Hurricane Acer. Sydney Blondell
is Sunday, so it is a Mommy and Ally day. I let Alison pick out her outfit, which ended up being a blue tutu that she always ends up hating because she says it is itchy and a light pink long-sleeve shirt. I told her she looked like cotton candy which delighted her. Once teeth and hair were brushed we made our way back downstairs to have breakfast.
Alison requested eggs and avocado, so I made two “dippy” eggs with a side of whole-grain toast to dip into the yolks. I gave Alison the option of cut-up avocado or smashed avocado, and she opted for cut up. We finished our breakfast and decided to go to the park since the weather was finally starting to warm up. I wanted to take Alison to the biggest park in our area because I know how much she likes going to parks and we do not go to this particular park very often. The park is about twenty minutes from our house so to pass the time in the car I played a kid-friendly conversational Spanish CD. We mainly listen to the song teaching colors because Alison picked up on those phrases the fastest.
We arrived at the park and found a shaded spot to relax in between playing on the swings and slides. Before I let Alison start playing, I lathered her up with sunscreen because she is such a fair-skinned little girl. As I was rubbing in the last bit of sunscreen, I caught a glimpse of a woman who looked exactly like my soon-to-be ex-mother-in-law. At first, I thought I just imagined that I saw her, but I looked again and saw the woman staring in our direction.
Rather than make a scene, I told Alison that it looked like the park was closing for the day and we could go to another park instead. I buckled her back into her car seat and started to pull out of the parking lot. I was diligent about checking all my mirrors to see if anyone was following us and from what I could see, who I thought to be Carole was no longer there. I drove to a park that is more familiar to me, and where I know, I will run into people we know. I called Renee and asked if she and Rose would like to join us just in case something were to happen and she immediately agreed to tag along.
The four of us spent about three hours playing at the park until finally Rose and Alison came running over to inform us of their hunger. We packed up the toys and snacks we brought with us and drove to Weis to pick up food to make for dinner. I decided to pick up angel hair pasta and ingredients to make a homemade sauce for tomorrow night’s dinner, and Renee decided to pick up organic chicken tenders and smiley face potato rounds for tonight’s meal. Ever since my marriage started to go south, Renee and I started alternating who cooked dinner each night so that I did not have to spend as many nights at home with Paul and the tradition has since been carried on. Rose wanted to ride back to the house with us, but we had to say no because it would be more of a hassle to put her car seat in my car just for a few minute car ride, which resulted in a double toddler meltdown.
We buckled screaming children into our cars and drove the short three minutes to Renee’s house. The kids’ eyes were red and puffy as they walked up the steps into the house, sniffing their tear-filled snot back into their noses. We told the girls there was no reason to be sad anymore because they were together again, but our girls are stubborn and wanted to still be upset. After a few minutes of pouting, Rose suggested she and Alison go upstairs and play with her cats. While the girls played, Renee and I started to fix dinner.
“Have you heard anything from Paul or his parents since they had Ally yesterday?” Renee asked as she dumped the bag of chicken tenders onto a cookie sheet.
“No, but I’m telling you, I saw Carole at the park this morning. I know it was her. I don’t know what she was planning on doing there, but she was there.” I responded.
“Well, hopefully, they are smart enough to know that if they try anything, a protective order will be slapped down on them so fast they won’t know what hit them.”
“That’s true. I hope it doesn’t escalate that far.”
Switching to another topic, Renee asks, “Will you dig the empty chicken tender bag from the trash? I forgot to read how long they need to stay in the oven. And while you’re over there can you grab the smiley potatoes from the freezer? I will put those in the oven too.”
“Yes, no problem,” I said.
I set the timer for eighteen minutes and went into the living room to join Renee and her husband, Tom. As we sat and waited for our kid-friendly meal to cook, we heard little voices and laughter through the ceiling. The timer went off, and the kiddos came rushing down the staircase as if we hadn’t fed them in days. I told them to pick out which placemat they wanted and sit at the table while Renee and I prepared each plate. Tom kept the kids occupied with goofy faces and voices until we joined everyone at the table.
After dinner, I let Alison go back upstairs to play with Rose for another hour or so before heading home for the evening. I have a big deposition in the morning at work, so I needed to fast track Alison’s bedtime routine tonight. An hour of playtime had passed, so I called up to Alison to tell her it was time to go home. A sleepy three-year-old came stumbling down the stairs into my arms, entirely ready for her bedtime routine to begin. We drove home, and I carried her directly upstairs to tuck her into bed. I skipped her bath because she has very sensitive, dry skin that should only be washed every other day. We read “Goodnight Moon” and snuggled for ten minutes until I heard subtle snores coming from her sweet little head.
I quietly walked out of Alison’s room, leaving her door cracked open so just enough light shined in. I went back downstairs and went into my home office to power up the desktop computer. I had case file after case file stacked on my desk waiting for me to start investigating and deciding whether to prosecute or not. I have slacked off on the work front ever since Paul’s suicide attempt back in February. Before everything happened I was the number one prosecutor in the office and could go through stacks of cases daily. Now I am lucky if I can read one pile in a week. I need to refocus, which is what tonight is for.
Sleep is for the weak (I am one hundred percent kidding, sleep has been my best friend my entire life). But tonight, rest is not in the cards. I have my wine. I have my coffee. And I have my dark chocolate covered cashews. I am set for an old fashioned cram session like back in law school. One stack completed in forty-five minutes and half of the files will be prosecuted, now onto the next daunting stack. I went through this cycle until three in the morning and had completed five stacks with about two-thirds going into prosecution, which of course means more work for me.
Chapter Three
For the next few weeks, my life consisted of catching up on work and taking Alison to her scheduled visits with Paul. After each visit, the car rides back to the house or wherever we were headed that particular day were always the same; Alison was quiet until close to arriving at our destination then told me about playing with solitary board games while Paul sat and watched.
After a few weeks of this, she stopped saying that Paul was sitting with her. At first, I chalked it up to her three-year-old mind leaving that piece of information out because it was not relevant to her, but then on her last visit she mentioned that while she played in the playroom Grandma was outside gardening, Grandpa was upstairs reading, and Daddy was in the T.V. room watching FOX News. I decided to call Paul and address what I learned with him because I had a few concerns. I pulled into my parking space at the townhouse and went inside to find the phone. Before I dialed his number I sent Alison upstairs just in case we began to raise our voices. I waited as the phone rang and rang until finally, I heard his voice on the other line. “Hello,” he said in a very monotone voice.
“Paul, I need to discuss your visits with Alison. I have some concerns.” I responded.
“Okay, what?”
“Well, it has come to my attention that over the past few visits you have not been spending time with Alison and have been leaving her unsupervised in the playroom. I also heard that your parents are no longer on the same floor as the two of you throughout the visit.”
“Are you serious right now? She is three. She can sit in the playroom on her own and fend for herself. And I am not going to make my parents give up their day because you and some jackass judge think I am unfit to be with my child.”
“First of all, fend for herself? She’s three, not thirteen. Secondly,