It's not too Late to Change your Mind

Anthony

“Anthony…are you sure you want to go through with this?” Jonathan asked cautiously.

“Are you trying to talk me out of this?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him through the mirror I used to tie my tie.

“Anthony,” he sighed. “There are other options.”

“Like joint custody?”

“Would it be so bad? You can give Nori to Simone every other weekend and have a child-free weekend.”

I clenched my teeth in frustration. “I’ve had enough child-free weekends…thank you.”

“I just…I don’t think you’re being fair. Simone carried your child, gave birth to her, and cared for her as if she were her own. She could’ve been a heartless bitch and wiped her hands clean of the situation and let them take your daughter into foster care, but she didn’t. Whether you want to acknowledge it or not, Simone is Nori’s mother. You’d be doing your daughter a disservice.”

“The original agreement—”

“After the judge rules in your favor, and you know she will, will you be able to look at yourself in the mirror every morning knowing there’s a woman out there grieving the loss of a child and you’re to blame?”

I swallowed down my retort. Jonathan and I went way back. I met him in college, and he was the closest thing I had to a friend. I’d lost my parents and wife. I couldn’t afford any more losses.

“I appreciate your advice as a friend, but I need you in lawyer mode now and do what you get paid the big bucks to do.”

“I’m not even a family lawyer.”

“A lawyer is a lawyer.”

“Okay. It’s a beautiful day, and we have some time to kill. Let’s walk over to the courthouse.”

Beautiful was the last word I’d use to describe the day. My leg chose that morning to torment me. Physical therapy was grueling, but I pushed through it with one goal: to be the father my daughter needed me to be. My doctor insisted on prescribing narcotics for pain management, but I didn’t want to be doped up on pain meds all the time or develop an addiction. I would have to learn to live without them.

Maybe it was a bad omen—a painful reminder that my actions were unethical. Doubt settled in as I perspired under the blazing Texas sun. Jane, my wife, always said that everything happened for a reason. But the skeptic in me didn’t see why I had to share my child with another woman I didn’t see as a permanent fixture in my life.

We approached the courthouse when my eyes fell upon two beaming rays of sunshine, Simone and Nori Livingston. They wore matching pastel yellow dresses, and Nori toddled beside Simone with two big white bows decorating her ponytails. She even had a tiny white purse that hung in the crook of her arm. My mind worked overtime trying to figure out what a one-year-old might carry in a purse.

Snacks? A small toy? A pacifier?

Before I knew it, I was an orbiting planet being pulled by two suns.

“Simone.”

She narrowed her eyes at me.

I’m sure I’m the last person she wants to see.

“Please call me Ms. Livingston.”

She was playing hardball.

“As you wish, Ms. Livingston.” I leaned on my cane in an attempt to relieve the pressure on my leg.

“How can I help you, Mr. Powell?”

“I wanted to say hi to Nori before—”

“Before you take her away from me,” she inserted.

“If that’s how you want to put it,” I said before focusing on my daughter. “Hi, Nori. You look beautiful today,” I complimented. I reached out to touch her and recoiled when she tucked herself behind Simone’s leg.

“I’m sorry, but she doesn’t do well with strangers. Come on, Nori,” Simone said before leading my daughter into the courtroom.

“Do you need aloe vera?” Jonathan asked, sidling next to me.

“Aloe vera? For what?”

“For that burn Ms. Livingston gave you,” he joked.

“I may not be able to move as fast as I used to, but I have 36 inches, and I’m not afraid to use it,” I warned, motioning at him with my cane.

“Violence is never the answer, Anthony. She hired a decent lawyer. The matching outfits? Gold. They look like mother and daughter.”

It was my turn to shoot him a glare. “Whose side are you on anyway?”

“Nori’s. Let’s go. Judge Wallen is a stickler for punctuality, and you don’t want to get on her bad side.”