Chapter 2
After dinner, she took the initiative to clear the dishes and bring them to the kitchen.
It was the first time in a month she'd done that.
She was in such a good mood that even her slippers barely made a sound as she walked.
When I went back to the bedroom to grab a change of clothes, I pulled open her desk drawer.
Tucked inside was a phone card wrapper.
And there was an old phone I'd never seen before.
The screen was still on.
James's messages were sitting right at the top.
[Don't worry, your mom's just trying to scare you.]
[At Dad's place, you can do whatever you want.]
[She can't let you go, just wait, in a couple days she'll be begging you to come back.]
I stared at those messages for a long time.
Then I pushed the drawer shut.
Anna called out from the hallway, "Mom, can I bring my tablet on Friday?"
I opened the closet.
I answered calmly.
"Yes," I said.
There was a moment of silence outside the door.
She called out again, "What about my phone?"
"That too," I replied.
She dashed off, thrilled.
I picked up my own phone and texted James.
I texted: [I'll bring Anna over at 7 PM on Friday.]
He replied almost instantly.
[It's about time.]
[Anna's had it rough with you.]
I stared at those two lines, then hit the record button.
Then I called him.
James answered the phone with a light, almost teasing tone.
"What, having second thoughts?" he asked.
I set the phone down on the table.
I placed it face down.
"No," I said.
"I'm just making things clear," I added.
He chuckled.
"You really haven't changed, have you? Always needing to spell everything out," he said.
"Anna's my daughter. Do I really need your permission for her to stay at my place?" James asked.
"She can go," I said.
"But for the next three months, everything about her, her daily routine, her schoolwork, picking her up and dropping her off, and if she gets sick, that's all on you," I said.
There was a pause on the other end.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean, don't just talk about freedom," I said.
I opened my laptop and emailed the file over.
"I've drawn up a temporary living arrangement agreement," I said.
"Sign it," I said.
"I'll let her homeroom teacher know about the change in who's picking her up and dropping her off," I added.
"You'll be covering most of her monthly school-related expenses," I continued.
"If she gets sick, misses class, or her grades start slipping, the teacher will reach out to you first," I said.
His tone turned serious in an instant.
"Helen Veyra, do you really have to take everything so seriously?" he asked.
"I do," I said.
"You're the one who taught her to come to me for freedom," I said.
"Then maybe you should also teach her that freedom isn't just about being able to use her phone wherever she wants," I added.
He let out a cold laugh.
"Don't put words in my mouth," he said.
"She wants to stay with me because you're way too controlling," James said.
I didn't argue.
I just asked, "Are you going to sign it or not?"
There was silence on the other end.
A few seconds later, Grace Thompson's voice came through.
"Fine, we'll sign it," she said.
"Honestly, raising a kid can't be any harder than dealing with her," Grace said.
"Once my granddaughter's at my house, you can bet she'll eat well and look nice and healthy," Grace added.
James lowered his voice and said something.
Grace raised her voice again.
"How good can a woman like her be at raising a kid?" Grace scoffed.
"If it wasn't for the Thompson family's genes, do you really think she would've made it into a good school these past few years?" Grace said, sounding proud.
I glanced at the document on my laptop.
"Is Mary on board with this?" I asked.
On the other end, a soft woman's voice came through.
Mary said, "Helen, you can relax."
"When Anna comes, we'll treat her just like our own daughter," Mary said.
"You've been way too strict with her. She could really use a break at our place," Mary added.
"Alright," I said.
"See you on Friday," I added.
After hanging up, I saved the recording.