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BRENTON
Candace and Helen sat in front of me with wide eyes and mouths that were moving a mile a minute.
“Okay, okay. One at a time, please!”
They looked at each other and Helen gestured for Candace to go first.
“We ran into mom at the mall,” she said, wringing her fingers.
That didn’t seem too bad. Candace running into Amber wasn’t the end of the world. She was her mother after all. Then my face went white as I looked at Helen. Helen running into Amber on the other hand could be the end of the world, but only if Amber suspected something between us.
“Did she see you?” I asked Helen.
“Um, yes.”
I made a mental note to ask Helen about it later, not wanting to reveal too much in front of Candace. Then I directed my attention back to my daughter.
“What did she say?”
They proceeded to tell me everything: Amber’s nasty phone call, her confrontation with Helen, all the way to Candace storming out with Helen in tow.
“Wow. I’m so sorry sweetie. I’m sorry both of you had to deal with that.”
“She’s awful, dad. I tried to tell you.”
“I know you did. I believe you. I have the entire time. I just didn’t want you to get your hopes up.”
“Get my hopes up about what?” Her ears perked up a bit.
“I’m working on my case to get full custody of you and Aiden.”
I watched Candace’s expression carefully, not knowing how my daughter would take the news. It would mean that she’d have to live up in the hills with me and commute to school. It would be harder to see her friends and her boyfriend, which I knew would be a tough pill for Candace to swallow. To my surprise, her face lit up. I watched as her mouth fell open and the corners of it turned up. She caught me watching though, and quickly hid her excitement.
“Oh. Well, that would have been nice to know.”
“Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I mean I’m definitely okay with never living under mom’s roof again.”
“Good.”
“Do you think the call we overheard would help your case?” Helen chimed in.
“I’m not sure. There’s no actual proof of it, so I’m not even sure the judge would let it into evidence.”
“I can be a witness,” Helen said, enthusiastically. “I’d be happy to tell her off under oath.”
“I appreciate that, but if we let you speak then you’re at her mercy too. She could slander you and our relationship. She’ll dig for dirt on you, believe me. And then she’ll use it against us. She’s done it before, in the case where she earned back half custody of the kids.”
Helen pondered this, no doubt considering how badly she’d come off as soon as Amber dug up any little thing about her family. The Washingtons’ image was not squeaky clean, after all. Far from it.
Candace yawned and I looked at the clock. It was getting late. I told her to get some shut eye and that we’d resume this conversation in the morning. I needed some time to think things through and talk to Charlie.
As soon as she was up the stairs and I heard her door shut, I turned to Helen.
“Thank you for being there for her today. I didn't mean to ask so much of you.”
“Of course. I feel awful for Candace. You should have seen her face, Brenton. No child should have to deal with that.”
