One Pink Line (31 page)

My mother burst into the room and snatched the phone from my hand. “Hello, hello, this is Sydney’s mother, Judy Shephard, I am so sorry…”

My entire body was shaking, and my heart was pounding so fast, that it felt like I’d just finished running a marathon. Ethan stood in the doorway and aggressively waved me out of the bathroom. I tried to stand, but my legs were like gummy worms. He lifted my arm and led me to the couch.

“What the hell happened?” he asked. “His wife is trying to take Grace from me!”

“He’s married?”

“He’s engaged, she can’t have kids, and this barren bitch is trying to take Grace instead!”

“Stop yelling, first of all, look at yourself, you need to get a major grip,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Ethan, do you have any idea what I am saying?” My eyes were flames, there was no moisture in them whatsoever, and blinking was nearly impossible. The frenzy had literally consumed me. “Kevin still has no interest in any sort of relationship with Grace! But his fiancé probably sees some sort of consolation prize in the fact that he already has a daughter for the taking,” I said and began to pace.

My mother came out of my bathroom in her own fury. “I realize you are upset, but that gives you no right to yell at this poor woman,” she said in a familiar tone from my childhood. “You are acting like a complete brat, when you should be acting like a woman and a mother. I expect you to call Kevin’s mother back and apologize for yourself,” she pointed to the phone then put her hands on her hips. “I made an attempt to do it for you, but it’s not sufficient as far as I’m concerned. She was very forgiving and understanding, but she deserved your respect, and you should be ashamed of your behavior just now. Learn how to handle yourself when you are tested, Sydney, be smart about this!” she threw her hands up.

My mother’s words snapped me out of my fog, and into one of immediate regret. I looked at her face, filled with her own frustration, and disappointment in me. I began to sob uncontrollably, my limbs still shaking. Mom apologized to Ethan for having to be part of the drama, then walked over to me and gave me a good solid hug.

“Everything is going to be fine, no one is going to take Grace away from you. But you have to be strong for her.”

I couldn’t speak, I was so scared, and the fact that some strange woman was the impetus behind the whole thing made it worse.

“Let it all out, Sydney, and then you are going to have to put on a brave face and get through this the right way,” my mom said, and pulled away to look me in the eyes. “Okay?”

I nodded.

She and Ethan looked at each other. “I have to go, and I trust that Ethan will keep you in line while I’m not here,” she joked.

“My pleasure, Mrs. Shephard,” he said.

“Thank you, Ethan…and for you,” she looked back at me, “I expect you to get on with your life, be grateful for everyone who loves you, let your lawyer do his job, and take care of your daughter,” she said and raised a finger. “And you call that woman back and apologize.”

“What did Mrs. Hansen say?” I asked.

“She said that she would call Kevin and try to get some answers.” “Thanks, Mom,” I said.

In that moment, I was ashamed of myself, just as she said I should be.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

A
lmost two weeks after my first meeting with Greg Rosenberg, he called me on a Friday afternoon. The results of the paternity test were back, and to no one’s surprise, Kevin was the father.

“Should we send him a baby gift?” I asked Ethan.

“Absolutely.”

“Greg said that all of the paperwork has been filed on our end, and that he’s just waiting to hear back from Kevin’s lawyer. He told me that we sent a motion to have the whole thing dropped based on the fact that Kevin has made no contact, and that he verbally told me he wanted nothing to do with Grace before she was born.”

“When does he expect to hear back?”

“He said it could take a while, that he doesn’t have a time limit,” I said and walked to the kitchen.

“Everything’s going to work out, Syd.”

“I hope so.”

Ethan grabbed Grace’s diaper bag, because we were driving up north to drop her at my parents’ house, and he and I were going to a party at the Gold’s. Taylor was in town for work to attend a
My Cousin Vinny
movie premiere, and was assigned to the task of carrying a sweater for Marisa Tomei in case she needed it. She didn’t.

My mom opened the front door as we pulled into the driveway.

“Excited to babysit?” I asked her.

“Come inside, I need to talk to you,” she said and waved us in the house. Ethan took Grace into the den where my father was sitting, and I followed my mom into the kitchen.

“What’s up?”

She sat on one of the stools at the island and pulled another one out for me. “I spoke with Kevin’s mom about fifteen minutes ago,” she told me.

“You called her?”

“No, I had given her my number when I spoke with her at your apartment,” she said and lowered her chin but kept her eyes on me. “She told me she never heard from you.”

I did feel badly that I yelled at Kevin’s mother, but I was still bitter about being legally attacked by her son, and hadn’t felt the immediate need to make amends. “Is that why she called you, to tell on me?”

Mom leveled her chin. “No, something much better,” she smiled. “Kevin is dropping the lawsuit.”

“What?!”

“She told me that she spoke with him alone, and then together with his fiancé, and that they aren’t going to pursue joint custody of Grace.”

