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“Don’t thank me yet,” he said quietly. “You needed an ear – and you’ve got mine for twenty minutes. I bought the last two calling cards so I could reach out. Feel free to unload, my pen pal. I’m here to listen.”
“I don’t know where to start.”
“Give me everything as quick as you can – and let’s talk.”
“Two and a half years ago, the pediatrician discovered something was wrong with my pregnancy and my ex wanted me to have an abortion. I couldn’t do it. We ended up fighting quite a bit, I saw the real him, and filed for divorce. Everything was fine, I had Max, and he gave me quite a bit of space. No problem. Then he requested a decrease in child support and Max takes quite a bit of help because he has Down Syndrome.”
“Gotcha,” Eric said simply. “Continue.”
“Max is the sweetest baby, my son, and I love him dearly… and then Asher, my ex, started calling and trying to talk to me again. I’m not interested. I told him that. He got very angry and said that was only happening because Max was in the picture – and told me that ‘he would take care of thatproblem’so we could be a couple again.”
“I see.”
“I’ve learned my lesson the hard way and don’t want anything to do with my ex-husband… and told him as much,” Madison admitted, taking a deep breath. “That’s when things got really bad.”
“Like how?”
“He’s pushing for custody, requesting to have Max removed from my care and placed in a facility that can better care for him, and…”
“What?Are you serious?”
Madison nearly purred at the outrage and disbelief in Eric’s voice. It was justification that she wasn’t crazy. Lily had been just as shocked, but Lily knew her, knew of her ex-husband, but to Eric – this was a pair of strangers from the outside, and she could only hope the judge looked at it the same way.
“I have less than six months to get a different pediatrician’s evaluation on Max’s health and condition. My home is going to be inspected by Child Services tomorrow afternoon for the hearing. I’ve got to get witnesses lined up to come to court with me to testify that ‘Yes – my ex is having me followed and stalking me,’ so I can get a restraining order, and…”
“Madison,” Eric interrupted, his voice softening. “How are you handling all of this? This is a lot to process and…”
“I know,” she whispered, feeling herself break. “So, I’m not crazy?”
“No,” he chuckled softly. “It sounds like you’ve got a mess on your hands, and I want to help. I wanted to call when I got your email, because I’m flying to Texas to see my parents and…”
“You are? What part?”
“What part…of Texas?”he asked curiously. “Well, I’m flying into Tyler to visit my parents and my brother for a few days, before heading back here.”
He got quiet and her mind was racing.
“Madison, where doyoulive?”
“In Tyler,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
“Really? Huh. Well, would you… ah… like to get coffee or something?” he asked hesitantly. “I know we don’t know each other and…”
“I should say no because Asher’s still having me followed, taking pictures, and…”
“Then let him take photos,” Eric interrupted. “You’re entitled to have a life, and there is nothing wrong with having a cup of coffee with a friend. Is there?”
“Eric, I don’t know…”
“I’ll call you when I get into town, and we can have a cup of coffee together. That’s it. We can talk more, say ‘hello’, I could meet Max, you can meet Trigger… and figure out this ‘tangled knot’ together, while I don’t have a timer counting down in my ear.”
She nervously let out a soft laugh and hesitated.
“Alright,” she breathed. “Call me when you get in town, and we’ll see about the coffee.”
“Madison?”
“Yes?”
