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“It’s okay,” I said before yawning.
“How was she after I left?”
“Great.” I stretched before standing up. “What a little doll! She’s absolutely amazing. I had such a good time with her.”
“You did?”
“I did. She’s so much fun. We ate popcorn. She told me all about her old school and what a horri-bibble place it was.” I giggled at her version of the word. “Then she told me how much she loves her new school. She said she has a lot of friends and that her teacher, Mrs. Ramirez is old like her grandma. And that Miss Jennie makes her laugh.”
Travis deflated as I went on to tell him how we played Barbies and that her doll had won first place. The tension he’d been carrying lifted off his shoulders, giving him much-needed ease. “Of course, she did,” Travis laughed as he moved over to where I stood. “Did she talk about anything else?”
It was like the man sensed something was bothering his daughter and that something was her bitch of a mother. My blood still burned like lava in my veins that the thought of Amie believing her mother didn’t love her and that she was a mistake.
“Travis,” I said as I went to grab my purse. At first I wasn’t going to say anything, but thinking about how sad that sweet little girl was and how her mother had broken her little heart, I had to speak up.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, immediately glancing down at me with concern.
“For me, yeah. It’s okay, but I need to tell you about something Amie said when we were playing together.”
To Travis’s credit, he gave me his full attention. “Is she okay? She wasn’t upset that I left her, was she?”
“No.” I shook my head. “She was okay, but when we were brushing out the dollies’ hair, she mentioned her mom.”
Travis spat through his teeth and combed a rough hand through his hair. “I swear, that woman! She fucking ruinseverything!” He growled low and deep before forcing himself to calm down. “What did Amie say?”
“She heard you and her mother fighting one night. She overheard her mother say that she didn’t love her and that she was a mistake.”
A barely controlled whimper slipped through Travis’s lips. My heart went out to him as I watched several emotions—anger, devastation, fury, guilt, and lastly, protectiveness—flash across his features.
“Oh my god,” he whispered a few seconds later. “My poor baby. I didn’t know she heard us. I didn’t know—”
“Hey,” I said, stepping up to him and laying a gentle, reassuring hand upon his arm. “Before you blame yourself, this is one-hundred percent on her mother. I know you would’ve done anything to protect her from that. I’ve seen you with her. You’re a good dad. She knows you love her. I . . . but I think she’s trying to not let you see how much that still hurts her. It killed me to see how it broke her heart. I think she’s trying to put on a brave face.”
“If murder were legal . . .” Travis’s hands went back to his hair, his fingers tugging at the strands in frustration.
“Ifmurder were legal, I’d help you bury the body,” I teased, but truthfully, I wasn’t completely kidding. I’d never met this bitch but if I ever did, there was no accounting for what I might do.
“I appreciate you saying that, Dee.” Travis heaved out a frustrated breath before reaching out and resting his large, long-fingered hand upon my shoulder. “This—the divorce and raising Amie alone—it’s been so fucking hard and sometimes, it feels like I’ve got no support. I know that’s stupid to think that way. I mean, I’ve got my parents, Tami’s parents, my sister, my friend Ty, Jason and Casey—”
“And me,” I said, surprising even myself.
“What?”
“You’ve also got me. I know I just met her, but I’d do anything for that little girl. I loved spending time with her tonight and I am more than happy to help in any way I can.”
“But you hate me.”
“That may be so.” I paused. “Okay, maybe not all the time, but I really like your daughter, and I’m thinking she needs as many good women role models that she can get.”
Travis laughed heartily, his mood brightened temporarily. “Thank you, Dee. You don’t know what that means to me."
“It’s my pleasure, Travis. And I meant what I said. I’m just a phone call away and my office is not far from yours.”
Thanking me again, Travis ordered another rideshare to take me home before escorting me downstairs to wait for the driver.
“I can wait here,” I said once we reached the main floor. “You should be upstairs just in case Amie needs you.”
“I’ve got her on my phone.” He pulled out his device and showed me the image of her sleeping in her room, nestled under the plush comforter and fairy lights twinkling all around her. “I’ll be able to hear her if she calls for me. Besides, I want to make sure you get into your ride safely. It wasn’t that long ago that you did the same for me.”
