Chapter 24
“Da!”
Sadie’s sweet little voice rang out through the monitor. I’d turned it way down, but she had no trouble making herself known. Sometimes she would find her teddy bear and snuggle with it, falling back to sleep. Please let this be one of those days. My arm was draped over Lacey’s shoulder, and I put my face by the base of her neck, taking in the smell of flowery shampoo.
“Daaaaaa!” Bang! Bang! Bang! She was throwing her legs into the side of the crib, causing it to crash into the wall.
Lacey giggled. “I think someone’s awake,” she whispered. I kissed the back of her neck and rolled over to the edge of the bed. A mild pounding in my head greeted me when I sat up.
“You stay in bed, I’ll go get her. Hey, this is the first time I ever got to wake up in the morning with you next to me!” Leaning back over her shoulder, I kissed her cheek. “I love you.” She eased onto her back and put her arms around me, pulling me down on top of her and kissing me back.
“I love you, too, Michael.”
“Da! Da! Daaaaa!”
We both laughed, and I went to take care of my child.
Sadie stood in her crib, holding onto her teddy and her blanket. She started jumping when she saw me, her little face lit up like the sun.
“Good morning, sweetie! How’s my girl? What do you have for Daddy?” She leaned in and kissed my cheek. After putting her down on the changing table, I undid her sleeper and tore off her soggy diaper. Once the new one was in place, I started zipping her up. All of a sudden, I felt eyes on me, and I turned to find Lacey watching from the doorway. She was wearing one of my hoodies over her night gown and white socks. I said, “I like the look.” I grinned at her, picking Sadie back up.
“Get used to it,” she bantered back at me.
“Acey,” Sadie said, pointing at her.
“Yup, Lacey is here, too. Should we go make some pancakes?”
Both of them answered, “Yup!”
We had breakfast, then Lacey offered to give Sadie her bath while I tackled the mess left over from the night before. At least I’d had enough wits about me to put the remaining beef in the fridge. The potatoes were not as lucky, nor the leftover salad. I tossed both things in the garbage, as well as a couple slices of cheese and sausage. I began filling the dishwasher but stopped when I heard Sadie screech from the bathroom.
I had made a couple of frantic steps toward the sound before I heard her giggle. I released the breath I’d been holding. When I arrived, Sadie was wrapped in a towel, and Lacey was on her knees attacking Sadie’s tummy with her hands. She scooped her up, giving her a hug just as I snapped a picture of both of my girls with the most contented smiles on their faces. Sadie put her head on Lacey’s shoulder and let her cuddle for a few seconds before signaling she was ready to play some more.
Something in me changed in that moment. I craved this for Sadie more than I’d ever realized before. My heart felt about to explode.
Thinking we needed to be doing something fun or at least active before the big dinner, I suggested we go to the gym and mess around a while. I had totally forgotten it was a holiday and that though the doors would be open, no childcare was available. But Lacey wanted to just hang out like a normal family would, so that was what we did.
When it came time to get ready to go to my parents’ house, Lacey wanted to get Sadie dressed. She looked over every item of clothing Sadie owned, separating out some things that were summer wear and others that she had obviously outgrown. She put Sadie in a new outfit that Sheri had gotten her for Christmas: pink tights with a jumper. Then she wet her hair a little and messed with it. Suddenly, Sadie had a bunch of curls in the back that were reminiscent of her mother’s. She looked almost edible.
As I drove across town, I patted Lacey’s knee. She looked a little nervous. I couldn’t blame her, but I was fairly sure the family would be cordial to her.
We came bearing gifts—Lacey insisted. For Dad, a bottle of Jameson whiskey. He wasn’t much of a drinker, but he did enjoy his Jameson. Mom got flowers and dark chocolate. And the nieces all got a little gift bag with age-appropriate bangles. As we entered into the foyer, my dad was there to greet us, taking Sadie out of my arms right away. His arm went around my shoulder, then he had to smile when Lacey handed him the bottle. “Happy New Year!”
Mom came from the kitchen. We hugged, then she tentatively put her arm around Lacey. “Mrs. Jarrid, these are for you.” And she passed her the gifts.
“Oh, how nice. Thanks Lacey! Please call me Marge.” Mom actually smiled and her face didn’t crack. I let out a puff of air as she went to find a vase. It was going to be all right, I told myself.
Paul and his family were already there. Mark came with his girlfriend right behind us. Just Tom’s family was missing. We joined the others in the family room where Sadie and Savannah were romping around. Lacey ended up next to Emily and they started talking hospital once Lacey found out Em worked in a radiology department at a St. Paul facility.
When Tom arrived, he gave me a warm hug, but only offered Lacey a handshake. Really? The very pregnant Sheri gave Lacey a squeeze, as did the girls. With his kids added to the mix, it got crazy in the family room, so Mom suggested very strongly that the kids go downstairs to play. The finished basement held many memories for me and my brothers growing up. Most of the toys and games were down there. Knowing Sadie was too young to be left on her own with the others, Lacey and I went down to supervise, bringing Savannah with us too. I forgot my soda upstairs and ran back to get it.
