It didn’t erase my past feelings of hurt and rejection, but there’s a Band-Aid there. Like Jack said, my heart’s healing now. I don’t know what that means for us in the future, though. We still have a lot of issues to work out.
I head for the kitchen and get out the makings for a grilled cheese sandwich. As I look at the bread and cheese spread out on the counter, I wonder if I should make him a sandwich. No, I decide, that’s not my job. But a few minutes later, I find myself in the kitchen anyway.
“I’m not making him a sandwich,” I declare to my daughter, who is enjoying tummy time on her play mat. She just ate and she’s now busy gnawing on her book of textures. The crackling of the plastic is her only answer, but it sounds vaguely judgmental. “I’m making you and me two sandwiches because we need the extra energy.”
She continues her silence.
“Okay, maybe I am making him a sandwich, but only because it would be rude to eat mine in front of him and I can’t be teaching you bad manners at this age, right?”
She might’ve responded, but the doorbell rings. With her in my arms, I open the door and find a delivery man standing in front of two giant suitcases.
Frowning, I say, “I didn’t order anything.”
“This is for Jack Harris.”
A large figure appears over the man’s shoulder. Jack reaches out and plucks the clipboard from the delivery person. “I’ll sign for that.”
He scribbles his name and hands it back. Before I know it, I’m back inside my house staring at the luggage.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m moving in.” He throws his wool coat over the back of the living room chair, revealing a black sweater that clings to his perfect frame. He sticks his hands on his hips and asks, “Where should these go?”
As if he doesn’t know I have a two-bedroom house. “Why are you moving in?”
“I told you that I wasn’t ever leaving you again.”
“But…”
“Can I hold Anna?” He doesn’t wait for me to respond but plucks Anna from my arms and expertly cradles her. He tilts his head toward the briefcase he dropped by the front door. “There’s some documents inside. If you want to grab those, I can explain them to you.”
Like a robot, I walk over to the briefcase and pull out a folder. Inside, I find a paper that declares it is a trust in Anna’s name.
“I set up an educational and support fund for Anna. It provides for a monthly stipend as well as a lump sum that should be used toward her education. You’re the trustee, which means you control this.”
I read it over. The amounts are staggering. Anna is allotted enough money to buy a car every month. “Don’t you think this is a little overboard?”
He doesn’t bother looking up. He’s too busy wiggling Anna’s arms and staring adoringly at his daughter. “What you don’t use can be saved and applied to her later in life. There’s another document in there.”
The next one has my name on it. The sum is embarrassingly high. I slap it down. “I don’t want this. This is gross. I feel like you’re trying to buy me.”
He tosses Anna about two feet in the air. She squeals in delight. “If you note, the trust says that you will only get the amount if you retain primary physical custody. I’m not trying to take the baby from you. I’m trying to make sure that you have the freedom to make decisions in your life. I also brought lunch. I wasn’t sure what you were feeling, so I ordered an assortment.”
The doorbell rings again. Jack reaches the door first and lets in a woman weighed down with a number of bags.
“Hi, I’m Jasmine,” the older lady says. I watch in bewilderment as the woman goes right into my kitchen and starts unpacking food and placing it in the refrigerator.
“Are you hungry?” he asks.
“No. I had a sandwich.” I point to the plate on the counter. The one that has the extra sandwich I made.
Jack’s eyes light up. “Is the other one for me? Great. Jasmine, I’m going to have this sandwich that Kate made me. I’ll heat the other stuff later.”
Jasmine nods. “Then I’ll get to cleaning.”
I arch an eyebrow.
He shrugs. “I told my mom I’d found you and she said I should bring food and a cleaner.”
“You told your mom? You went back to your home?” I drop into a nearby chair, feeling overwhelmed. I think I need another nap.
“Yeah. I went to find Davis—he’s my brother’s assistant—but apparently he’s gone on a business trip and won’t be back until tomorrow. I stopped at home to let my mom know that I was going to be telecommuting for the foreseeable future. When she asked why, I told her.” He blows a kiss into Anna’s belly. “I don’t think she’ll be able to stay away for more than a few days. Anna is her first grandchild and she’s already threatening to disinherit me for missing out on her birth. Where should I put my things?”