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“Hey, Hannah,” I said as I reached the top step.
“Hey.” She stood, holding onto Holly’s hand. “I texted you but…”
“Oh, um…” I felt around my pants pockets for my phone. “I must have left my phone at Madeline’s. What are you doing here?”
“Can we talk?”
I pinched my brow and sighed. “Yeah. Yes, of course.” I was tempted to ask if we needed our lawyers present but decided against it. “Let’s go inside.” I twisted my keys in my fingers, slipping the key in the lock and opened the door. Holly bolted in and ran to her room.
“Holly, honey, why don’t you take your time so Daddy and I can talk for a minute, okay?”
“Okay!” Holly seemed oblivious to the fact that Hannah was here. She ran to her room and began rummaging through the drawers.
“Is everything okay?” I finally asked, watching as Hannah made her way into my apartment, looking around at the decor. It dawned on me that she had never been here. She was fidgeting with her fingers and taking small steps, stopping at the bookcase and looking at the photos, taking it all in. She let out a heavy sigh. “Hannah, what's wrong?”
“I like your place.” She smiled, and gave a small chuckle, “Even your framed Iron Man movie poster.”
“Yeah, you’ve never been here. Holly’s room is down the hall, very bright and pink and clean.”
“She likes to keep things clean.” Her voice was soft, a hint of sadness there.
“What’s going on?”
“Well,” she trailed off, walking closer to me. “I wanted to tell you that Donald and I talked, and we talked to Tressa and…well, we’ve made a decision.”
“What do you mean? We haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
She cleared her throat. “Well, I have.” She placed her hands on my kitchen counter and looked me in the eye. The last time she had that stance was when she told me she wanted a divorce. “I think Holly should live here full time. You were right about my parents and your dad, her friends, and the school…Portland is her home.” Her voice cracked. I could tell she was having a hard time with this decision, but as her heart was breaking, mine was glowing. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“So,” she continued, “I talked to Tressa, and another court date will be set up. I told her what I wanted, and she—to her dismay—told me it would work. In court, I’ll read a statement, and then we can plan holidays.”
“You’re giving me custody?” I asked, disbelief still washing over me.
She inhaled and nodded. “Maybe 70/30?” A small chuckle left her throat. “What I’m nervous about is that she will resent me for taking her away from you, but I’m always really scared that she will think I abandoned her.”
I shook my head, tempted to wrap my ex-wife in my arms, but I held my stance. “I don’t think Holly would ever think that. She doesn’t have a single bad thought in her body.”
“She won’t see it as me choosing someone over her?” Hannah whispered.
“No, I…” I stopped. “I think Holly will see it a different way. It’s not going to be easy that’s for sure, but if we change the way are with each other, then…it could work. Holly’s a smart kid, smarter than we give her credit for.” I took one step and placed my hands on Hannah’s shoulders. “Hannah, you are an amazing mother. Holly knows you love her deeply, and you arenotabandoning her.”
Tears formed, and she blinked, causing them to fall down her cheeks quicker than she could stop them. Without saying anything, I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to me for a hug, something I hadn’t done since way before the divorce. Just like she used to, she buried her head in my neck and held onto my shoulders, welcoming the comfort I offered. After a moment, she pulled away, my grip releasing on her.
“So, this can work…we can make work, right? It’s not going to be constant fighting and battling over who get Christmas or Easter, or—”
“Hannah,” I interrupted her, placing my forehead on hers, “This can andwillwork. I promise you.”
She sniffed and nodded again. Hannah pulled away from me, wiping the tears from her face. She smiled, letting out a breath. “Um, the court date won’t be for a while, but we have three weeks until the move…I would like to keep Holly for the rest of the summer. Maybe take her to Seattle to see the house before school starts. We’ll tell her everything before we finalize it. Okay?”
“Yeah, Hannah—I…”I what?“I just want…”
“What’s best, and honestly, I think that’s here.” She took a deep breath, exhaling through her mouth for clarity. “And Madeline. Will you tell her I’m sorry? For how I was acting and for that day? She apologized to me, but I never did. I didn’t mean to put her through hell, too.”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course.”
“She’s more than welcome to come to the court, if that's something she wants, since she’s going to be in Holly’s life more and more, right?” Hannah lowered her chin and narrowed her eyes, giving me a small grin.
I blushed and thought about Madeline at her house waiting for me. How she would always be waiting for me. I smiled. “I’m going to propose to her,” I stated.
