacks all the toys I bought him and everyone in the room can’t help but smile at his glee.
Finally, I look at Reed. “Thank you, Reed. I really appreciate –”
“Every Friday!” he snaps. “Arrange to pick him up and drop him off at Abeeda’s. Starting from today.”
“Eh, okay. Sure. Okay.”
“If Abeeda’s not there, leave him with her mother. Miss one Friday and you’re history!”
I nod vigorously. “Okay. Sure.”
“I don’t want to run into you,” he spits. “Ever!”
I flinch at the coldness in his voice.
“Megan …” For the first time, he looks directly at me, “Understand that I never want to cross paths with you.”
I will myself to nod, but his naked disdain cuts so badly, I can’t.
He looks at Jake. “Are we done, Jake?”
Jake nods.
Reed stands up and turns his back to me.
“Reed, I never meant to hurt you,” I say to his back. “Or Wyatt.”
Reed turns around slowly to look at me, his jaw jutting.
“I know I did …” my voice breaks and for a moment, I see a glimpse of tenderness on his face. Just for a moment. Then, Reed turns and walks out of the office, ignoring my heartfelt words.
I look at Jake, my shoulders slumped.
Jake shrugs. “You have Wyatt, Megan.”
When I look at my darling baby’s face, all my sadness vanishes. I nod and hug him. “Yeshhhh! I have my darling baby Wyatt.”
“Momma,” he says and holds up a plastic truck. “Vroom! Vroom!”
Chapter Nineteen
I seldom see Reed, but when I do bump into him, I am greeted by a cold front – no hello, goodbye, not even eye contact. His questions or responses to me are curt, and sometimes I have to ask him something twice before I get an answer.
Although his coldness is so intense that I sometimes feel crushed, I try not to worry too much – things will change in time and he will thaw and soon, who knows?
I may even tell him everything and he will forgive me.
We both loved each other too much to hate each other for life, and in three months, his love for me couldn’t have waned that much. His trust, yes, but I know he will soon realize how much he loves me.
Main thing is, I have my baby back and I see him every Friday. To hear him say, “Momma!” is like a whisper from an angel, and nothing hurts anymore.
After a month of me seeing Wyatt, I visit Jake at his office.
“How’s it going?” he asks, looking unusually disheveled.
“Great. I see Wyatt every Friday. No problem. Reed, well, he just needs time and he will come around. But I love him so much, I will wait.”
Jake looks away, then looks at the floor, then pinches the bridge of his nose.
“What’s wrong, Jake? Why are you –”
“Megan, I have something to tell you.”
“What?” Jake looks so serious, I start to worry.
Slowly, he runs his hand through his hair. “Lucas has leukemia.”
“Oh my God, Jake!”
He nods.
“I’m so sorry to hear that. How is he now?”
“Tired, but we’re handling it.”
Now I understand why he looks so distracted and ruffled.
“But that’s not what I want to tell you.”
“Oh?”
“Reed’s taking care of Lucas, so we see each other almost every day. Now, the other day, at the hospital cafeteria, Bailey and I bumped into Reed and a woman he introduced us to as his … fiancée.”
“Fiancée?! No way. That’s impossible. You kidding me? He actually introduced her as his fiancée?”
He shakes his head slowly. “I’m not kidding, Megan.”
“Well … I mean … like, what’s her name then?”
“That’s the thing; my phone rang and I excused myself to answer it. When I came back, they had left. Bailey didn’t get the girl’s name, either. But he did introduce her as his fiancée. That I heard clearly.”
Dumbfounded, I stare at him.
“I’m sorry,” he says.
I wave his apology aside. “Jake, it’s just three months. There’s no way this could be true. I mean, how does he mourn me and move on so quickly? It’s not possible. Maybe he just said that so you would tell me. Maybe he wanted to piss me off. Eh?”
Jake nods slowly. “Maybe.” His condescending tone irritates me.
“Anyway, I’m seeing Wyatt on Friday. I’ll keep my eyes peeled, okay? Stop looking so worried.”
“Okay.”
Fiancée, my ass! There’s no way he could be seeing someone else. He’s too angry to have moved on so quickly.
But Jake’s words bother me and I can’t rest.
The stalker in me emerges. I find myself at his apartment. Parking my car on the outskirts of the parking lot, I watch the apartment with binoculars. Nothing. Confused, I think about Abeeda – maybe she will know. But she doesn’t answer her phone, so I leave a message for her to call me and drive home.
On Friday afternoon, after I drop off Wyatt, instead of going home, I wait for half an hour, then drive back to Reed’s apartment and knock on the door.
Reed opens the door, a surprised look on his face. “What are you doing here?” he asks.
The aroma of something really delicious wafts out of the apartment, peeking my curiosity. I didn’t know he could cook.
“Forgot this,” I say and hand him Wyatt’s bottle. “Didn’t want to …”
I stop when I see Abeeda’s head pop around the corner, serving spoon in hand. To my surprise, she jerks her head back and disappears into the kitchen.
“Abeeda?” I call, confused at her behavior.
She doesn’t answer.
I look at Reed. “Would you mind if I said hello to Abeeda?”
When he doesn’t answer, I brush past him and walk into the kitchen, where I find Abeeda standing at the stove, looking worried.
“Abeeda?”
“I don’t have to answer any of your questions!” she says in a curt tone.
Not what I expecte
d her to say. “Wha…?” I peer at her and suddenly it dawns on me. “You’re the fiancée!”
Her look is defiant. “I’m really busy cooking now, so you have to –”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I say. I whirl around and see Reed in the doorway, looking embarrassed. “What happened to Hashim?”
Abeeda walks over to Reed and slips her arm through his.
At the sight of the united front, a red wave overcomes me and I want to kill them both. “You … you … Reed? She’s your FIANCEE? Are you fucking MAD?!”
“Megan, don’t you yell at me,” Reed warns. “This is none of your business!”
“None of my business?” I look at Abeeda. “None of my business? You … you knew, you fucking bitch!”
“Knew what?” Reed asks.
Before I can answer, we hear Wyatt crying. Reed steps out to fetch him as Abeeda and I face off.
When Reed enters the kitchen with Wyatt, my son holds out his arms to Abeeda and says, “Beeda Momma, Beeda Momma!”
Abeeda smiles and takes him from Reed. “What do you want, my baby?” she asks in a sing-song voice.
Shell-shocked by what I’m seeing, what I’m hearing, I can only stare.
Abeeda bestows on me a condescending look and says, “Megan, Reedwan has moved on. You should too.”
“What?!”
“You need to leave now,” Abeeda says. “We have to give Wyatt his bath and dinner, then we have to have dinner too.” She walks out of the kitchen.
Alone with Reed, I look at him in disbelief, my eyes brimming with tears. “How … how could you, Reed? How could you love someone else so quickly?”
“Megan, I don’t understand; why are you so upset? You left me!”
Feeling like I’m in a really bad dream, I turn and drag myself out of the apartment. How could this happen? When did it happen? How could Reed let Wyatt call Abeeda ‘Momma’?
When I get to the parking lot, to steady my trembling self, I sit on the curb and hold my head in my hands.
“Megan!”
I look up into Reed’s face.
“What the hell is going on with you? I mean, you don’t want me. She does, Megan!”
“Reed, this is crazy. How can this be happening, Reed? We went through so much. You risked your life for me. You found me. I live for you and Wyatt. How can things go so horribly wrong, Reed?”