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“Are you kidding ht now, Jace?” she yells “What am I supposed to do? Macy’s daycare pay I ask you to helpme you can’t?”
There’s a minute intermission, as the other person on the end of the line speaks
“How can you do this to us, Jace?” she asks “How can you do this to Macy?”
She goes quiet and I hear her sniffle as she wipes her nose I know it’s rude to eavesdrop, but I can’t look away froer and tears that are now strea down her face
“I don’t care! She’s your daughter, too, and I only agreed on a divorce because you promised that you would help me take care of Macy I let you walk away froirl”
Her eyes screw shut and she pinches the bridge of her nose before taking a deep breath
“You knohat, Jace,” she says, straightening her back “Just forget about it Froet about seeing her, too As of right now, you don’t have a daughter and she doesn’t have a daddy”
She ends the call and I see her tiny body shake Her cries arejust a few feet away I can hear the a single parent has been er has a choice I walk over to her, careful not to startle her
“Excuse me, miss?” I say She whips around and looks at me, her eyes red and puffy, ith alertness “Are you okay?” I ask softly
She straightens up, brushing her hands over her unifor, “Yeah, I’ with selfish assholes”
She pushes past me and stomps up the stairs to the daycare center Okay, then…
I shake h the door When I walk into Ari’s class, she’s sharing a cookie with a little blonde girl and I ihter of the wos down to thea powder blue sundress She’s gorgeous
Ari looks up and seesup “Myh the s
“Hi, baby girl,” I say, picking her up I hug her close and smell her hair “I missed you today,” I tell her Her little hands touch my cheek
“Me h to make me want to cry God, I love this little person I look back at the little blonde girl and find her watching us with curious eyes She e as Ari
“Thas my fwiend,” Ari says, as if to answer my unspoken question
“Oh, yeah? Does your friend have a name?”
Ari’s eyebrows scrunch while she thinks “Her is Macy”
“Do you want to say goodbye to Macy?”
“Okay,” she says happily She ju She hugs her goodbye and makes her way back towards me, her little backpack in tow
“You ready?”