by Sarah Peis
I had to constantly keep pushing the damn thing out of my face, the elastic band too wide—or my head too small, a fact I refused to acknowledge. Since they only came in one size, because elastic apparently solved all sizing issues, they seemed to be either too small or too big.
By the time the football game was halfway over, I had sold a total of one hat. I was also positioned right smack in the walkway, so everyone could see me. It was like sitting in a fishbowl.
I gritted my teeth and stayed where I was, even though the last thing I wanted to do on my Saturday was peddling shit. Oma and Josie took pity on me and kept me company, Josie helping rearrange all the hats and Oma chatting to everyone who came past. There wasn’t anyone she didn’t know in Butler. But not even she could convince people to spend $20 for a hat they would never wear.
The game was in the last quarter and I was playing with Josie, both of us sitting on the floor, legs crossed, heads stuck together building Lego houses.
“Where is she?” an all too familiar voice screeched. She didn’t seem to have any other frequency but loud and obnoxious. I scrambled to get up off the ground and stood in front of Josie.
“I want to see my grandchild.”
I stepped forward, hitting the table. “What are you doing here, Mom?”
“Don’t call me that,” she sneered. “I’ve told you a million times. Tell me where she is.”
“What’s going on?” I asked, weary of her sudden interest. She didn’t do kids. She hated them. Thought them a nuisance.
“I’m visiting my grandchild. You are not fit to raise a child. I’m here to save my baby.”
Her barbs shouldn’t hurt after all these years but they stung just as bad as ever.
“She’s not here,” I said, praying that Josie would continue playing with her Legos and stay hidden underneath the table.
“You can’t keep my grandchild from me.”
Oh the nerve of that woman. “Why the sudden interest, Anna?” I asked, drawing out her name. “You didn’t care when your son died and left his daughter behind. You didn’t even make it to his funeral. And not once did you ask about Josie.”
“Who the hell is Josie? Now where is my grandchild?”
Unbelievable. One thing that could be said for Anna McAllister was that she was a self-centered b word. Not even after all the shit she’d pulled could I get myself to call her names. Oma had raised me better than that.
I took a deep breath and unclenched my jaw. “Why do you want to see her?”
“She’s going to live with me. You are too young to be raising a child.”
Excuse me, what? Over my dead body. I would fight to the end before I let her destroy Josie’s life like she had Freddie’s and mine. “The hell you are,” I said, raising my voice.
“That’s no way to speak to me. You better mind your manners. I already got a lawyer. He’s sending the paperwork on Monday. He thought it would be a good idea to get to know my grandchild beforehand.” Makes sense since she didn’t even know Josie’s name. Any judge granting her custody would have to be high off his head.
“You don’t like kids,” I stated without emotion, a fact I’d learned early on.
“What does that have to do with anything? I want to take care of my only grandchild.”
“She’s two. You have to look after her all the time. You can’t just leave her alone. You need to make sure she eats. Dresses. Brushes her teeth. Has a bed to sleep in. You’d have to take care of a child.” All things she failed to do while Freddie and I were living with her.
“I’ve had three kids. I think I know what to do.”
If she had paid the slightest bit of attention to us, she might know. But she didn’t. It was a miracle we all survived. It sure wasn’t because of her tender loving care.
“I have full custody of Josie. And I’m not giving her up. You can tell your lawyer to stop wasting his time.”
Josie chose that moment to pop her head up. “Mimi, need potty,” she said and tugged on my hand. Now of all times she decided she wanted to go use an actual toilet. And since it had been a struggle to get her to use the toilet I had to take her.
Mom pounced the second she saw her. There was no way anyone could refute she was Nate’s, having inherited his deep blue eyes and dimples.
She leaned down, the tight tank she was wearing straining to hold her boobs in place. Ugh, not a view I would want anyone to be subjected to. I resisted the urge to cover Josie’s eyes. She was too young for a peep show. “Hello pretty little thing. I’m your grandma.”
Oma had been silent throughout the exchange but when Anna bent down she stepped forward. “You should go Anna. She has no idea who you are and we both know as soon as the newness wears off you’ll discard her just like everything else. Let’s save everyone the trouble and go where the pepper grows. Or crack, in your case.”
And that’s why I could count on Oma. She always had our back.
Josie looked up at me, unsure. She had never met another relative other than Oma and Freddie.
I did not want to introduce them. No good would come of her being in Josie’s life. The only thing that came with Anna was heartbreak and devastation. She was selfish and cold-hearted.
I didn’t believe for a second that she wanted to take care of Josie. There had to be an ulterior motive. And I had to find out what that was before she destroyed Josie’s life.
“I’ll see you in court then,” I said, my voice clipped, my body rigid. I grasped Josie’s hand and she wiggled in my grip when my hand tightened. I shot her an apologetic look and released some of the tension.
The loud roar of the crowd halted our conversation. The football game had ended during our argument and people were coming down the stands. It worked in my favor and I quickly disappeared into the crowd, ignoring mom’s shouts. A look over my shoulder confirmed that Oma was blocking Anna’s way and not even Anna would be bold enough to push Oma out of the way.
