Page 52

I left home about an hour ago. Nathan was going to have Tony pick him up, run him home so Nathan can have his car with him. As much as I wanted him with me to pick up Amanda from the hospital, I felt that Brad might need a break from the reality of the situation. Soon it will start to affect the girls, and I don’t ever want them to feel their loyalties should be divided. They should always choose their father over Nathan. If the two of them continue to be at each other's throats, it’s going to put the twins in a tough spot. The girls shouldn’t have to suffer because Brad and Nathan continue to be at odds with each other.

Since everything is going as it should with Addie, they are releasing her in another day. I’m excited and nervous about it. This is going to be a big step for the girls and me; moving in with Nathan. I want them to feel comfortable, to feel that they’re what is most important. I have to remember to make sure Brad is reassured that he’s still their father; the number one man in their lives.

I try to put myself in his shoes, to think about him getting serious with another woman. How would that make me feel? If they decided to move in together would it make me feel left out of my daughters’ lives when they weren’t with me? Would I be all right if they decided to call another woman mom? Emily was nice enough; I just wanted to make sure she was good for the girls. I wouldn’t want them to feel unwanted in Brad’s apartment because there was someone else vying for his attention.

Maybe deep down I knew it wouldn’t last, so the threat was never really there. The fact that I kept my life with Michael as far away from the girls was a sign really. I'm sure this is why Brad never made a big deal about Michael. He never objected to the brief time he did spend with the girls. Brad knew from the start that Michael wasn’t a threat. But I'm sure he knows that Nathan is more, and maybe that knowledge is upsetting to Brad because now, Brad isn't going to be the only man in the girls' lives.

Brad knows that Nathan is different. There's no denying the fact that I love him. I know it’s crazy, but I do. I ache for his touch. I yearn for his kiss. I know the relationship is new, and all the chemicals in my brain are all firing off at top speed. We’re still in our honeymoon phase—literally. But I know it’s more than that. It’s more than the intensity I feel towards him. It’s more than the passion or the way he knows how to touch me, how to make love to me. I think he’s truly my other half. My spirit dimmed the day my father died, but now, with Nathan, I feel like I’m me again.

My phone rings, bringing my thoughts to the present. I look in the rearview mirror to make sure it didn’t wake Amanda. It never fails, she always falls right to sleep as soon as the car takes off. I see Cruella Di Ville pop up on my screen. I internally groan. “Hi, Mother.”

“Laney. How are the girls?” I seriously don’t even want to have a conversation with her right now let alone about the girls.

“They’re good. I have Amanda now, and I’m taking her home.”

“By home I’m assuming you mean Nathan’s?”

“No.”

“So have you decided this farce of a marriage is over? Did he realize fatherhood is too much for his lifestyle? Did he figure out that he couldn’t sleep with the entire female population when he’s keeping a wife?”

“No. For your information, we’re still planning on moving in with Nathan once Adele is out of the hospital. Tomorrow we’ll be moving in. For now, the three of us are staying at my house.”

“The three of you? Nathan is staying in the home that you shared with Brad? Do you think that’s appropriate, Laney? My, God. Having a man in the home where Amanda’s father lived, do you think that’s wise?”

“Jesus, Mother, that was never an issue with you before. What happened to the fact that I married a Whitmore? I thought your mouth would still be salivating of the possibilities of what that name could bring into your life.”

“I must admit, at first I thought the union, although certainly hasty was excellent. But once I thought it over, I don’t see you as a good fit for a man like Nathan Whitmore.”

“Ah, I see. Is it because you don’t see him as a good fit for me, or as a roadblock for you.”

“I beg your pardon, young lady?”

“As much as I wish I was still a young lady, I’m not. I’m a mother of two girls who will soon be turning six and going off to school. I’m not a naive child. I know you tolerated Brad because he didn’t give you too many problems. He kept his opinions to himself. Michael kissed your ass because for some reason he thought if he did that, then it would make me happy. He never really knew me, because if he did then he would have come to my defense whenever you started in on me. Nathan has your number, and you hate that. You hate that you can’t walk all over him. That he holds me up while every other man in my life, other than my father, held me down while you trampled all over me and my self-esteem. It’s a new dawn—one where I will no longer be your punching bag.”

“Laney—”

“I’m done. I’ll speak with you another time. Goodbye.”

Damn that felt good. I looked up in the mirror once again and to my luck, Amanda is still asleep in the back seat. It takes about twenty minutes to get from the hospital to my house, and those last ten minutes are ones I won’t ever get back. The phones rings again, Christ. “Mother, I know you love torturing me, but I, on the other hand, do not like to speak to you the way I do. For the love of God, can we please table this for another time? I’m not in the mood.”

“Well, hello to you too, bestie. What a lovely way to greet me. I can only imagine what brought that on,” snickers Stella.

“I’m so sorry, yes I just hung up with my mother. It’s never easy with her, is it?”

“Maybe you should add the theme song to Jaws as her ringtone, so every time she calls you can hear daaa da, daaa da.”

“Christ, woman! That’s an excellent idea. What are you doing? I haven’t heard from you.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I went into work, took care of your shift for the next two weeks. I told the charge nurse what was going on, and she happily changed everything around. You need to call her back once the two weeks is up to see what’s going on and see if you need to take some more time off.”

“Thank you for doing that, Stell. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“So, how are the girls? Is everything going to be alright with Addie?”

I pull onto my street, and I see Nathan standing by his car in front of my house. He’s on the phone himself as I pull up. “Yeah. She’s staying in the hospital one more night.” I pull into the driveway and turn off the car. “I have Amanda now and I’m going to get her settled in the house.”

“Are you at your place or Nathan’s?”