“I really like her,” Emily said.
At the same time, Tom’s voice overpowered hers as he pronounced, “I don’t trust her!” The silence when I approached confirmed what I already knew.
“You’re talking about Lacey?” I asked, looking at Em.
Behind an embarrassed smile, she nodded. “I was just saying that I like her a lot, Mike.”
Tom and I faced off. “Do you have something you want to say on the subject?”
“You already know what I think. I don’t trust her. I think she’s playing you again.”
Paul chimed in, “Tom, maybe this isn’t the time to be talking about this.”
“You weren’t the one he was living with when she messed him up before, Paul.”
My turn. My blood began to boil as I spewed, “For the record, she wasn’t playing me the first time, either—”
“Boys?” Mom stood behind us. Swooping up the soda, I spun around and marched out of the room. The warm toasty feeling from earlier warped into something dark and uncomfortable. Lacey picked up on it as soon as I returned.
“You okay?” she asked, hanging on to my arm.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll tell you later.” Leaning over, I kissed her. Kellie saw us, pointing it out to her sister, and they started giggling. Lacey slipped away from me, going over by the girls. Sitting down on the floor with them, she started asking questions about school and about the new baby due almost any day. Kellie asked Lacey if she could style her hair. She tore off to get a comb and whatever else Grandma had that she could use, as well as the new sparkly Scrunchies from her gift bag. Karlie pretended to be doing her nails. Smiling at her, I gave her a thumbs up. Even if their daddy had a problem with Lacey, the girls sure didn’t.
When Mom called us for dinner, my nieces were arguing about who was going to get to sit next to Lacey. She left this gaudy sparkly thing in her hair that Kellie had twirled into some sort of knot on the side of Lacey’s head.
The adults had set up a card table for the kids, except for Sadie, who scored a high chair next to me. That settled their squabble over Lacey. It was during dinner that Paul announced he and Em were pregnant again. Wow, the family just kept growing! Dad asked Lacey about her son, remarking how he had only granddaughters.
“Your grandkids are beautiful! I think you’re really lucky to have all these cuddly, giggly girls.” She was so proud to brag a little about Matt, how he excelled in school and tried his best at sports, but was small and not very athletic. “But he’s a fast runner. I did a half marathon last year, and he really wants to do one with me. I don’t know if he’d have the stamina for it this year or not. Maybe Michael will have to do one with me first.”
I almost choked. “Oh, man, Lacey. You’ve seen me run—I don’t know about that.” Everyone was chuckling as I tried to weasel my way out of it.
“But Uncle Mikey, you run really fast when you chase us—” Karlie said.
“Shhh, Karlie! I’m trying to get out of it, don’t tell her that!”
Lacey squeezed my arm and aimed her delicious smile at me. The rest of the afternoon resulted in no further insults or assaults.
~ ~ ~
As we sat in the living room later that day, Lacey rested against me, fondling my fingers as Sadie played with her toys. With her ducky book crammed under her arm, Sadie came up to Lacey.
“Acey, up?”
Moving so she was sitting back against the couch, Lacey picked up Sadie, taking the book out of her hands. “You want me to read you a story?” Sadie started flipping the pages. Lacey read a little of it, then looked at me sadly, picking up on the theme of the baby duckling looking for its mama.
“I can’t read it to her, either. I just make it up as we go—it always ends happy.” Reaching over, I stroked Sadie’s head. So Lacey spun a tale as they turned the pages, creating stories about items she picked out in the pictures, keeping my daughter totally entranced.
When she finished, Sadie said, “All done!” She sat there looking at Lacey.
“Sadie, can you say daddy?”
Sadie immediately shot a glance at me, then back at Lacey.
“Da-dee,” she said. My hand went over my eyes as both of us laughed.
“Are you kidding me? I don’t believe this.” I chuckled. Lacey took hold of her hands and clapped them together.
“Yay! You did it! Can you say it again? Daddy.”
“Da-dee,” Sadie repeated. I beamed at her.
Then Lacey pointed at me. “Who is this?”
“Da-dee!” Sadie bubbled, and the three of us were enveloped in a group hug.
“You have no idea. I’ve been working on that for months!” I kissed Lacey’s cheek, then grabbed my little girl and gave her the biggest hug. “Daddy loves you, Sadie Ann!”
After we put Sadie to bed, I landed on the couch again. Lacey was going to sit next to me but I grabbed her hips, directed her into my lap, and kissed her neck. “We’ve got some things to talk about, Lace. First, what happened at my parents’ place.”
She rested across my legs with my arm around her waist, and she positioned herself so she could look right in my eyes. Her hand was on the back of my neck, and she gave me a squeeze. Rubbing my chin, I shook my head. “Tom thinks you’re playing me.”
She wagged her head. “I’m definitely not, Michael.”
“I know—but he’s the one who watched me go through our break-up. He’s a little protective of me. Once I got over wanting to punch him this afternoon, I decided we just have to show them, all of them, that this is real. We can’t let anyone’s doubts interfere with where this is going.”
