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“Not at all,” he says without missing a beat.
My eyes bore into Aubrey’s. “I’m going back to the states, and I’m taking Amelie with me. If you want to be her mother, you’ll figure things out on this end. I will not sit by and wonder if my daughter is going to make it to my next visitation because her mother’s boyfriend doesn’t want children. You should’ve thought about that when you rekindled your relationship with him.”
Then I turn to him. “Thanks,” I tell him.
“For what?”
“For making it easier to get the fuck out of here.”
I take what I can, while Aubrey sits on the couch crying. I fear she’s upset because she’s going to lose money, not that Amelie is leaving. I tell her I’ll be back for the rest of the stuff sometime this week and if she wants to see her daughter, she knows where to find her.
When I get back to the apartment, Amelie’s snuggled up with Talisa. I ask her to wait while I put Amelie to bed. “Your mom will come and see you here,” I tell her. “We can talk more about it in the morning. But for right now, you don’t have to go back to your mom’s if he’s there.”
“Thank you, Daddy.”
“I love you, Amelie.” I kiss her forehead and turn off her light. Talisa stands when I come into the living room.
“Am I fired?”
I shake my head but also grimace. “My contract is up in November, and I’m going to take her back to the states.”
Talisa starts to cry.
“I’m sorry, I truly am, but I have an offer for you.”
“What is it?”
“Come with us. I have a son who’s sixteen, almost seventeen, and I own my medical practice in a town called Beaumont. It’s small, quaint, and we have a lot of friends there. Our house is nicer, you’d have your own room, and I’d double your pay. I need someone to be home with the kids, especially when I’m on call and need to leave in the middle of the night. I know you don’t have family here, or not much family, and would understand if you say no?—”
“Yes,” she says, interrupting me.
“Yeah?”
“I love that little girl, Mr. Nick. I don’t want to lose her.”
“We love you, Talisa. You’re very good with Amelie and I know Mack will love you as well. Fair warning, he’s an active kid. He plays a lot of sports.”
“I don’t mind. Thank you.”
We go over some loose logistics and I tell her I’ll get the paperwork started on a work visa for her. After I walk her out to her again, I head inside and into my bedroom. Just as I’m crawling into bed, my phone rings with a video call from Mack. I sit up and turn my bedside lamp on and accept the call.
“Hey bud,” I say when he comes into view.
“Hey, did I wake you?”
“Nah, just crawled into bed. How are things going?”
“Things are good. But, uh, I wanted to tell you something.”
“Okay, what’s up?” I try to keep my expression neutral even though I’m shaking like a leaf on the inside.
“Well, I . . . look don’t be mad, okay?”
I don’t know how much more I can take tonight. “Mack, just spit it out, bud. It’s hard for me to be mad when I’m here and you’re there. Is Liam mad at you?”
His face blanches. “No, not at all.”
“Okay, then. What is it?”
