“He’s a smart guy, and Faith seems to adore him,” I said as he brought her back up on the beach and laid down so that she could bury him in the sand.
“I honestly think Chris is so happy that he’s going to have a daughter of his own soon. You’ve made him the happiest man alive. He loves children. I just hope you’re prepared for how many children he’s going to want,” Keith warned me.
I looked at him through squinty eyes, “How many kids exactly?”
“He always talked about having at least four, maybe six,” he said.
“Six kids? He’s on his own with that,” I said firmly.
“Hahahaha. I’m just teasing you. I think two or maybe three will be enough for him.”
“Two is my limit.”
That evening I took Faith out to see the fireflies, and every time she saw one, she squealed. “Shh, we don’t want to wake all the fishies up, do we?” We were at least a hundred yards from the beach, but she bought it and tried to whisper. Later, Keith told me I should get her ready for the bath to get in some practice. I took him up on it and took Faith upstairs to have a bath.
I was soaking wet by the time we were done, so I toweled her off and put on fresh pj’s. She picked a book out of the luggage (Keith had only brought four), and I proceeded to read her the story about how a baby duckling found its family after running off and getting lost. I couldn’t wait to read stories to my own child. I read her another story, then we lay together, and both fell asleep.
Chris and Keith must have carried me to Chris’s bed because I woke up listening to the waves crash in, and I could feel his heavy arm across my chest. It was the most perfect moment.
We enjoyed a nice breakfast, another swim, and a bit more time in the sun playing frisbee on the beach with Faith and Keith before packing everything up and heading home. It had been a wonderful couple of days of fresh air, great food, and great bonding time, but it was time to go back to work tomorrow.
When we dropped Keith off, there was a rather scraggly-looking woman sitting on his porch.
“That’s Layla,” Chris whispered to me. Chris took Faith inside and put her to bed while Keith talked to Layla. It was clear that she was drunk and likely high as well. She was saying some pretty nasty things to Keith, so I decided to catch it all on my phone. It would prove useful in court, I was sure.
I got out of the car and walked in behind a tree, filming as I did so. I just prayed that Keith would act maturely about the matter so that I could use the video on his behalf.
“You are a terrible father, Keith Miller. It’s 9:00 p.m., and you’re just putting her to bed now? I’ll bet you were over at a friend’s house drinking alcohol and forgot all about her. I will prove that you’re an unfit father, even if I have to make stuff up to do it. And they’ll have to give me full custody, then and you won’t be able to do anything about it. I’ll get my revenge on you, and then I won’t have to pay you any child support. You’ll have to pay me instead, and I hope you go broke because of it and lose your stupid house. I’ve got a trailer I can leave her in by herself all night while I go out and make some money, so I can take better care of her than you ever did. I will bury your ass. Serves your right for leaving me, Keith.” She swaggered and then threw up at his feet. She wiped her mouth with her hand and then reached into her pocket and pulled out a can of beer. She drank it as she swayed back and forth, then tripped over her feet and eventually walked into a wall.
Once she was far down the street and almost out of sight, I crossed the road and showed Chris and Keith my video.
“We’ve got her. She’ll never win her case against you now,” I told him.
NINETEEN
CHRIS
It was torture sitting in Marilyn’s backyard with Faith, waiting for them to return from her law firm. Marilyn and Keith had gone to meet with Layla and her lawyer for a mediation meeting.
I took Faith to the park, hoping that would keep my mind off everything, and it was such a delight to see her going down the slide. By the twentieth time or so of going down, she finally got bored and went off to chase the squirrels. I gave her some walnuts to feed them, and she kept trying to get the furry little creatures to eat from her hand, but they wouldn’t come close enough. I finally showed her that she could leave the nut and then go sit on the bench and watch as they came over, sniffing to find it. She watched them sit and eat the nut from afar.
We continued through the park and back to the house when Keith finally called me and told me they’d meet us back there. I gave Faith a little snack and put her down for her afternoon nap.
Marilyn and Keith walked in with big smiles on their faces.
“What happened?” I asked, dying to know.
“Let me just say that your Marilyn is amazing. By the end of the meeting, she had Layla’s lawyer stuttering and unable to defend her own client,” Keith told me, beaming.
“I think her lawyer knows that Layla won’t win the case if she tries to take it to trial. There were so many other issues with her demands, and none of it made sense given the circumstances,” Marilyn explained.
“Layla’s lawyer came in at the end and offered us an alternative to what she was originally demanded. I’m good with it. Marilyn stated that Layla would to rehab and then have supervised visits. At that time, it will be re-evaluated,” Keith explained.
“Wow, that sounds like a terrific resolution to the problem. Now you don’t have to worry anymore about losing Faith. I didn’t think she’d win anyway, but it was hard trying to convince you of that,” I told him.
“I know, you’re right. I will try to worry less. I just love Faith so much and want her to have a great childhood,” he said as tears spilled down his face.
“Keith, that little girl is so incredibly lucky to have you. You have nothing but happy memories to look forward to,” I said.