Page 14

14

GEORGIA

I ’m sitting on the couch folding laundry, thinking about my rediscovered passion and guilty pleasure, baseball. Cade’s team won again last night. If they win tonight, it’ll be a sweep. Auggie even seems to be into it… as much as a toddler can be. When Cade was up to bat, I pointed him out and said there’s your daddy. He replied with a ‘Da Da’. No surprise that I teared up. Lately, it doesn’t take much and I’m crying like a baby. Cade had a good game, and in a post-interview one of his teammates called him “an absolute gamer.” I googled it and it means a player who approaches the game with tenacity and spirit and thrives under pressure.

I hear tires crunching on our gravel lane and peek around the curtains of my front window. A fancy Mercedes SUV is parking behind my Subaru. I watch in horror as Cade’s mom steps out. Well, shoot . Just as I remember, she is put together like a spokesmodel for sophistication. I wonder what it’s like to be that confident. Her blond hair is neatly styled, nary a hair out of place. She glances up and I quickly drop the curtain. My heart pounds as I hear her footsteps clang on the metal stairs. Unfortunately, there is nowhere to hide since the wide-open front door leaves only the screen door as a barrier between me and her.

She knocks, peering inside and calls out, “Yoo hoo, anyone home?” Jasper starts howling.

Dang it. I just put Augs down for his afternoon nap. “Shh, hush your mouth, Jasper. The baby’s asleep.” He looks at me with those expressive soulful eyes, tail a waggin’ and quiets down. He is so smart.

I get up and face my old adversary through the screen door.

“Hello, Georgia.”

“Hello, Mrs. Jennings,” I say politely wishing I could slam the door shut.

“Call me Wendy.” We stare at each other like we’re facing off.

“Um… okay, Wendy.” I laugh nervously and say, “Where in the world are my manners? Would you like to come in?” I step back to let her in and she barges past me as if she owns the place. I watch her look around curiously. I swear it’s not my imagination. She looks like she just bit into a sour lemon. Hoity-toity if you ask me. My gaze trails around the room, trying to see it through her eyes, and land on the old chair cover and well-worn couch. Toys I didn’t take the time to pick up are strewn everywhere. So what! It may be a bit messy but it’s clean as can be!

Jasper is blocking her path which makes me want to giggle. “Jasper, let the poor woman get through the door.”

Wendy smiles at him, leans down and ruffles the fur on his head. “Jasper huh? What a good boy you are,” she says affably which surprises the bejeebies out of me. “He’s cute.” Maybe she’s not as bad as I remembered.

“Would ya like to take a seat?” I motion towards the recliner.

“Thank you.” She perches at the edge of the chair and folds her hands on her lap. This woman is accessorized down to the tips of her perfectly manicured nails. There is an awkward stretch of silence and for the life of me, I think I’ve lost all my verbal skills. I angle the fan towards her before sitting down.

“Cozy little place you have.”

“Thank you. We’re comfortable.”

“It’s nice to see you, Georgia. You look… healthy.”

“Nice to see you as well,” I say, sounding almost as insincere as she does. I self-consciously tuck my messy hair behind my ears and tug my cropped tee shirt down. I mean, what the hey? This is my house but I feel like the unwanted guest.

“I must confide, I was shocked to learn I have another grandson who is almost two years old.”

“I’m sure it was a surprise.” I clear my throat then blurt, “Why are you here? Um… I mean… that didn’t come out right. I’m sure I can guess why. You’re here to meet August, right? He just went down for his nap ‘bout ten minutes ago. He’s usually down for a couple of hours, sometimes even more. That is, if I’m lucky. Not that I want him to sleep all the time, but it’s the only time of day I can get things done, I mean, like catch up on things. But sometimes Mama is here and I can do my school work and such, or my baby sister Ava. She watches him too and then… oh my Lord I’m babbling.” I gulp in some air. “But why are you here?” I repeat.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but what were you thinking?”

I know exactly what she’s referring to. I guess the gloves are off. I play dumb anyhow. “What do you mean?”

“Keeping August from his father.”

“I mean no disrespect Mrs. Jennings but his father left town without so much as a “see ya later.” I didn’t know for sure I was with child until a month after he’d left. I reckon you’d be singing a different tune if I’d a dragged him away from his lifelong dream. Then you’d have been hollering that I was trying to trap him.”

“That would never have happened. And I’m sure you weren’t certain who the father was at first.”

I gasp at her audacity. “How dare you,” I say voice shaking. “I knew exactly who the father was and I wasn’t about to saddle him with a child seein’ as he’d finally got the call he’d been waiting for his whole life.”

“Nice of you to make his decision for him. Don’t you think he should have been given the choice?” Wendy says quietly.

I shrug my shoulder. “Maybe… probably. The way he left, I assumed he didn’t want to have anything to do with me, let alone an unplanned child.”

“It’s obvious you don’t know my son at all. He is as responsible and loyal as they come. He would never have turned his back on the baby.”

