Chapter 8

• Chapter Eight
• “I want my daughter. I haven’t spent much time with her lately.” She held her hand out and stared at her red nails.
• “You’ll see her when we get home.” he answered impatiently.
• “I want her to meet some of my friends who may become permanent in the near future.” She looked at him, a laugh in her eyes.
• Dave banged the door shut enraged by the hint. He knew exactly what she meant by friends and the near future. A woman like her could only have a specific character of friends, and they must be lower than the dirt he walked on.
• “If you dare take my daughter anywhere near your lovers, you will regret the day you met me, more than you do now!” He answered in a low harsh voice.
• Amy stood up, clearly shaken, “You have your lover watching her, why shouldn’t I have mine?”
• Dave took a step towards her, his eyes boring holes in her. She side stepped, then rushed around him and stood next to the door, staring at him with fear in her eyes.
• Good. Maybe now she’ll realize I’m not fucking around!
• “Get out Amy!” he said acidly.
• “Just so you know I will make your life a living hell if you don’t stop your affair with that stupid red head. And I’ll hit you where it hurts most.”
• Dave rushed for her. She barely got out of the office, closing the door behind her. He stood looking at the door. For the first time in his life, he regretted not hitting her. She might have gotten him arrested for assault and it would have completely ruined his chances of getting full custody. But it would have given him a minute of happiness, taking out all his frustration on the root cause. He walked behind his desk and sat down taking a few calm breathes. It only took him a second to realize that Amy might actually take his daughter from day care, just to annoy him further. He picked up his phone and dialled for Carol. There was no answer. He was about to stand up when the door opened. Carol had Elizabeth, asleep on her shoulder.
• Whispering, “With that witch here, I figured she’d want to take Lizzy.” She walked to the cushioned play pen he had set up in his office that morning, and laid her down, “good thing I swiped her before she could.” She turned to Dave with a wide smile on her face. This was one of the times Dave liked having her around.
• “Thanks.”
• “You’re welcome.” she whispered back. She turned and left, closing the door gently behind her.
• Dave knelt next to the pen and watched his daughter sleep. She was smiling, that meant she was having a wonderful dream. Dave watched her for a while as her face changed expressions, then feeling soothed he got up and went back to work.
• ***
• “Da.” Elizabeth shrieked happily as Dave walked into the house carrying his cheerful daughter in his arms. Unlike her, he was exhausted. He stayed at the office until seven, before he thought of coming home. He wasn’t as agitated or worried as he usually was and had no need to rush home, since he had his daughter with him. He fed her dinner over three hours ago and he thought she would fall right back to sleep, but she was very energetic and hyper, practically bouncing off the walls of his office. She had managed to get out of his office and crawl under several desks playing hide and seek without letting Dave in on it.
• He had searched the whole office floor and was about to widen the search grid to the entire building when one of the paralegal’s screamed and jumped off her chair. A happy, shrilly laugh followed as she got on her feet and ran to Dave. He picked her up relieved. He didn’t bother to scold her, her sweet smile washed all his worries away. She placed a wet kiss on his cheek and waved at his co- workers, yelling bye with her tiny voice as he walked back into his office. He got a long ribbon and tied one end around her belly and the other end to his desk. He also had Carol watch the door just in case she broke out again.
• “Dave is that you?” Amy walked into the foyer with a glass of brandy in her hand. Her white robe was open, revealing a short, dipping cleavage satin night gown.
• He hadn’t bought that, and she definitely hadn’t bought it for him. Dave stood by the door, contemplating going back out of it.
• She leaned against the wall and smiled at him, “What, you want to leave already?”
• Dave exhaled and headed for the kitchen without saying a word to her. He took out a TV dinner from the freezer and popped it in the microwave. He had given up on expecting Amy to cook or order take-out for him. He pulled at Elizabeth’s curly hair and watched it snap back. She bounced in his arm excitedly and pulled at her front curls. He watched her play with her hair, smiling exhaustedly at her. Out of the mistake of a marriage he had with Amy, Izzy was the best and the only great entity that came out of it. She pulled her pink head band off and pulled more curls to her face. Dave took out his dinner and sat at the counter placing Elizabeth on top of it too. He held her leg with one hand while he ate quietly with the other. It didn’t take long before she tried to climb on his shoulders, the distraction with her hair already exhausted. He laughed and placed her on his shoulders and went back to eating. She went quiet after a while and Dave could feel her weight on his head. She had finally fallen asleep.
• “She’s not asleep yet, but she’s dozing off.” Amy’s flat voice came from the doorway.
• Dave stood up slowly and gently lifted Elizabeth off his shoulders. She woke up when he settled her in his arms. He sat back down and went back to his dinner.
• Amy came closer and put her glass down on the counter. She extended her hands out for Elizabeth, “I’ll take her to bed.”
• Dave looked at her suspiciously out of habit. He wasn’t sure what her end game was today. Normally when Elizabeth fell asleep on the floor she would walk right past her, or he would have to beg or force her to put her in bed.
• “I’m not going to eat her. I’m just taking her to bed.”
• Dave stood up and turned to her. He paused for a while, thinking the action through, and then he bent down to place Elizabeth in her arms. Elizabeth fisted her hands in Dave’s shirt and shrieked in objection. He straightened up and stared at his daughter shocked. Did she know exactly how her mother felt towards her? Because as far as he knew babies never repel their mothers, it was so... unnatural.