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Taking a deep, calming breath, I try to get my thoughts in check.
“So, you don’t give two shits about seeing your girls?”
“Oh, please, E, you know damn well they like you better.”
“Stop being a fucking child! Maybe if you spent some time with them, they’d enjoy your company, too.”
“Well, clearly, that’s not happening with you and them being in another state.”
I'm done. Done with her bullshit. Done trying to co-parent with her for the sake of our girls. Evidently, she doesn’t give a shit, and I have to do what’s best for them. And that’s become abundantly clear at this point.
“You have three months,” I say in a disturbingly calm voice.
“Three months for what, exactly?”
“You have three months to find a job and move out ofmyhouse. I'm done playing games with you, Cami. I’ve given you more than enough chances to do the right thing by your children and you just keep letting them down.”
“You can’t do that to me. You can't just kick the mother of your children out on the streets.”
“We will see about that. Goodbye, Cami.” I hang up the phone just as her panicked shriek filters through the air.
I must’ve been sitting on that dune for a long time because when I look toward the beach where everyone was, it's vacant. I get up, brush off the sand, and start trekking back to the beach house to check where everyone has disappeared to.
Halfway there, my mom finds me. “Thought maybe you got lost there for a while.”
I was so lost… too in my head, I forgot I had left the girls with her. My reality comes blaring back to me. “Fuck… the girls. Is everything okay?”
“Everything is fine. They’re both back at the house napping. Lo and Wes are on duty. Sit with me for a minute?”
I follow her to a shaded little spot and sit. My racing heart won't slow down. What the fuck am I going to do? My mom must see the tension and panic on my face because she places her hand on my arm and begins to rub calming circles.
“What’s going on…”
“Cami isn’t coming.”
“What do you mean, isn’t coming?”
“Not coming, doesn’t give a shit about anyone or anything but herself… She’s not coming to Florida or North Carolina.” I proceed to tell her the disgusting things Cami had the nerve to say to me on the phone.
“Oh,” is all she says, probably as stunned as I am.
Dropping my head into my hands, I groan. “Fuck, Mom. What am I going to do? I can’t believe this shit.”
“We will figure this out together. No reason for you to take on all this stress yourself. Your father and I can postpone our trip and stay while we get it all sorted out.”
“You’re not postponing your trip. Absolutely not. You’ve been planning this thing for months.”
“Oh hush, it's just a trip. There will always be another time.”
“No, Mom, I won’t let you do that. Whether I have to put you two on the plane myself, you’re going… I’ll figure something out.”
She links her arm through mine as we stare out at the water before us. The waves slowly calm the tension within.
After several moments, my mom goes to speak, but then stops before the words come out.
“Out with it,” I say, knowing she wants to say something, but isn’t sure if I’ll be receptive to it.
“It’s just a thought… not sure if it would work… but what if you hire a nanny?”
