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I sat up, feeling discombobulated. My first instinct was Katie. Where was she? Was something wrong?
But once my mind cleared, I checked the time on my clock—it was 4:50 in the morning. Katie would still be asleep. She had started sleeping through the night at six months old, and I knew I had at least another two hours before she started calling for me.
My next thought was my parents. What if something had happened to my dad? He wasn’t as spry as he used to be and had been at the doctor for a heart arrhythmia not long ago—
I picked up the phone, and when I saw the number, I wanted to throw it against the wall. I thought about ignoring it but knew that if I did, she’d only call over and over again until she got hold of me.
With a deep breath, I put the phone to my ear and prepared myself for whatever catastrophe Josie Robinson had in store for me.
“Hello?” I sounded groggy, my voice thick and rough. I felt myself tense, waiting.
“Hey, Web. Did I wake you?” Josie spoke softly, whispering so low I could barely hear her.
“Well yeah, it’s not even five in the morning, Josie.” I tried not to sound irritated, knowing it would only escalate things, but I couldn’t help it. Josie was an inconsistent communicator, and her calls usually came at times that weren’t very considerate of me or our daughter. I had grown used to these late night/early morning interruptions.
“I’m sorry.” And the thing was, she sounded like she meant it. Which, she probably did. As upset as I was with my ex and how she’s acted, I liked to think that deep down, she was a decent person. A messed-up person—but decent. Maybe that was naivety rearing its delusional head again.
I rubbed the spot between my eyes, feeling a headache brewing. “What’s up, Jos? I have to be at work in a few hours, and Katie will be waking up soon.”
“How is our Katie Bug?” she asked in that same strange whispery tone. Was she in the room with someone and didn’t want to be overheard? It was hard to tell with Josie anymore. At one time, I thought I knew her. We were together for years, even if it was years longer than we probably should have been.
“She’s the same wonderful kid she’s always been,” I answered tersely, annoyed how she could still lay claim to the girl she’s had no part in raising.
“Maybe I could talk to her?” The question seemed forced. As if she knew she should ask, not that she wanted to.
“She’s still asleep like I said.” I tried to remain patient, but mostly I wanted her to get to the point of the early morning wake up call. “What do you need?”
She cleared her throat. “I need you to send me some paperwork I left behind.”
I sighed. “And you couldn’t wait for when the sun was up to ask? Or even send a text? This has to be done now?” I was done hiding my irritation. Josie Robinson gave selfish a whole new name.
“I have an interview this week for a job, and I need my birth certificate. It should be in the fire safe in your office—”
“A job? So, I guess you’re staying in Florida then?” I cut her off sharply. She had been staying with her mother for over a year. It was meant to be a temporary thing even as one month turned to two then to three. But she always maintained that she’d come back for Katie. That she’d get herself together and be the mother our girl deserved.
“Yes, for now. I thought we talked about that. It’s not like there’s anything left for me in Southport, Web.” I knew she was referring to me and our relationship. She took our breakup hard and had a difficult time accepting that I wouldn’t make a family with her simply because we had a child together.
Her flippant words pissed me off.
“Except for your daughter,” I snapped.
“That’s not what I meant—”
“Yeah, it’s never what you meant,” I muttered.
There was a gaping silence as all the bitter resentment between us vibrated like a taut string.
“Can you send it or not? I guess I can call the state office if I need to—”
“I’ll send it. Can I just scan it and email it, or do you need the hard copy?” I wanted to get off the phone. Talking to Josie depressed me. It made me angry and sad for Katie. It made me hate the woman I thought I sort of loved. And that wasn’t fair to either Katie or me.
“Scanned would be great for now, but I will need the hard copy. Let me give you my address—”
“I have your mom’s address,” I interjected.
More silence.