A light kiss. “I agree.”
“Even Matthew?” I asked, biting my lip with my eyebrows raised.
She touched the side of my face. “Matt will come around. I can’t let an eight-year-old dictate my life.”
That merited another kiss. “And second, I want to know how you feel about your mom and Arthur.”
Smiling, she looked down at her other hand in her lap. “Funny, what you just said applies to them, too. I have my doubts about them. But I only ever saw my mom with my dad, and I think that’s where my loyalty is, with my dad.” Becoming teary, she went on. “I do want my mom to be happy, but I can’t get myself excited about them being together.”
Bringing my arm up to her shoulder, I leaned her into me, kissing the top of her head. “Do they plan to live in your mom’s place or move into—oh, I don’t even know. Does Arthur have a house?”
“I haven’t thought that far ahead, Michael. I don’t know. Arthur has an apartment, but Mom wouldn’t like that. If he’d move in by us—wow, that would be uncomfortable.” She almost sounded panicked, “Michael, I’m going to end up moving again. I didn’t even think of that!”
With my lips pressed against her hair, I whispered, “It’s all going to work out, Lacey, us and them, you’ll see.” A subtle smile stole across my face as I imagined exactly how it was going to work out, in my head, anyway.
~ ~ ~
Lacey’s departure the next day was hard. Sadie was all smiles, but she didn’t know any better. I wore my brave face. I put Sadie down to give Lacey a full hug. She took off running as fast as she could toward the TSA agent. Catching her just before she breeched the restricted area, I apologized to the woman who glared at me from behind her podium. Lacey didn’t even try to hide her grin. We kissed a couple of times, and I promised to call her that evening. Then she gave Sadie a hug and a peck on the cheek, and she was off. Both of us had tears in our eyes, and I vowed to myself that we would not keep doing this. It was too damn hard.
A week later, Dalton and I were taking our afternoon break when my phone buzzed. It was Tom, and I almost didn’t take it. Good thing I did.
“Mike—I can’t get hold of Mom and Dad. Sheri’s in labor! I don’t have anyone to get the girls after school. Is there any way you can do it for me?”
“I don’t get off until 4:00. What time do they get out?” He told me 2:45, only an hour away. I could hear Sheri trying to hurry him on in the background. I knew he needed an answer. “They’re at Parkridge, right? I’ll get them. They can stay overnight, don’t worry about it. I’ll call you when I have them.”
I was so grateful for my understanding boss since he let me leave almost immediately. I ran over to get Sadie from daycare then drove to the school. Not knowing if Tom had been able to contact them to let the girls in on the plan, I brought Sadie in with me. Security at the school had to verify why I was there. After explaining who I was, the secretary called Tom and got the okay to release the girls to me. Ten minutes later, we were walking out of the building, Sadie holding each of them by the hand.
Kellie knew where the family hid the spare key, so we were able to pick up pajamas and clothes for the next day before we headed back home. Taking my life into my hands, I took us all to Mickey D’s for supper. The girls were so wound-up and hyper about the baby coming and being able to stay with us that they were practically possessed. Sadie joined right in with the madness. We had ice cream at home, then played games. After I’d put Sadie down, I called Tom to check on how things were going so the girls could say good night. It sounded like a long night lay ahead for them. They’d started inducing Sheri to help things along.
Pancakes sizzled on the griddle the following morning when Tom called, announcing the arrival of Kylie Elizabeth.
“Yay!” Kellie exclaimed. “They picked the name I chose if it was a girl!” A little later in the morning, I brought the girls up to meet their new sister. The happy occasion helped us start to close the rift between my brother and me.
~ ~ ~
The new baby made me think of calling Margo. Every Sunday night she’d either Skype me or I would call her. She’d insisted I set up a means for her to watch Sadie as she grew. I felt a little guilty that she didn’t get to spend time with her in person. In the back of my mind, I was scheming as to how I could combine a visit with Lacey and get Sadie to see her grandma. Talking it over with Lacey, we decided to see if Margo would like to watch Sadie for a couple of days while I went on to Vermont.
The conversation was light and comical as Sadie always tried to give hugs through the computer screen. Once I put her down, Margo sighed. “Oh, I wish I could see her, Mike.” My opening! As gently as I could, I told her I was seeing someone. Her response was overwhelmingly positive. Explaining that Lacey lived in Vermont, I asked her if she thought she might like to watch Sadie for a couple of days while I visited with my friend.
“Oh, Mike, I’d love that, but do you think Sadie would be okay with me? I’m practically a stranger to her.” That was one of the many good things about my daughter. She had adapted to staying with an assortment of people, and it never was much of an issue.
“If it’s okay with you, I’d like to stay the first night with you, then leave early the next morning to drive up to Montpelier. We’d come on a Thursday and leave for Wisconsin Sunday afternoon. Sound doable?”
Margo was beyond thrilled to think she’d have one-on-one time with her only grandchild. I called Lacey, then scheduled the flights for the last weekend in January.