He tightened down the bolts of the new toilet, before turning on the water and watching for a leak. With her hip, they wanted to get rid of the old one. Not only was it too low to the ground, but it shifted any time someone sat down. He couldn’t buy her a new house, or pay for a full-time private nurse, but he could replace a toilet. Having an aging parent was hard, even knowing the only alternative to getting old was dying young.
His phone began vibrating in his pocket as he washed the grime off his hands. His ex-wife’s name lit up across the screen and he heaved a long sigh before he answered.
“You need to come down here and get your daughter,” she said without preamble.
He sat up, giving the call his full attention. “What’s going on? Is she okay?”
He stood and paced the floor as he listened. “She’s been acting out. I don’t know what’s going on with her and I don’t know what to do anymore. She’s refusing to do anything to help out around here and she’s either yelling at me or she’s crying.”
“She’s a teenager, I’m sure it’s just hormones,” Chris reasoned.
“You say that like you spend every day with her.” A dagger through his heart. “I know all about hormones. This isn’t that. There’s something going on with her and she won’t talk to me. I can’t keep leaving work because I’m worried about her being home with the neighbor lady.”
His daughter needing him while he was so many hours away had been his biggest fear, even before the move was complete. He should have fought harder to keep Vivian from taking his daughter so far away. It wasn’t Liliana’s fault that he and Vivian couldn’t work things out, and she shouldn’t have to suffer for it.He ran a hand through his hair as he tried to quickly figure out what to do.
“Can you take a couple days off work and bring her up here? I can give you some money toward a plane ticket. I’ve got a lot going on right now,” he said as he tried to work out a plan in his head.
“No, I can’t just drop everything and come up there so that you can be a father. You need to figure it out,” she snapped.
Fuck!
Chris had a temper, and although he’d promised himself that he would always keep things civil with his ex, she was really pushing it. It didn’t take a psychologist for him to know his breakup with Vivian was the reason he changed women nearly as often as he changed his clothes. Until Mallory. The end of his marriage caused him more pain than he thought possible. Liliana had his entire heart, and Vivian took her away when she up and moved. She could have stayed local. No matter what she told him, he was certain she moved away out of spite.
“You’re the one who moved. It’s bullshit that you take my daughter away and then it’s up to me to figure shit out. I’ll let you know what I come up with.” He hung up without giving her a chance to respond.
Nearing his breaking point, he stormed out to his car after yelling over his shoulder to his brother and headed to the gym. He needed to hit things, run, sit in the sauna—something. Anything to dull what he was feeling. Even after so many years of his daughter living away from him, nothing could dull the searing pain of not being able to get to her when she was in trouble or hurting. Lily needed him, and he was sixteen hours away. There had to be a solution.
Seeing the crowd at the weight stations, he went straight for the cardio area. There was a treadmill available, so he settled for a jog. He was thankful he had thrown on a t-shirt and somebasketball shorts to work at his mom’s house. He was nearly finished with his warmup when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
“So, you do workout more than once a week,” James said when he finally looked over.
A pang of guilt briefly distracted him from the reason behind his impromptu gym visit. “Sorry I’ve been skipping our after-work gym visits. Everything’s been crazy. I wasn’t planning on coming today or I would have sent you a text.”
“I know. Just giving you shit.”
Chris hiked the speed up and started his run. He wasn’t usually much of a cardio guy, but running relieved stress. His concentration moved from his feelings of frustration to the steady rhythm of his feet on the treadmill. The front of his shirt was damp and sweat dripped down his back before he finally slowed back down to a walk.
“How long do you plan to work out?” he asked James once he caught his breath.
“Until I’m done,” he answered with a smirk. “Wanna hit some weights?”
He did. Any physical activity that might tamp down his feelings of anger and frustration would be a good idea. After wiping up behind themselves, they went down to the weights. The area had mostly cleared out, so they had their pick of equipment.
“Spot me?” Chris asked, walking over to the bench and selecting a few weights to add to the bar.
James stood over him as he lay on his back and lifted the heavy bar. He lifted more weight than usual because he craved the burn his muscles felt as he pushed himself. Instead of blocking out his reason for being there, he used his time to work on a solution while he counted out each rep.
“One.” He could buy Liliana a plane ticket and have her travel as an unattended minor.
“Two.” How would that work with his schedule? Liliana wasn’t old enough to stay home alone all night.
“Three.” He could see if anyone on days would be willing to trade shifts.
“Four.” Even during the day, twelve hours was a long time for a thirteen-year-old to be home alone.
“Five.” He could fly down to Florida and spend a couple days with her.
“Six.” A couple of days might not be enough.
