Chapter 2
Eli hit me so hard I nearly dropped the model kit.
I set it on the grass and held him. His arms locked around my neck. When I tried to pull back enough to see his face, he clung tighter.
“You came,” he whispered.
“Of course I came.”
“Mom said you might not.”
I looked up. Rochelle stood on the porch with her hand on the doorframe.
“I said I didn’t know if you’d make the drive,” she replied.
“I told Eli last night I would.”
“He’s been upset all morning.”
Eli raised his head. “I was upset because I thought Dad wasn’t coming.”
Rochelle’s lips parted. She looked at the sneaker in his hand.
“You need to finish getting dressed,” she told him.
“Am I going with Dad?”
I felt his fingers tighten behind my neck. I wanted to say yes so badly that my throat hurt. Our schedule said he was. Rochelle had refused at the door.
I set Eli on his feet and crouched in front of him.
“I’m ready to take you,” I said. “I brought our bridge.”
He looked toward the box in the grass, then back at his mother.
“Where’s my bag?”
Rochelle came down one step.
“We talked about today, Eli.”
“No, you said I had to stay home.”
“You said you weren’t comfortable going.”
“I said I didn’t want you to be mad.”
The silence afterward felt enormous.
A neighbor opened a car door across the street. I saw her glance over. Eli looked down at his loose shoelace.
I wanted to get him away from our argument. I also knew that taking him while Rochelle stood there refusing could frighten him more.
“Let’s go inside for a minute,” I said to him. “I’ll wait here.”
“I want you to come in.”
“Your mom and I need to talk first.”
Rochelle walked down the last step. “Now you’re going to make me the bad one in front of him?”
“I’m trying to keep him out of this.”
“He’s standing right here.”
“I know.”
I could hear how strained my voice sounded. Eli heard it, too. He pressed himself against my side.
Rochelle noticed and looked away.
“Go get your bag,” she said.
Eli stared at her. “Really?”
“Yes. Your shoes first.”
He sat on the bottom step and pulled on the second sneaker. His hands were so hurried he made a knot in the lace. I untied it and helped him start again.
When he went inside, Rochelle followed him. She left the door open. I stayed on the porch.
I heard drawers opening upstairs. Eli called down to ask if he could take his favorite book. Rochelle told him yes.
For one hopeful minute, I believed we were through the worst of it.
Then Rochelle came back holding her phone.
“I need the shoe money before he goes.”
“I’ll buy the shoes this afternoon. You can see the receipt tonight.”
“I asked you to transfer it.”
“We can sort out the shoes separately.”
Her expression changed. “You always need control.”
“No. I need Eli to know this visit isn’t something we trade for a payment.”
She stepped across the doorway.
I glanced past her toward the stairs. “Please let him bring his bag down.”
“You can call your lawyer if you want. I’m his mother, and I’m not sending him off while you accuse me of trading him.”
I had said exactly what I feared she was doing. I wished Eli hadn’t been close enough to hear it.
“I’m asking you to let him come,” I said.
“Not today.”
Eli appeared at the top of the stairs carrying a backpack. He stopped when he saw us facing each other.
“Mom?”
“Put your bag away,” Rochelle said.
His face fell. “You said I could go.”
“I need a minute to think.”
I watched him grip the strap. He looked from me to her as if there were a right answer he could find if he studied us long enough.
I couldn’t leave him standing there.
“Eli,” I said, “this is between your mom and me. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Can’t you just take me?”
“I want to. I’m going to keep working on it.”
Rochelle’s eyes filled suddenly. For a moment, she looked exhausted instead of angry.
“Please go, Warren.”
I asked if Eli and I could have a few minutes outside. She agreed, but stayed by the door.
We sat together on the porch steps. I opened the model-kit box and showed him the pieces.
“We can keep it for our next day,” I said.
“When is that?”
“I’ll tell you as soon as I know.”
He took one of the tiny blue paint pots and rolled it between his palms.
“Did Maya want me to come?” he asked.
“Yes. She remembered you wanted to show her how the bridge pieces fit.”
“Mom said you and Maya might want time without me.”
My chest tightened.
“We make our own plans when you aren’t there,” I said. “When you visit, we make time for you. I want you with me.”
Eli nodded, though he looked toward the door to see whether Rochelle had heard.
I stayed until he had put the paint back in the box. Then I hugged him and walked to my truck with the kit under my arm.
He stood on the porch waving. I waved until I turned the corner.
At the gas station outside town, I parked and wrote down everything that had happened while it was fresh. My hands shook as I typed.
Before I started the drive home, Eli called from Rochelle’s phone.
“Daddy,” he said quietly, “I’m glad you came.”
“I’m glad I saw you.”
May you like
“Will you come back?”
“Yes,” I said. “I will.”
