Blended Family

Lin

The morning after the bombshell from Clarita I found a lawyer specializing in cross-state custody disputes. Hopefully we could agree to something amicably but I was ready to fight for my daughter. The thought of not being near her pained me. She was my world and I couldn't be separated by hundreds of miles.

I asked Clarita if we could meet face to face, just the two of us, before bringing Joey into the conversation. We needed to agree as parents how to proceed. Clarita could be a firecracker, but she was also pretty reasonable for the most part. I hoped she would be in this case.

We arranged to have dinner at an upscale but quiet place where we could have a private booth. We ordered some wine and nursed our glasses as we made small talk to begin with.

"So, have you decided whether to accept the position?" I asked her, adjusting my dress jacket.

She sighed, twisting the wine stem with her fingers. "Not officially, but yes," she looked at me.

"When would you be moving?"

"Within the month," she told me.

"Wow," I said. "Pretty fast."

"Yeah," she agreed. "And I know you're concerned about Joey. I'm not gonna lie. I want to take her with me, but I also know she needs her father as well."

"Well it's gonna be difficult for her to have us both," I quipped. "Do you really want to take this job?"

"Lin, it's my dream job," she told me. "And it's close to my family. Joey barely knows her cousins on my side."

"She could visit you during breaks and summer," I threw the possibility out there.

She nodded, but I could tell this wasn't what she wanted. "I was actually hoping for the opposite. She could be with me during the school year and with you on breaks."

I sighed out incredulously. "Clarita, she's lived here her whole life. She loves it here. She's got Elliott now too. I don't think this is a good age to uproot her."

"I'm her mother, Lin," she reminded me.

"And I'm her father," I shot right back. I was not a believer that mothers were automatically the more important parent. From the moment Joey was born and been there for everything. I'd dived in, doing everything and more. I couldn't understand how fathers could not be part of their children's lives. Joey was like an extension of my own body.

"Look," she said, switching gears. "I think we can work something out amicably, but Lin, I'm sure you're aware that courts almost always side with the mother."

"And what about what Josephine wants?" I asked. "We both know you two don't get along. She's gonna resent you for moving her away."

"We've been through a rough patch lately, but she's my daughter," she said. "I love her and she loves me too."

"I love her too," I pointed out.

"I know," she said, looking at her glass. The waitress brought our food so we paused the conversation. I wasn't really that hungry. We both began to eat, but I ended up stopping after a few bites.

"Clarita, we've always been able to co-parent and get along just fine," I said. "But this is something I'll fight you on."

She was silent for a few moments, chewing her food slowly. Finally she looked up and swallowed.

"Lin, I don't want to take Joey away from you," she said. "And I know you don't want to take her away from me. I'd like to work something out between us amicably."

"And amicably, I don't think it's in Joey's best interest to move her across the country at fourteen," I told her, not breaking eye contact. "And that's gonna be a factor if we go to court."

She put down her fork and wiped at her mouth. "Excuse me."

She got up and made her way to the bathroom. I sat back in my chair and let out a huge sigh. I didn't want to argue with my ex, but this was about our child. She couldn't expect me to just be fine with her taking her to Chicago.

Five minutes later she was back. I sipped at my wine, the mood tense. The waitress came by and ask for the check and a box for my food. Maybe I'd be in the mood to eat later.

"So..." Clarita said. "How do you think we should proceed?"

"I think we need to sit down with Joey and explain her options," I said. "She can go with you during the school year and be with me during breaks or vice versa."

She nodded in agreement. "I think she's mature enough to make the choice."

I think deep down Clarita knew our daughter would never choose to move to Chicago. She might not even choose to spend the whole summer and all her breaks there. I got the bill, paid and signed for it. I gave Clarita a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out to catch the subway.

It was past 8:00, so the little kids were already in bed. Joey was on the couch, waiting for me. As soon as I walked in, she stood up and came to the kitchen bar.

"What did she say?" she asked, her full attention on me. I kicked off my shoes and sighed.

"Obviously we both want you with us full time," I told her. "But we agreed you're old enough to make your own choice about where you live."

Her face lit up. "Yes!!"

"Josephine," I stopped her. "You need to think about this. It's a big decision. If you choose to stay here then you'd need to spend summers and breaks with your mom."

"Why?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Because she's your mother and she wants to see you," I told her.

"What if I don't want to go?" she posed.

"Joey, if you choose to stay here with me it'll be really hard on your mom," I explained. "You'll need to go see her when you're not in school."

"I don't wanna be gone the whole summer," she said. "I want to spend time with Elliott and my friends when I'm not bogged down with homework every second."

"Well, I'm sure we could arrange for it not to be the whole summer, but you need to be reasonable," I explained.

"She's the one deciding to move," Joey pointed out.

"True, but she's till your mother," I said. "She loves you, and you love her."

Joey let out a groan and I checked the time. "Homework done?"

"Yes," she said.

"Good girl," I praised her. "Want to watch some TV together?"

"Sure!" she said. Joey grabbed some cookies from the pantry and then joined me on the couch, curling up beside me. She rested her head on my shoulder as I pulled up Netflix. My teenager, who was still my little girl, fell asleep on me. After the show ended I carefully extracted myself from under her then picked her to carry her to bed. I tucked her in and watched her sleeping for a couple minutes, unable to comprehend my life without her.