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I barely had time to catch Carley as she leaped into my arms. She was pretty exuberant even for a three-year-old.
“I’ll be back in the morning,” Kimberly said as she closed the front door behind her.
Kimberly had managed to wrangle Carly into her pajamas, so all that was needed at that point was to tuck her into bed. I noticed, not for the first time, how much Carly looked like her mother. Same nose, same dark hair, and high cheekbones. She didn’t have freckles yet, but those could still be coming. It shouldn’t have had the emotional impact that it did.
That night was just supposed to be a one-night stand, back when I did that sort of thing but, as I would soon discover, things rarely went as planned. I had offered to support her mother in any way I could, which she accepted, and we actually became pretty good friends over the ninth months. We were never going to be madly in love, but we were going to be parents and decided that was more important.
I don’t know what I did to anger the fates, but they decided to turn the screw by having Carly’s mother die in childbirth. Something I had never been convinced really happened anymore, at least not in the west.
Alone and a new father, I had to greatly readjust my priorities. The private practice fell apart after that. Newborns and eighty-hour weeks did not go together. By the time Carly was three, we were struggling. The job offer from Howell and Howell really was a godsend.
I felt a bit bad imposing on Kimberly as I looked for my own place, but she really didn’t seem to mind. She actually said she liked it better than living alone, which I could understand. Also, considering the fees at Carly’s private pre-school, which I could barely afford on a lawyer’s pay, this was for the best.
Carly yawned as I put her to bed, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before she would drift off. I couldn’t stop myself from stroking her curly black hair as she talked in excited but yawning tones about her day.
“And then we had juice, and then we got to pick a cozy chair and read any book we wanted, they have so many books! Some of the kids weren’t able to read yet, but that was okay cuz the ones who could read, like me, read to them,” Carly said with barely a breath between sentences. I made a mental note to better monitor her sugar intake.
“That was nice,” I said.
“I like to help!” Carly enthused.
“Of course, you do, sweetheart,” I said, leaning over and kissing her small forehead.
She giggled. “Then it was outdoor time. The field was huge, daddy, absolutely huge, like big enough for a horsy to run around in,” Carly said, in a way that greatly implied she wouldn’t mind having a horsey of her own.
“A horse?” I asked.
“Yeah, a big horse!” Carly confirmed.
“Wow!” I said, playing along.
“Yeah! And I made a friend!” Carly nearly shouted, waving her arms wide.
“Really?” I asked, trying to sound more enthusiastic than surprised.
“Yeah! His name is Drew. He can read almost as good as me and really likes stories. We read to each other,” she said.
“Did he like the story?” I asked.
“Yeah! He likes all the same stories I do!” Carly said. “He likes the fairy tales — like the pigs and the big bad wolf.”
It never ceased to amaze me how sweet and smart my little girl was. I really wasn’t surprised that she was making friends. Most of the adults she knew already loved her. I had no idea what the future might hold for her, what parent ever does, but was convinced it was something important — like a surgeon or one of the few good politicians. She might want to be a lawyer like me, but it wasn’t something I was going to actively encourage. Whatever it was, I was determined to make sure it was her choice, and she would only be limited by her abilities, which really didn’t seem like it was going to be a problem.
I was so happy she was happy at her new school. I knew why I wanted her to go there but I couldn’t expect her to understand this, no matter how bright she was. She was only three, and I had control over every aspect of her life. Even so, it was very important to me that she was happy. Even if I did have a completely illogical suspicion of this Drew kid. It wasn’t a big part and certainly not a member of my logical side, but there was a part of me that wasn’t ready to share my little angel with anyone yet. Not yet.
Chapter Nine
Ann
I didn’t really like taking days off. My name was one the building, at least in a manner of speaking, and I considered it my duty to be there. It probably also had a lot to do with the fact that work was one of the few things that made me feel really good. As such, it had become the focus of my life outside of Drew. Which could explain why it had been years since I actually lost a case. However, this morning meeting was about Drew, though, so I decided to make an exception.
