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“Yes. Go.”
She does and I wait a beat and then follow her out. The moment she reaches her chair, the door opens and the girl I’ve seen her talking with in class, I think her name is Murphy, comes in and takes the seat beside her.
That’s how close we were to getting caught.
Thirty seconds at most.
That was a risk I can’t take again.
I watch Layla laugh and chat with her friend, both young, eager med students, and here I am, a quasi-professor and an attending and hopefully soon to be a single dad of sorts. She’s twenty-three and at the beginning of the race and I’m thirty-one and have already hit the finish line.
Our worlds are light-years apart.
And there’s nothing that can change that.
11
For as relaxed and more like myself Layla’s incendiary yet incredible blow job had made me feel, standing here in my attorney’s office right now I am anything but. I’m pacing a tight circle while I wait for him to enter. I know how to be an uncle. I know how to have fun with Katy.
Being her guardian is going to be an adjustment for us both.
At thirty-one I didn’t expect to become a father to a six-year-old. I didn’t expect first grade and homework and class projects or whatever will come with that. At least we have the rest of the summer to figure this all out. We’ll both be learning—her how to live without her parents and me how to become one.
Yet I don’t want this to go any other way. I want Katy with me. Not just temporarily, but always. She’s mine. My girl.
The door opens and in walks Tom Daugherty, a highly revered family attorney.
“Callan.” He greets me with a firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you. Have a seat.”
I do, trying to calm myself down.
“It’s my understanding that you’d like to become a permanent guardian for your niece?”
“Yes. I would.” It’s at this moment I realize I’m angry. Angry with my brother and Willow for not creating a will and appreciating the notion that we’re all mortal and have no direct control over when it’s our time and when it isn’t. Angry that my parents just got back on a plane, leaving me to take care of everything without their help or support. Angry that Katy has to grow up without them.
Because what if I’m not enough?
I have a feeling at some point every parent asks themselves that question, but in my case, it’s an extremely valid one. What if I’m not enough for her? What if she needs more? More than I can give her, and I don’t mean financially because I have plenty of money. Not only am I an emergency room attending, but the only thing I ever spent my Central Square earnings on is my condo and medical school.
And we earned a lot of fucking money as Central Square.
Four years at the top of the charts and touring around the world almost nonstop—we earned more money than we could have ever imagined.
“All right. It’s a pretty straightforward procedure since the child is already in your home. We will have to go to court quickly and petition to have you named as fiduciary guardian as well as legal guardian.”
“Quickly?” I parrot.
“Yes, Mrs. Barrow’s parents are making waves.”
My face scrunches up. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you mean by making waves.”
His lips form a thin line as he explains. “Willow’s parents are petitioning for fiduciary guardianship of Katy.”
“Why?” is my first question because I’m shocked. “They hardly know her.”
“They had a pro bono attorney from legal aid file the petition this morning.”
“That’s because they don’t have a pot to piss in. And I’m not even saying that cruelly. Willow used to tell me and Dec stories about how poor they were when she was growing up to the point where she was worried that her parents were going to give her up because they couldn’t afford her. Her father hasn’t worked in decades, and I don’t think her mother has either. Why on earth would they want to take on the financials for an elementary-age child?”
