Polly gives me an odd look. But I was already in a bad mood, so she just shrugs and heads that way. I open my mouth to stop her, to tell her to get out of my house because she’s trying to take my daughter away from me. But I don’t. I just watch her leave the room.
I don’t know what to do.
Distractedly, I rifle through the movies. I suddenly wish Georgia was here. She’d know what to do or say. I swallow and pick a movie. I’m sure Lily won’t mind if we start with this one.
There’s footsteps behind me, and I turn around. Polly is returning.
“Thank you for letting me stay for a little while,” she says, and her smile actually looks dangerous. But I know the snake that’s lurking beneath now. “I’m going to go home now.”
I give her a strained smile. “Have a safe journey.”
“Thank you,” she says.
She walks away. I hear the front door open and close, and then the roar of her car’s engine before it disappears down the street. I thought I would relax when she was gone, but I don’t. Instead, my chest is tight and it’s hard to breathe and I don’t know what to do.
“Dad?”
I look up. Lily is standing at the door now.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
“Fine,” I say, pulling myself to my feet and making a show of yawning. “Just pretty tired. Don’t be surprised if I fall asleep in the movie!”
Lily laughs, relaxing.
“I’ll wake you,” she says. She picks up the bowl and shoves it at me. “Go make popcorn!”
“Aye, aye,” I say with a forced laugh.
It feels surreal to be joking around with my daughter when I know that Polly is now out there, finding ways to take custody of her. And she’s doing it quietly, so it will be too
late to fight back by the time I’ve realized what happened.
It might even already be too late because I can’t figure out how to fix this.
I bring some popcorn to the living room and we settle in the blankets. Lily is a warm weight at my side, but I feel so cold. She’s my entire life. I can’t lose her.
What am I supposed to do?
“Please,” I say into the phone. “I know it’s late, but…”
“Look, it’s fine,” Kyle says. “Allison is on her way. I’ll meet you at the bar? Then you can tell me what this is all about.”
“Yeah…yeah, I’ll do that,” I say.
I hang up. Allison is on her way. I look through the door, to the living room, where Lily is still watching the screen. I’ve already told her that I’m going out for a minute, and she’s excited to keep watching movies with Allison, who she adores.
I just can’t keep sitting there, watching movies, not when the weight of what happened gets heavier and heavier. I need to talk to someone. Georgia is out right now. So Grant or Kyle is my next bet. Now, I’m meeting Kyle at the Anchor Bar, where Grant is working, despite it being a Sunday, because his co-worker is sick.
I pace through the kitchen, hoping Lily doesn’t hear my restlessness. Before long, however, Allison knocks on the door, and I almost fly to open it.
“Thank you so much,” I say.
“My pleasure,” Allison says with a smile. It drops as she gets a look at me. “Is everything okay? You don’t look so great.”
I give her a small smile that doesn’t feel right.
“It’ll be fine,” I assure her. “I’ll tell you later, or Kyle will… It’s fine.”