Where The Fireflies Sing.

Chapter Twenty Six: Joseph Boone

I pull into the parking lot of one of my moms close friends Terry's law office, The short older black man who is in his fifties with a thick beard greets me at the front door and waves at me. I park my truck before getting out of it and slamming the door closed behind me. My mom's close friend is a lawyer and when I got divorce he did that for me and made sure I at least left with my sentimental belongings and dignity. When I get close to him he holds out his hand and I take it, giving him a nice handshake before my sweaty palm drops to my waist. He motions for me to follow him and I follow behind him into his office building where there's a desk off to the middle of one side of the room and two leather chairs sit in front of it. Behind the desk are bookshelves with lots of law books and a few other business books, there's also a large black framed window against the wall where his desk is and it gives a view of the building behind his. I take a seat in the leather chair and he pulls out a file with all my information in it from the divorce and our custody agreement as well as the termination of her rights as agreed upon by a judge based on the neglect of her child. "okay so why don't you explain to me what is going on so I can tell you whether things can change or not okay?" the lawyer says and I look up into his chocolate brown eyes that hold a lot of wisdom.

 Terry Loyd was always a close friend of my moms growing up and almost acted like a second father when my dad died in his tragic car accident, I always thought they would get together but since my mom is older and more stubborn they never got together or even attempted to. "Well I had Delilah come over and babysit Cooper while I went to work because he was sick and she neglected his needs pretty much by not making sure he had ate and now she has decided she wants to take partial custody of him but I am not sure if that is allowed because she had her rights terminated by a judge." I say in a rush and he opens up his drawer and pulls out a flask and hands it over to me. "Okay I need you to calm down, first off since her rights were terminated by a judge there is a very high chance she won't get considered for a change since you won't willingly work with her in that aspect however she shouldn't be seeing him at all since the court did involuntarily take away her parental rights." I nod in response listening hard to him while I try to curb my anxiety. I open up the flask and take a sip of it before handing it back to him the taste of vodka hits my taste buds hard and it reminds of when I used to go to parties every weekend back when me and Delilah were a couple and married. 

"So I shouldn't have to worry about the court order being changed and her gaining any sort of custody?" I ask to confirm and he nods and we sit there discussing all the legal jargon before I wish him a good day and leave. When I walk out of the lawyers office I check my watch to see it is one thirty in the afternoon and Addison is still at my house by her lonesome I walk Nextdoor to the Almode bakery and grab some of her favorite pastries before hopping in my car and making the short journey back to my house where an uncomfortable conversation awaits me. 

I walk inside my house a few minutes later with the white pastry bag and set it on my kitchen table, Addison is nowhere to be found in the kitchen and the living room. I push further into my house until I come across my bedroom door which is half open and half closed, when I push the door open and step inside I see Addison laying in my bed with her head on my pillow and my blanket pulled up to her chest. Laying there she looks like a little girl again who is waiting up for her daddy to get home after a long shift, I place the pastries on my dresser before padding closer to her and gently sitting down on my bed next to her. I gently move the hair away from her face and lean down to kiss her on the forehead, Looking at her I realize that she genuinely is my everything and I would do everything to make sure the little girl in her feels safe even if that means setting aside my frustration with her. As I look over her peaceful face I can feel all my negative emotions melting away and leaving behind the little boy in me who always wanted to make sure that everyone was taken care of, As I kid I did everything I could to make people feel happy and excited even if that meant being the voice of laughter when others couldn't. 

I spent a lot of time as a kid alone with my brother while my parents were doing their own thing and we used to walk around the block to the ice cream parlor and watch all the different people coming in and out. If we saw someone who looked down come in we would go sit with them and talk their ears off until they were laughing and no longer thinking about that thing that made them sad, Back then we had no clue what it meant to be more then happy and goofy and now that we are adults I feel like everything weighs so heavy on our hearts. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself not to lose that uncanny ability and to always stay vigilant when it came to making people laugh. 

I sigh and run my fingers lightly over Addisons back before I lean down and press another soft kiss on her forehead, this time it's filled with promises and love. I might not know what will happen with our baby but I do know that no matter what happens as we become parents to a new born I know that I will always love her and that scares the living hell out of me.  

I feel tears sting my eyes as I sniffle quietly, I wipe away the tears that have managed to escape before I start to gently play with the strands of her hair. I lean down and whisper into her ear knowing that she probably isn't going to hear it but needing to get it off of my chest so I can be the best boyfriend and father I can be. "I love you Addison and I will never stop, no matter what happens between us I will love you." I whisper and place a soft kiss on her cheek before I quietly get up and head back towards the living room, grabbing the pastries and walking out of my bedroom with a heavy heart.