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Josie laughed in a high, tinkling sound that now made me grind my teeth. Before, I’d thought it was unique—charming, even, or elf-like.
But now, not a single thing about her charmed me anymore. Not even the fact that she gave birth to my daughter. She was now a threat, and I wanted to make sure as many people as possible recognized it.
“Graham, you should really see someone about all these paranoid thoughts you’re having. I don’t imagine they’re any good for our daughter.” Josie fixed her dark eyes on Heather, who had stood her ground up until now, thank God. “What do you think? You’re a child psychologist. You think my daughter can live her best life with a father who prefers to keep her locked away? A father who doesn’t want her to know her mother?”
Heather clenched her jaw—I could see the muscles jumping—and shook her head vehemently. “I don’t know how you know who I am or what I do, but I don’t care. You don’t get to twist this situation to your advantage. Whatever you believe, you don’t get to drag all of us into it. The only fact that is absolutely certain in this exact moment is you sneaked up to your ex’s house with obvious motive to threaten him, the woman who loves him, and the child you had with him.”
“That’s my child,” Josie shouted. “Mine!”
“Do you even know her name?” I demanded. All I had ears for was the rising drone of sirens heading our way. Something had to give, and it needed to be Josie.
“I have every right to her that you do,” she said. “You weren’t the one who nourished her growth inside your body. All you did was a single act to spark that life.” Josie’s eyes slid to Heather. “Many, many acts, if we’re being honest. We were in love.”
“Enough,” I said, lunging so close to her that Heather was the one to put an arm between us. Hank had started barking. Fuck me, but Josie smelled exactly the same as the last time I’d seen her—sickening sweet vanilla dusted with baby powder. It made bile rise in my throat, a visceral sort of sensory memory I couldn’t quite control. “You’re trespassing, at the very least. Do you want to go to jail tonight? Because that’s what’s going to happen if you’re not gone by the time those cops get here. Won’t they be interested to know about your mental health history?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Heather press her lips together to whiteness. I didn’t care if I was playing outside the rules. Josie had shattered everything by showing up here.
“The police officers that are coming are mine,” she spat at me. “I’m suing for custody and child support.”
I roared with laughter at her, even if I didn’t mean to. “What custody? What child support? Josie, you left our daughter in the hospital, and you didn’t respond to multiple forms of communication over an extended period of time—way too much time. I should’ve known to give up well before I actually did. You’re nothing in her life.”
“I’m nine fucking months of her life,” Josie screamed in my face, her breath sour like she hadn’t brushed her teeth in a few days. “I’m the only reason she’s alive!”
“And when you abandoned her just after birth, you forfeited every right you could have enjoyed with her—and with me.” I pressed forward, making Josie back into the front door of my house. “Leave before you’re embarrassed.”
“I called the police!” she shrieked, and I cringed to think the tumult might wake Collins. “They’re going to tell you that you can’t steal my daughter from me. I’m here for what is mine.”
“Do you think the police are going to think well of you when you’re acting like this?” Heather asked, stepping back a bit to give Josie more room than I would’ve granted her. Of course, Heather didn’t know the mother of my child. Instead, I leveraged myself between them, ready for action.
“I think they’ll be ready to sympathize with a mother who has been denied access to her daughter for years,” Josie said. “Stop trying to spin this. You’re done. You’re defeated.”
“If the cops see you ready to scratch his eyes out, they’re going to put you in cuffs,” Heather told Josie calmly. The red and blue lights of the patrol cars racing toward us bounced off the front of the house in a surreal show. “If you’re really here for your daughter, which neither ofusbelieves, you’re going to have to at least put on a show of civility to convince the cops.”
As the troopers zoomed up the drive, Josie backed down immediately and burst into instant tears. It was as if she had a tap she could turn on and off. On for hysterics, off for psychosis.
“What seems to be the problem here?” an officer asked us from below, keeping his distance. All of them did.
“I want my child!” Josie sobbed. “He can’t keep me from seeing her.”
“This woman is trespassing,” I followed as calmly as I could manage at this juncture. “She has been advised to leave the property, but she refuses to do so.”
“Officers, this seems to be a custody dispute,” Heather said, stepping forward to shield Josie and me from the cops. I hadn’t realized just how provocative our pose was, how close we were to each other.
How close we were to practically tearing out each other’s throats.
“Who are you?” another cop called up.
“I’m a child psychologist, here for the girl in question,” Heather said, casually positioning her hands far from her sides and in full view of the officers who had gathered. “This is a misunderstanding. One party called you in to help serve papers relating to a custody dispute.” Heather glanced back at Josie and quickly yanked the manila folder packet Josie had clutched to her chest. I hadn’t even noticed it.
“These are the papers,” Heather announced. “We’ve received them, and we will appear on the designated dates. We agree to comply with our justice system and to have our case heard.” Heather didn’t waver, not for a second. “We are confident the justice system will recognize that the father of this child is in the right.”
“Bitch,” Josie warned, her voice low.
“The rest of you have been called because of a threat,” I announced. “That threat is this woman, the biological mother of my child. She laid in wait here, surprising us, frightening us, and threatening us.”
“All items we will address in court,” Heather interrupted. “We thank you for your service, but you are no longer needed tonight. Be safe. Until next time, Josie.”
“Next time, you’re done,” Josie snarled at her, but everyone dispersed.
