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“According to his paperwork, he did,” Sheila said.
She crossed her arms in front of herself and studied me for a moment. I slammed the folder shut and threw it on her desk. Leaning back in my chair, I nibbled my thumb nail and tapped my foot on the floor, urging myself not to cry. I'd shed enough tears over that asshole already. He didn't deserve anymore from me. What he did deserve was a swift kick in the balls.
“We're still going to win this,” I said.
“Absolutely,” Sheila said, but sounding a little less confident than she had before. “He just made things a little harder for us. But, very rarely will a judge deny a mother custody as long as she's deemed fit – which you are. The picture won't hold up in my opinion, but we do have to make sure you stay on the up-and-up.”
“Of course,” I snorted. “I don't do anything illegal, most certainly not drugs. I don't even drink.”
Sheila nodded. “I know, which is why I'm confident we can win this, Piper. We won't give the bastard any material he can use against us, and he's going to fall on his ass. Mark my words girl, when we're done with him, he's not even going to be able to adopt a cat.”
Taking a deep breath, I told myself she was right. He was trying to scare me, trying to make my life more difficult so I'd end up running back to him. It wasn't going to work. I just had to keep doing what I was doing and stay out of trouble. If I could manage that – not a difficult feat to accomplish in my life, really – everything would work itself out. Everything would be just fine.
~ooo000ooo~
As I was leaving Sheila's office, my phone rang. It was Shane. I couldn't control the smile on my face when I picked up the phone.
“Hey, you,” I said.
“Hey,” he said. “So, about that second date we talked about? I think I want to take you out to a real dinner this time. Just you and me.”
“Oh yeah?” I giggled.
I climbed into my car and leaned against the seat. Everything would be okay. Stay out of trouble and Trent didn't stand a chance – and hang out with Shane more too. Life was going well, I had nothing to complain about. All things considered, I was feeling pretty confident. “What were you thinking?” I asked.
“Perezzis. The best Italian food in town,” he said.
“And where we ate before prom,” I said, my cheeks hurting from smiling so hard. “But it's expensive, isn't it?”
“Not too bad. I can handle it,” he said. “A special girl deserves a special night out, after all.”
The idea of a night out at a nice place did sound nice, I wasn't going to lie.
“Did you find a job?” I asked.
“Yes, actually I did. Just a temporary gig, but it pays well enough,” he said. “Enough that I can spoil the hell out of you for one night at least.”
I laughed, feeling giddy and silly, like a schoolgirl all over again. “I'd love to, Shane. We can celebrate your new job too while we're at it.”
He was quiet for a moment, but then answered, “Yeah, sounds good,” he said. “We'll do that. When are you free?”
“Tonight, actually,” I said. “I took the day off to meet with my lawyer to go over some stuff for the custody hearing.”
“Pick you up at six then?”
I couldn't believe this was happening to me – now, after all these years. Shane Jackson and I were going on a real date again. We were going to the place we'd shared dinner before our senior prom. It all felt too romantic and sweet for words. It almost felt too good to be true after all the crap I'd been through the last few years.
It was just surreal to me how quickly life could turn around, how quickly you could move from your lowest depths, to unimaginable highs. “I can't wait,” I cooed.
~ooo000ooo~
“Another date already? Think things are getting serious?” mom asked, smiling at me as I examined myself in the hall mirror.
This time, I'd picked out a soft pink dress with a bow cinching my waist. It brought out my hourglass figure, accentuating my curves very nicely, and made me look pretty amazing, I had to say.
“I don't know,” I said, but I couldn't stop grinning like a fool.
The other night, that kiss at his place – it had been pretty magical. It honestly felt like old times, like we were still the two love-drunk teenagers who couldn't get enough of each other. That fire and passion we'd had for each other back in the day didn't seem to have dimmed in the least with the passage of time.
