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“Thanks.” He seemed huge in our tiny house, his shoulders almost as wide as the small foyer.
Aunt Meg was standing a few feet away, leaning on her cane.
“Hello. I’m Margaret Forrester, Presley’s aunt.”
“William Zerkesian. But please call me Zeke.” They shook hands and I just stood there watching, as if he were any other guest.
“And you can call me Aunt Meg.”
They smiled at each other.
“I brought some things for the baby,” Zeke said, turning to me. “I wasn’t sure what you needed, but I figured developmental toys would be okay and you can give me a list going forward.”
“That’s very thoughtful,” Aunt Meg answered for me, digging into one of the bags.
“Can I see him?” Zeke asked when no one spoke.
“He’s asleep,” I responded. “But he’ll be up soon. I didn’t want to wake him in case you were late.”
“Okay, sure.” He looked almost as nervous as I felt, and we stared at each other.
“Would you like to sit down?” Aunt Meg offered.
“Thanks.” He lowered himself onto the couch, but I couldn’t bring myself to sit next to him. Mostly, I wanted to run from the room. I was feeling so many disparate emotions right now, torn between wanting to smack him and kiss him. I didn’t understand it because all I wanted was to do right by my son. I couldn’t afford to be attracted to his father. Not again.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Aunt Meg asked him, making me want to roll my eyes.
“No, I’m okay. Thank you.” Zeke looked from Aunt Meg to me and then sighed. “Look, I know this is weird, but it doesn’t have to be.”
“It doesn’t have to be?” I asked incredulously. “How could it be anything but weird?”
“I know. But I don’t know how to fix that.”
“Why don’t you just tell me what you plan to do,” I said. “Then you can meet Jeremy and be on your way.”
He frowned. “Presley, I don’t know what you think is going to happen, but I’m not just going to meet him. I plan to be a part of his life.”
I lifted my chin. “I’ll fight you if you try to get custody. I’m a good mom. So, no matter what your fancy lawyers and managers and whatnot try to say, I’ll—”
“Jesus, Presley, stop.” He stood up and walked over to me so we were face to face. “That’s not what this is. Of course, I’m not going to take him from you. But I won’t allow you to keep him from me either. The only way this works is if we co-parent him.”
“I’m in Minnesota and you’re either in California or on tour. How is that going to work?”
“I don’t know yet,” he said, showing the first signs of annoyance. “I just got here. We haven’t had a chance to talk or figure things out, and I haven’t even seen him yet!”
“Okay, let’s not get upset,” Aunt Meg said quickly. “Presley, you’ve been through a lot, but let’s at least hear him out. And Zeke, I know you only just found out, but we’ve been going through this for over a year, so it’s a bit more raw for us. Especially Presley.”
“I understand that,” he said slowly. “And I can’t apologize enough for the way our management team handled everything.”
I’d never been more grateful to hear Jeremy cry, and I practically ran up the stairs. I didn’t understand why having Zeke here in the house was so hard, but I’d felt like I couldn’t breathe since he’d arrived. He’d been nothing but polite, but I was on edge, ready to explode any moment. A year’s worth of pent-up anger, frustration, and fear were roiling inside of me, a veritable explosive ready to blow.
“Hi, baby boy. Mommy’s here. Shhh.” I soothed my son as I picked him up, even though in some ways it felt like I was desperately trying to soothe myself. There were no words to express how afraid I was. Jeremy deserved to have his father in his life, but it scared me.
“You’re good with him.”
Zeke’s voice made my body tense, and I instinctively clutched Jeremy closer to my chest.
“He’s beautiful, Presley.” Zeke was behind me now, running one big knuckle across the baby’s cheek. Jeremy looked up at him curiously, showing no signs of fear or anxiety.
