“At least you have a new ceiling,” Sutton highlights, and we all stare up at the pristine white paint that makes it appear like nothing ever happened. The extra support from my friend has been a bonus since she started working at the office the other week.
I’m heading into the office in an hour, and Savannah was waiting here for me on the sidewalk when I arrived, complete with coffee in hand. Sutton followed a minute later. Updating them on what happened with Hayes, they didn’t say anything, only nodded and hummed.
I appraise the work that the contractor has done, and the place now looks new, or just foreign. Sure, there are still the personal touches I made, and Lola’s toys have been pushed toone corner. Not that it matters, she has an entire toy store at Hayes’s.
“Time to chat,” Savannah encourages by touching my arm and guiding our steps to the couch in the living room.
Plopping down next to her, I sigh. Sutton sits on the floor, resting against the coffee table with her coffee, keen and ready to listen.
“It’s a misunderstanding,” she says bluntly, and it causes Savannah to gawk at Sutton.
Savannah smiles at me, supportive yet nervous. “What she is trying to say is that it is a serious matter. If Hayes truly means it is a misunderstanding, then perhaps you really need to consider it.”
“Even lawyers screw up. The guy probably just lost one of his major clients, and potentially his track to partner, which will make his wife unhappy, but humans screw up,” Sutton, the lawyer herself, points out.
“Boyfriends screw up, too,” I deadpan.
“Are you sure you really want me to send a list of lawyers that might help you? I mean, I have a friend from college who handles custody cases here in the city, but it’s a route that you need to be ready for,” Suttons asks.
I asked her because my headspace has been pulled in too many directions. “I need to be prepared for worst-case scenarios. He once mentioned 50/50 custody. I can’t even imagine having Lola only half of the time.”
Sutton shifts to get more comfortable in her position. “Look, I don’t want to play the legal card right now, or sound like the worst friend ever, but you can’t be mad at him, as he actually has every legal right to ask for a custody agreement if he really wanted to. You’re not married to each other, and even perfectly content parents still have one. I understand howscary it can be and how it can cause an array of emotions. That’s why it is really important for me to tell you that you don’t need to worry. It can be a normal step. But I also know BS, how else would I deal with my profession? With full confidence, I can say that all indications from what I’ve seen or heard about Hayes is that he honestly has no intention of doing anything other than to make you his wife one day.”
“Totally agree,” Savannah says, adamant.
My eyes travel between them and bring my hand to my heart, my pulse to my palm. “In a split second, it’s like I had a heart attack. The very idea that Lola would get taken away from me just unleashed me.”
“Um, not sure it’s really that.” Sutton winces.
Savannah glares at her again. “Really, don’t want to soft land her into this?”
Sutton rolls her eyes. “We don’t have time for that.” She turns to me. “Either you feel you don’t know him enough to trust he won’t hurt you?—”
“Or you do,” Savannah adds, “but confrontation about a permanent future scares the hell out of you because you believe it’s going to happen with him.”
“Can’t a girl just be angry?”I complain.
“For sure, but this isn’t an angry he left a dish in the sink kind of issue,”Sutton reminds me.
I huff out a big breath. "The only thing he has continued to do is show me how much he wants Lola and me. It's just, gosh, why did I have to get that email?” I shrug my shoulders in exasperation. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Give it a day. Decompress. Talk to him when you’re calm,” Savannah advises, shaking her cup to gauge how much coffee is left.
Sutton brightens. “Ooh, go back to Everhope this weekend. There’s a donut festival—a perfect escape from the city.”
“Great. Carbs and misery,” I say, sarcastic.
“And your alternative would be?” Her challenge drags on.
She has a point.
The knock on the door, with the sound of my building's super, prompts me to call out that he can come in.
“Sorry to interrupt.” He’s already talking before he rounds the corner to my living room, and once in view, his smiling face and large frame greet us. “I won’t be long. Just wanted to check if the work is up to standard or if I need to call the contractor back.”
“It’s all fine. Wouldn’t realize at all that there was water damage.”
“They were very careful to ensure everything dried out so that mold couldn’t form.”