“Let’s find you a bathroom,” I said and managed a half smile at Josie to reassure her that everything was okay. “Maybe we can have pizza for dinner tonight.”
“Pizza,” Josie exclaimed. She loved her food and anything unhealthy made it high onto her list of favorites. We went to the bathroom and made it back to the booth without incident. The evil witch had left, most likely getting bored at waiting for us to come back. After I made sure the coast was clear, I packed up all the hats, Oma and Josie waiting off to the side. Most people had now left the stadium and it was quiet except for the hum of the lights. Unfortunately, the crowd had witnessed the standoff earlier and the gossip mills would run wild. McAllister’s made great gossip.
I heard footsteps running down the walkway and looked up to see Freddie sprinting towards us. “Is she gone? What did she want? Is she going to take Josie away from us? Do I have to go back? What are we going to do?”
“Freddie,” I hissed and inclined my head towards a wide-eyed Josie.
“Shit, sorry,” she said and dropped down to her knees in front of Josie. “Hey little bean, you gonna help me decorate my backpack this weekend? I was thinking of lots of glitter and I even got some glow in the dark glue.”
Josie being her big-hearted, not a worry in the world self, immediately jumped at the opportunity to not only help her auntie but also at the thought of using glitter, enthusiastically nodding her head, her hair flying everywhere.
“We’ll talk later,” I said and squeezed Freddie’s shoulder as I walked past.
Jerry was supposed to be here with his truck to load the boxes, but he was nowhere in sight. “Why don’t you guys go home and I’ll get the bus. Jerry should be here soon.” I held out my keys.
“Those who are late will get punished by life,” Oma said, earning puzzled looks from Freddie and I. Noting our confusion, she smiled. “We’ll wait with you. Safer that way.”
“For who? You or me?” I said and had to work hard to suppress the laugh bubbling up.
“I’m a great driver,” Fred
die defended herself. “None of the accidents were my fault.”
“So the tree just moved by itself?”
“Exactly. Totally not my fault. We should have reported it to the Ranger. I can see the headline in the paper, rogue tree strikes again.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t respond. Freddie’s driving skills were a topic of contention. I practiced with her to make sure she’d pass her test but so far I had my doubts.
“I’ll call Jerry to see how far off he is.”
Turned out, I didn’t have to since he came walking towards us as I was about to pull my phone out. We loaded the boxes up, barely fitting them in.
“Did you sell any hats at all?” he asked and I poked my tongue out at him.
“Hey,” I defended myself, “I sold one hat to Mrs. Whitaker.”
“She is legally blind,” he deadpanned.
“I tried my best. Scouts honor.”
He grunted in answer and got back in his car. We both knew I’d have to face the committee soon enough, no point in telling me off now. They would do a thorough job. I regretted the day I ever agreed to be a member. But Oma was pushing me to get more involved in the community, since she deemed me antisocial. She offered me food if I promised to give it a go. Nobody has ever said no to food from Oma. That was a year ago and I had been trying to get out of it ever since.
“Let’s go, girls, I’m starving,” I said, taking Josie’s hand, Freddie taking the other side so we could swing her in between us. Her giggles made us forget the past few hours, her shrieks of delight when we threw her up were the best part of my day.
“I’ll have to take her with me.”
“We’ll be fine. Do not worry, mein Schatz.”
But I did worry. I’d been worrying ever since Anna had showed up at the game. I didn’t want to leave Josie. She was so little. What if Anna decided she wasn’t going to go through the long, drawn out court proceedings and just take her? Gunner went wherever I did, so if I left them alone they would be without his super human strength and scary growl.
“What if she comes over?”
“I won’t open the door.” Oma looked determined. But we both knew she had no chance should Anna decide she wanted to take Josie.
“You can’t take Josie with you. What are you going to do while you’re at work?”
“I’ll stay here then.”
“Don’t be such a fat head.”
“I’m not being stubborn. I just don’t want to risk it. I’m calling Rhett and telling him I can’t make it to work tomorrow and that’s that.”
Oma knew when I’d gone off to crazy land and stopped arguing with me. Instead she got back to cooking, Josie helping her with rapt attention.
I walked outside to our back patio and closed the door to call Rhett. He answered on the second ring.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Why would something be wrong?”
“You never just call. Now tell me what happened.”
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I just can’t come to Denver for work this week. I have to watch Josie.”
“Why can’t Oma do it? Is she okay?”
I would never admit to him that I had been so paranoid about Anna taking Josie away that I’d taken her to work with me every day this week. She loved it, playing in a fort she built underneath my desk and entertaining Claire and Martin with her quick wit and adorable dimples. They were putty in her hands and didn’t she know it.
“Oma is fine. She just can’t watch Josie.”
“Why not?”
“Because.”
“That’s not a reason.”
“I can’t make it. Just email any work you have and Claire will get it done for you. That’s the beauty of the internet. And the foundation Cassandra’s company is built on. She has clients all over the world and they manage just fine.”
“Be here tomorrow or I’m voiding the contract.”
“I can’t leave Josie behind.” My voice took on a pleading tone, much to my dismay.
“Figure it out.”
Asswipe. I’d figure it out all right.
