Chapter 22

Zoe had been first visiting then residing part time with her biological daddy, me, for four years. She was nine years old now, and seeing things as a fourth grader not as a first grader and her outlook and wants were changing. Genius though I was, Lee Wyatt, me, did not see it coming: the maturation of my daughter, Zoe Hardy.

Whenever the Hardys brought my daughter over for my time with her, I was uniformly in the house, or, at most just outside waiting on them. The same when they came to pick her up.

Whether it was Grant or Penelope doing the dropping or the picking up, they did their best to park as close to the front of my place, apartment 103 as they could. This Sunday morning’s pick up, it was 9:13 a.m. Penelope was parked all but smack in front of our front door.

They were talking, actually kinda arguing as they walked to the car twenty feet away. I caught the gist of the conversation.

Penelope had said something to Zoe, but I hadn’t heard that part. I was just getting to the door to close it when I did hear, clearly, Zoe talking. I sat in my chair, just barely out of sight of the two of them listening.

“But mom, it is so boring here. Dad’s boring when he’s not working and home. Miss Glory is always taking care of Tina. It’s so boring. Why do I have to keep coming here and staying overnight! I want to stay at my house, not their house!” whined my daughter. I decided to make a statement without saying anything. I didn’t even wait to hear what my ex would respond to “her” daughter.

I wheeled out the door, which of course had been open the whole time, and stared at my ex-wife. She saw me, understood the situation, and paled. I just raised my hand in kind of a half wave. Turned, and went back inside. The woman did not try to talk to me or return to console me or any of it. I was glad for that.

“And he heard all of that?” said Grant.

“He heard enough. Did he hear it all? I don’t know. But he heard enough for damn sure. The look he gave me told me that much, and I’m sure he ascribes all kinds of sinister motives to me for whatever it was that he did hear,” said Penelope. The man nodded, then shook his head in despair.

“Damn,” he said. “I’m going to talk to Zoe. I understand how a little kid thinks on these things, but there are some things that even a nine-year-old has to understand. Jesus, we so didn’t need this.”

“You have never said anything as true as that,” she said, looking down. “At least he didn’t come back out and pin me or comment in front of Zoey. That would have been a very bad thing.”

“Yes, I guess there is an upside to everything as he’s always saying. But you say she didn’t realize that he had heard her?” he said.

“I don’t think so. There was no indication from her that she did,” she said. He nodded.

“Daddy?” she said coming into the room. Even at age nine, she could see that her dad had something important to tell her.

“Yes, Zoe, sit down there, please,” he said, pointing to a chair he’d pulled up close to his own, so she would be near him when he spoke.

“So, how was your time with your dad this week?” said Grant. Zoe shrugged.

“Okay, I guess, Daddy,” she said. Her daddy nodded

“Mom, says you were bored,” he said.

“I guess a little,” she said.

“You know your dad, your other dad, loves you right?” he said.

“I guess,” she said.

“You guess?” he said.

“Yes,” she said.

“Zoe, I’m going to tell you some things here, and I need you to listen to me. Will you promise to do that?” said Grant.

“Okay,” she said.

“Zoe your dad lost his legs in the war. He lost them because he needed to get away from here, really from me and your mom. When your mom divorced him to marry me, it made him very sad. And, when he left, he did not know that you were in your mommy’s tummy.

“It was a long time until he found out that you were even alive and that he was your daddy. When he found out, he was very sad, maybe even a little angry.

“We were able to calm him down some after he saved you and me in that accident almost four years ago. Remember?” he said.

“Kinda, yes,” she said.

“Yes, well, that was a very big deal. And because of that very big deal we made another deal, with him; your mom and I did: he would be able to have his baby, you, live with him some of the time, so he wouldn’t be so lonely.

“Zoe, he wanted you around him so he could love you like your mom and I do. Understand?” he said.

“Uh-huh,” she said. “I guess.”

“Well, this morning when your mom picked you up and you told her that you were bored going over to his house to stay sometimes, he heard you and his heart is broken,” he said.

“Huh?” she said. Her daddy sat back and waited. “But...”

“He hasn’t said anything to me or to your mom, but when you go back next time, and I won’t force you; but if you do, you need to be real nice to him and to Glory and the baby. I know it’s a big thing to ask of you. I do know it, but I am asking it of you,” he said.

“But, daddy, I didn’t say it to him! I didn’t!” she said.

“I know, but he was close enough to hear you and your mom talking. Your mom saw him and the sad way he looked. She knew right away that he had heard you,” said Grant. “So anyway... ?” She nodded.

“Okay, daddy, I didn’t mean to hurt his feelings, really,” she said.

“I know. I think he knows that too. Just be real nice to him. Okay?” he said.

“Yes, daddy,” she said.

It was still Sunday, but now it was night time, almost, 5:55 p.m. Lance was coming over for dinner. Glory was making Mexican succotash. If I haven’t mentioned it, Glory was one heck of a cook.

“At any rate I had something I wanted to run by him, and her too for that matter. But, I needed a little vino in me before I did so.

I saw him parking his fancy-dancy Caddy near to the walkway’s entrance.

“Welcome stranger,” I said. It had been two whole days since we’d seen each other at the office.

“And to you, monsieur,” he said, smiling. “I heard we’re eating French tonight.”

“Mexican,” I said.

“Oh, well then excuse me, Senor,” said Lance.

In less than half an hour we were seated and eating and telling about our days, and then I judged it time to ask them about what I needed to ask them about: Zoey, my Zoey.

“Glory this morning you asked me why I seemed so down,” I said, and I kinda waved you off. She gave me a look.

“Yes,” she said, “and you did look down.”

“I had reason,” I said. “After they walked out to leave and go back to their place, I heard them talking when they were getting in the car. I heard Zoey talking to her mother. She, Zoey, said that it is boring for her here. She wanted to know why she had to stay with us part of the time.”