She took each twin by the hand and rushed them back to the car.Noel was defiant, whining, and Leon was sullen.Annie drove off the ferry and straight to their meeting place with Roy, the local McDonald’s.
He was already waiting when she got there, arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the hood of his new Mercedes.
“Was the boat late?”he asked.
Nohello.Nohow are you.Only Roy’s new car and his ever-tightening t-shirts, his muscles larger and more veiny than she’d ever seen them in their nearly two decades together.Was he trying to get down to zero percent body fat?Every time she saw him, it gave her a jump scare to see him looking so wiry.
It looked like Roy, but it wasn’t Roy.It wasn’t the man she’d loved for so long.It was his uncanny mid-life crisis replacement.
“It was late, yeah.”Annie pulled open Noel’s door.
She was mindful not to apologize.It wasn’t her fault the ferry was late.The ferry was always late.
“Hi girlie!”he said brightly.
“Daddy!”Noel yelled, arms outstretched.
He pulled her from the car seat.“This wouldn’t be a problem if you’d move to Seattle like you said you would,” he murmured, a bright smile on his face.
Heat rose in her head, flaring as it hit the top.
Annie took a deep breath.She was not going to lose her temper again in front of the kids, and she was not going to make this exchange any worse than it needed to be.
There was no need to point out that ifhehadn’t moved from the island it wouldn’t be a problem, that his job was remote and he didn’t need to live in the city in the first place, and that it was far too expensive for her to live in Seattle, especially since she’d had to drop out of her PhD program during their divorce and now she was stuck earning the same wage she’d earned while she supported him through his career growth.
She wasn’t going to say any of thatout loud,at least.
“Did you remember the extra clothes this time?”he asked.
She unbuckled Leon.“I did.”
Noel whined, unhappy no one was listening to her, and threw her hands to her face in anguish.“Time for snack!”
Annie clenched her jaw.Of course.The kids were not only tired; they were hungry.They’d missed their nap for this exchange, and despite their excitement over the ferry ride, they were tense, too.
And what had Annie done?Instead of anticipating this, instead of reminding herself of these facts so she could be the adult in the situation, she had yelled at them.
The situation was hard to get used to for everyone.Initially, during the divorce proceedings, things were so civil it didn’t seem they needed a formal custody agreement.Roy was adamant he’d be seeing the kids fifty percent of the time.
The idea of being away from them so often broke Annie’s heart, but she said nothing.She knew the kids needed their dad.
In practice, however, it ended up being more like one weekend a month, or whenever Roy could coordinate his work schedule, and his hiking schedule, and his mom’s schedule.
They’d also left out any formal child support negotiations, because Roy reasoned they would both have the kids half the time and didn’t need it.
Annie could kick herself now, but at the time, she was dealing with her high school sweetheart.How could that man be the same one who could hardly find time to see his kids?One whose monetary support dwindled to nothing, lest Annie nag and beg him for it?
Which she wouldn’t do.
“I already had to buy another set of car seats,” he added, taking Leon by the hand.Then, more loudly, “Hey buddy, how’s it going?”
Leon stared at him.
Annie opened her trunk, her hand scraping on an edge of rust.She wiped her hand on her pants.“Here is the diaper bag and their extra clothes.I packed some snacks for the car.They did not have a nap on the ferry.”
“Terrific,” he said sarcastically, flashing a fake smile.
Annie helped get them into the car, and once the doors shut, she stood back and waved.