I was stunned to be hearing this news from my mother. I had hoped and expected it to come in a phone message from Greg Rosenberg, Esq.

“My lawyer hasn’t said anything, in fact, he just confirmed Kevin’s paternity today, about two hours ago.”

Mom took a sip of her lemon water. “Well, I’m sure he’ll be hearing something soon enough. I just spoke with her, and she promised me.”

“Oh lord, I’ve got you two mother hens on the phone making promises, when the legal team of Field & McBride is still going for my jugular.”

“I think you have every right to believe what she told me, Sydney,” she straightened her posture in defense. “Why don’t you call her for yourself, you owe her a call anyway,” Mom said, brows raised.

“Give me the phone.”

My mom handed me the phone, and scrolled Mrs. Hansen’s number on a pink post-it note. “I’ll be in the den,” she said and walked out.

I studied the number for a moment before dialing the phone.

“Hello,” she answered.

“Hi, Lynne, it’s Sydney.”

“Hello, dear, I’m sure you’ve talked with your mom by now, and she told you the news.”

I paced the floor. “Yes, she did, and I was obviously thrilled to hear that, but I’m a little concerned since I haven’t had any sort of confirmation from my lawyer.”

She cleared her throat. “I can understand your concern, but I assure you that Kevin has no intention of dragging this out any further. Apparently, it was not something he was very interested in doing in the first place.”

No shock to me, I thought.

“Well, he should have thought of that before I was forced to hire a lawyer and endure this mental torture,” I said calmly, but I could not help myself. Hearing her voice made me want to lash out. It made me wish that it was Kevin on the line, and that I could let him have it, like he deserved. I realized then how much pent-up anger and bitterness I was carrying around.

“I know, dear, I’m sorry you had to be put through that scare.”

I took a deep breath. “I know you are, and I owe you an apology as well. I had no right to take my anger towards Kevin out on you. You’ve been nothing but kind to me, and I hope you know how much I appreciate your eagerness to be in Grace’s life.”

“Thank you, that is nice of you to say, and despite Kevin’s behavior, he is my son and I love him,” she told me. “And if he ever does decide to become a part of Grace’s life, he will have my full support. You will understand one day.”

I was nodding, even though she couldn’t see me. “Thank you for your hand in all of this, something tells me I have you to thank specifically for talking Kevin and his fiancé out of this lawsuit.”

“Well, I think they just came to the realization that their plan wasn’t very well thought out, prior to them taking legal action. And they certainly would’ve had to move away from California if they wanted joint custody, now wouldn’t they?”

“So it was the Chicago winters that deterred them?”

She chuckled. “A little bit of mother, and a little bit of mother nature.”

“Thanks, Lynne.”

“We’ll talk soon.”

“Okay, bye,” I said and immediately dialed Greg Rosenberg. There was no answer, so I left a lengthy message on his voice mail.

“Hi Greg, it’s Sydney Shephard. I just spoke with Kevin’s mother, Lynne Hansen, and she has told me that Kevin plans on dropping his petition for joint custody. That he doesn’t think he’d win, and he doesn’t think it’s worth pursuing any longer. Is there any possible way you could confirm this with his lawyer so my family and I can celebrate and enjoy the weekend? Thank you so much!”

Ethan walked up with a huge grin on his face. “I heard the great news,” he said and kissed the top of my head.

“I know, I just wish I’d heard it from the lawyers. You know what I mean?”

“Yes, but it sounds like everything is fine. Did you call his mom?”

“I did, and she said he’s backing off.”

Ethan sat down on the stool next to me. “I think we should celebrate.”

Everyone was so optimistic and certain, why couldn’t I be? “Okay,” I said. “I think you’re right.”

He leaned on the island with his forearm. “Let’s stop by Taylor’s and then go grab dinner, just the two of us.”

I nodded.

“Don’t you dare start crying on me, Sydney Shephard.”

I fell forward into his chest. Nothing made me feel better than being buried in those arms of his. I closed my eyes and hoped that our legal mess was behind us. Grace would never know what her father had put my family through, and the pain he’d inflicted on me for no reason at all. I hated Kevin by then, and had no intention of ever mentioning his name in our household. I could only pray that one day, Grace would understand.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

grace

I
t was August, 2009, and I was about to start college at my mother’s alma mater. She was giddy about the opportunities to visit her old stomping grounds and watering holes, and I was eager for my freedom. Not that I disliked anything about my home or family, simply because I couldn’t wait to be on my own, with no one to look after me.

I wondered if my California relatives had told my father that I was going to Purdue. I wished I could ask them. I thought about him often that summer before my freshman year of college, and I grew more and more determined to see him. There I was, attending the same school where he and my mother were friends for so many years. He would certainly find that interesting, wouldn’t he? I’d matured enough to know that I wanted to find him. I wanted to have a visual image of him, a history of his adult years, and an understanding of who he had become. I just hadn’t matured enough to pick up the phone and call him.