“Okay then.” I was starting to wonder if there was really room for me to step into her life.
“Dinner on Tuesday?” she asked.
“Perfect,” I said. “Wear your pajamas. I know a great place.”
“You’re weird.”
“You are, too.”
“Cool.”
I walked home, hoping, sadly, that Grace would be able to stop crying.
I honestly didn’t know what I was going to do except try to get to know Ash while I was in New York and be a dad, even though I knew nothing about what that entailed.
On Monday, I went to the library and read every parenting book I could get my hands on.
I texted Grace that night.
ME: I’m trying to wrap my head around all of it.
GRACE: I understand.
ME: I’m going to see Ash on Tuesday night for dinner.
GRACE: Okay.
ME: I want to see her regularly.
GRACE: Of course.
ME: Does she have a college fund?
GRACE: Yes.
ME: Can I give you some money?
GRACE: That’s not necessary.
ME: I want to.
GRACE: Okay then. You can put it in her college fund. I’ll get the account info for you.
A part of me wanted to say more, but I wasn’t capable of talking to her about anything beyond the logistics of coparenting.
The next day I was slammed with work stuff but I managed to get out and have lunch with Scott. When he started talking about Singapore, I told him about Ash. He didn’t say anything; he was just shocked. He told me to take the rest of the week off. I didn’t realize I really needed to until that moment.
When I returned to my building, I found Monica sitting on a bench near the elevator. She had the family bassinet balanced on her lap.
Her eyes were full of compassion, but her nostrils were flared and her jaw was set in a rigid line.
“Monica, don’t say it.”
“I was going to stab her in the eye with my heel.” I lookeddown at her five-inch stilettos.Yep, those would get the job done. “I’m so sorry, Matt. Alexander’s in Tokyo, otherwise he’d be here. I came in his place.”
“Thank you, Monica. I see you paid Elizabeth a little visit. You didn’t actually hurt her, did you?”
“Of course not, but I did give her a piece of my mind. I wasn’t gonna let her off that easy.” She pointed her long index finger at me. “That woman took a shit inside the soul of this family.”