“You mean like he did me?” I say sweetly.

“You hadn’t been dating that long. Was he supposed to pack you up and take you with him? Do you have any idea what it takes to make it in the major leagues?”

“No, I don’t. But I do know what it’s like to have a dream and I wasn’t about to steal his away from him.”

Wendy’s eyes soften for a moment. “I’m sure you were scared.”

“I was at first, but mostly excited. I wanted him from the second I knew for sure.”

“That’s lovely. Now we need to get down to business.”

“Business?”

“As much as I would love to meet August, I’m here to see you. We need to discuss his future.”

“What do you mean?”

“Custody arrangements. Grandparent rights. Financial support. I’m sure that thought has crossed your mind.” She raises her perfectly plucked brow as her lips turn down and I take back any earlier mercy I may have bestowed. She is still a nasty piece of work.

“Actually, Mrs. Jennings, I haven’t. As I mentioned to Cade, we’re doing fine. There’s nothing Auggie wants for.” Wendy takes that moment to slowly and deliberately scan the room making sure to pause a little longer on the old couch that admittedly has seen better days.

“Well, as a parent, I’m sure you want Auggie to have everything he needs. Raising a child is expensive. We want to help.”

“I don’t mean to be rude but shouldn’t that be between me and Cade?”

She waves dismissively. “We’re all family. As a mom myself, I understand how hard it is to raise children. And I was fortunate enough to be married to their father. I can’t imagine trying to do it all alone.”

My spine stiffens at her condescending tone. “I may not have a husband but I do have a family who love August with all their hearts and are here to help on the daily. August doesn’t lack for love or food on the table. He has everything he needs. I don’t want to raise him to think he’s entitled to everything or better than anyone else.”

“How lovely that your family was so fortunate to have the opportunity to help raise him. But to be perfectly honest, it seems almost unforgivable that we missed out on nearly two years of his life.”

I unclench my fists and take a deep breath before I speak. “Mrs. Jennings, I mean, Wendy, as much as I can appreciate your protectiveness over your son, and your disappointment, this is between Cade and me.”

“Cade has always had a blind spot when it comes to you. He is much too trusting. I have an appointment with our family attorney tomorrow. I thought it might be nice for us to discuss the parameters before I meet with her.”

My blood goes cold and my hands start trembling. This woman is psycho. Terror tries to get its talons into me. She continues talking, oblivious to my distress.

“I’m sure you’d never want to deny August the finer things in life. That old notion that God prefers the poor isn’t true. Don’t be so prideful that you harm your own son.”

My voice shakes when I finally speak. “Does Cade know you’re here now?”

She at least has the decency to blush. “I… well… not exactly.”

“What does that mean… exactly?”

“The answer is no. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

I cross my arms over my chest and let her squirm for a minute. “Do you really want to start off by threatening me with a lawyer?”

“I wasn’t threatening. I meant it.”

“I guess we’ll see what Cade has to say about that. Won’t we?” I smile sweetly since I know by her expression the tables have turned. Booyah. One for me.

“You do not want to upset him during a series. He needs all his concentration for baseball.”

“So maybe you should cancel your appointment,” I say.

“You’re making a big deal out of nothing. It’s good to have an unbiased legal perspective.”

“Good for who?”

“Everyone. I’m sure you want to know how we’re going to provide for our grandson and his mother. You will be compensated nicely.”

“I don’t want or need your money. As for Auggie, a college fund would be great.”

“That goes without saying, and we’ll provide child support!”

“You keep saying we. Cade is the daddy. Last time I checked grandparents don’t pay child support.”

She chuckles. “I’m sorry. It’s the royal we.”

“Let me be clear. You do not speak for Cade. He and I are the parents and we’re figuring things out. You are the grandparents and will get to be in his life with conditions.”

She scoffs, already recovered and back on her game. Brow arched she says, “Conditions?”

“Yes, conditions. We don’t have to like each other but I guess we’re stuck with each other. If you so much as say one bad word about me or my family to my son, I will make sure that all your visits are supervised ones. I don’t want you spoiling him rotten either.”

“I have been a mother and a grandmother longer than you’ve been a mother. I think I can use common sense when it comes to my grandson.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“My grandchildren love me and I would never do anything to harm them.”

“Intentionally,” I add.

“Oh brother. You’ve been a mother for all of eighteen months and you have it all figured out?”

“Of course not. But I am the mom, that is my point. I have the final say.”

“And, my son is the father.”

“Got it. Anything else, Wendy?” I say, my voice dripping with disdain as I walk to the door and hold it open.

She stands and stiffly marches to the door. “Nice chat, Georgia. You know I always trust my instincts about people. They’ve never steered me wrong. Goodbye.”

I slam the door as soon as she hits the drive, then break down crying. Damn these tears! That woman is vile. How am I going to put up with her for the next sixteen years and eight months?