I hung up on him, too mad to say anything in return. What the hell had happened to him? He was bitter and cold. Nothing like the Rhett I grew up with.
I went back inside and parked my ass on a kitchen chair. “We’re going on a trip to Denver tomorrow, little bean.”
“Denver, Denver, Denver,” Josie chanted and waved the spoon she had used to stir the salad dressing up in the air, spraying herbs and oil everywhere.
“So he agreed to you bringing her?” Oma asked.
“Something like that,” I responded, not meeting her eyes.
“Emmi. I didn’t raise you to be a liar.”
“Fine. He said no.”
“Emmi.”
“I know, I know. But you should have heard him. He was not very nice about it. I’m taking Josie and that’s that.”
I got up to thwart any further argument and packed our bags.
The drive to Denver the next morning was effortless, Josie happy to play with her dolls while listening to the Dr. Seuss CDs that I played on an endless loop. I also came prepared and every time she started getting loud I gave her food. Good parenting? Probably not. But it meant I didn’t have to stop and she was happy munching on her snacks.
Gunner followed me the whole way, but drove off as soon as I entered the parking garage of the apartment. I would walk to the office since it was so close, which meant I could avoid having to get Josie in and out of the car. She didn’t like getting in her seat and I had to negotiate with her every time. Easier to walk the short distance.
I made it to the office twenty minutes late, carrying a giant bag stuffed with toys and food for Josie. It didn’t help that she was dragging her feet, looking at every little crack on the sidewalk with fascination.
I shuffled into the elevator, bumping people along the way while dishing out apologies like they were a Walmart special. I ignored the frosty looks and scoffing, instead focusing on not knocking anyone out. Josie was giddy with excitement, jumping up and down, her little body humming with energy.
We made it to my desk with a myriad of curious stares and raised brows. The office wasn’t exactly known as child friendly, what with Rhett’s reputation of a businessman with a heart made of rock. Okay, I made that last part up, but he wasn’t exactly known for being lenient with his employees. But I wasn’t too concerned. I hoped he was going to fire me for this stunt. Cassandra would understand. Maybe. Hopefully.
Lexie’s eyes went wide when she saw who I had in tow. I stopped at my desk and dropped the heavy bag, a big exhale passing my lips. Lexie spun her chair around and pointed at Josie who grinned at her and waved. “You got a death wish or something?”
“Not at all,” I answered and started unpacking toys. Josie was eager to help and immediately settled on the floor, surrounded by her possessions.
“He is going to blow a fuse,” Lexie declared.
“Probably. But he’ll live.”
“You might not.”
I guess there was the slight possibility this would push him over the edge. Lexie shook her head and went back to furiously typing on her keyboard, her eyes drifting back to Josie.
I booted up my own computer, ready to start my day. Josie hummed a song she’d heard in the car, her little voice echoing through the quiet office.
“Josie,” I said and crawled underneath the desk where she sat, content to brush her doll’s hair. She looked up and showed me her Barbie. “She got new dresses.”
“Very pretty.” I admired the doll. “Remember how we talked about you coming to work with me?”
She nodded her head, eager to please as always.
“Part of that included quiet time, right?”
Another nod.
“That means no humming or talking loudly, okay little bean?”
“But I like humpty dumpty,” she said, not ready to give up. The kid loved singing, telling her to be quiet wasn’t
ever going to go down well. Since I didn’t mind her singing, I kissed her chubby little cheek, feeling like an ass to tell her not to hum. She’d be fine. People could still work. She wasn’t very loud. Only the desks close to use would be able to hear.
I shuffled back to get out. “Let me know if you get hungry.”
“Emmi. My office. Now,” Rhett’s voice boomed from above us. I saw his shiny shoes through the gap on the bottom of my desk and wiggled the rest of the way out from under the desk.
My head popped up and I blew a strand of wayward hair out of my face. “Now? But I just got in.”
He looked furious, his fists balled, his mouth tight.
“Fine,” I said and stood up.
He marched off, and I turned to Lexie. “Can you watch Josie for a minute?”
“What? No way. What if I break something?”
“You won’t break anything.” I leaned back under the desk. “I’ll be right back, Josie bean. Lexie is going to stay with you.”
“No Mimi. You stay,” she responded.
“You can have some of your apple. I’ll be back once you’ve finished eating.”
She held out her hands and I sprinted to Rhett’s office. I had a few minutes. Tops.
This was going to be ugly. But I could do this. I stood up straight, held my head up high and willed my eyes to stay open when the only thing I wanted to do was close them and hope it would all blow over quickly.
“Why do you look like you’re about to have a stroke?” Rhett asked.
Right, maybe I should adjust the eyes. Blinking was allowed. I think. Or would that show weakness?
He motioned to the chair in front of his desk. “Take a seat.” He unbuttoned his jacket and adjusted his cuffs before he sat down in his own chair. I cautiously approached, not sure if sitting down was such a good idea. My escape would be a lot slower if I had to get up first.
“Emmi, sit.”
I should tell him that I wasn’t a dog. But that was probably not going to make him any less angry. I could see the pulse in his neck jumping. You never want to see that thing so much as move if you valued your life. So I sat down on the edge of the chair without saying a word.