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I watched as our baby girl took her first bites of cereal. She looked so much like Cale. Her hair was coming in more and more and it was a very light brown. She now had enough hair that I could put a little Velcro bow in it. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she lifted her eyebrows with each bite Cale gave her.
“She is so precious. I can’t wait until y’all give her veggies. I have to be here when you do.” Monica glanced over to Jack and smiled. “I’m so glad we didn’t leave for our honeymoon until tomorrow!” Jack looked at Maddie like she had grown two heads.
Cale pushed the bowl toward me. “You want to feed her some now?”
“Yes!” I nodded in excitement as I handed him my phone. I put a small amount of cereal on the spoon and gave it to Lily. She was loving it. She started mouthing for more. “Look, she wants more!”
I gave her another spoonful and she started talking again. “Dadadada…” I peeked over to Cale and my heart soared as he dabbed the corner of his eye.
Jack sighed and stood up. “Oh for the love of God. I liked the porn show better.”
“MADDISON! MADDISON!”
I turned to see who’d been calling out my name. When I saw that it was my mother, I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She walked through the library at Crystal Bridges as she called out my name, clearly not caring that she was in a library. I hadn’t spoken to her since Lily’s party when she was three months old.
I plastered a fake smile on my face and waited for her to come up to me. She kissed me on both cheeks. “Did your father let you know I was back from Greece? I just flew in this morning.”
I nodded. My mother had gone to Greece two months ago and I’d never seen my father so happy. He’d been coming over at least three times a week to spend time with Lily and us. He’d fallen head over heels in love with our daughter. He also informed me he was going to be divorcing my mother.
“He did tell me, yes,” I said.
She smiled weakly. “I thought so, since he had dinner with you and Cale last night.”
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
She looked around. “I heard you were still working here…part time.”
I gave her a fake grin. “Yep, I’m working here at the library. I absolutely love it.”
She waved her hand in the air as she looked around. “You don’t find this type of work to be a waste of your college education, Maddison?”
I sighed. “No, Mother, I don’t. I enjoy it and it allows me to spend time with Lily.”
She raised her eyebrow. “The child who is not yours.”
I swallowed hard and looked directly into her eyes, scowling. “She is mine,” I said. “I’m her mother, and she is my daughter. We are a family. She and Cale are my life.”
“I don’t see a ring on your finger.” She said coldly.
I glanced down at her hand. Her wedding band was missing. “I don’t see one on your finger either.”
She snapped her eyes down to her hand, then back up to my eyes. “That’s because your father made a grave mistake this morning when he picked me up from the airport. He is seeking a divorce. I was hoping for some support and understanding from my daughter, but all I get is…this” She gestured with her hands. “Disrespect. Like always.”
I rolled my eyes and turned to walk away, but she followed me. “Please, Mother. The last thing you came here for was support from me. You want information as to why Daddy is asking for a divorce.”
“Does he have a lover?” She asked.
I laughed lightly. “If he’s smart, he’s had one for a few years.”
She grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. “Excuse me?”
“I’m tired of this. I’m tired of being treated like I’m some damn mistake that you made years ago. If you didn’t love Daddy, why didn’t you just leave him? Stop acting like you’re the victim here, Mother. You are far from it. Daddy knows about your affair. He’s known for the last year.”
She brought her hand up to her mouth. “What? How? I mean…” She looked away.
I nodded and pulled my arm from her grip. My mother had been having an affair with one of my father’s business associates. They’d meet at a hotel or at my parents’ own home after my father would leave for work or when he was out of town.
“Karma is a bitch, Mom. Good luck living without Daddy’s money.”
I turned and walked toward the elevator. I was expecting her to follow, but when I looked back, she was just standing there, stunned. I stepped onto the elevator and leaned on the wall as I tried to calm down. I’d never stood up to my mother before, and I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or if the reality of having the worst mother in the world had just showed up on my doorstep.
I walked out to my car and decided that I would be the mother to Lily that I’d always wanted. This nonsense about me not being Lily’s biological mother was now behind me. Regardless of our situation, I was going to be the best mother for her, and I would always be there for both her and Cale. As I walked through the endless trail of flowers, I took a moment to look around. I loved Crystal Bridges. Even in the winter, they had flowers planted. I loved the quietness of it. It had a way of calming my nerves. I closed my eyes and could hear the water running along the creek that flowed through the property.
I stopped at my car and placed my hand on my stomach. Cale’s words replayed in my head:
I want to have a baby…you and me.
I pulled out my phone and texted Cale.
Me: Dinner at JJ’s tonight?
Cale: Sounds good to me.
Me: I think Lily will love feeding the fish and turtles.
Cale: Oh man, she will. I came home earlier and was talking to Mom. She’s heading out the door now. You may or may not have a surprise waiting for you when you get home.
Me: I’m on my way! I need something to cheer me up. My mom came by to see me.
Cale: Oh man. I’ll cheer you up. I got this, baby. I got this.
I walked into the house and looked around. “Cale?”
I walked into the kitchen, dining room, Cale’s office, and finally walked outside onto the deck. I looked down and saw him on the dock. Taking off my pumps, I made my way down the stone steps. It was mid-January and unusually warm. I looked around at the bare trees. There was a slight wind blowing, and I could smell the fire from a nearby fireplace. We hadn’t had much snow this year but, when we did, I loved sitting on the deck, wrapped up in warm blanket, looking out over the white landscape.
As I made my way down, I noticed Cale didn’t have Lily. I panicked for a moment and thought about turning around. “Cale? Where’s Lily?”
When he turned, the way he looked at me stopped me in my tracks. I sucked in a breath and my heart dropped to my stomach. He was so handsome and his smile drove me mad with desire.
He began walking toward me, and that was when I noticed his bare feet. Oh Lord help me. I wanted to strip out of my clothes and beg him to take me then and there.
“Lily is spending the night with her Grammy and Grampa.” Cale said, his voice laced with seduction as he sauntered my way. I smiled and tilted my head.
“Is that right?” I asked as I slowly ran my tongue along my teeth. He stopped just short of me and placed his hand on my cheek. My stomach took an immediate dive and my hands trembled as I thought about all the things I wanted him to do to me.
“I need you to go change.”
I looked at him, confused. “Change into what? I would think you’d be asking me to undress.”
One side of Cale’s mouth moved up into a grin and I was ready to drop to the ground and beg him to take me right that second. I felt my face flush at my wayward thoughts.
“Why are you blushing, baby?” He asked as he moved his lips to mine. I moaned and placed my hands on his chest.
“Cale, please, I want you,” I said, almost panting with desire. I looked up into his eyes and saw nothing but passion. I knew he wanted me, too.
“I have somewhere I need to take you first.”
r /> I smiled. “If it’s to JJ’s, I think I’ll pass.”
Cale laughed and shook his head. “No. Dress warm, we’ll be outside this evening.”
I scrunched up my nose. “Outside? For dinner?”
He turned me around and slapped my ass. “Yep! Come on, we need to get going.”
“HOW WAS WORK?” I asked as Maddie got into the car. I grabbed her hand and gave it a kiss.
“Good,” she said, grinning. “We closed early today, though, because someone was renting out the whole restaurant.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “It was being kept on the down-low. I’m guessing someone big must be using it.”
I was looking back at the road as I shrugged. I headed into Bentonville and Maddie talked about Lily the whole time.
