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“How was school, Madeline?” she asks.
I look down at Maddi and notice that her face is lowered toward the ground and her shoulders are tight with tension.
“It was okay.” She shrugs, keeping her head down.
“You should look at the person you’re speaking to,” Eva scolds.
My free hand clenches into a fist. “Eva . . .” I growl her name, and she looks up at me.
“What?”
“Don’t.” That one word rumbles out of me in warning.
“She should—”
I cut her off. “I said don’t.”
Her eyes narrow. I put up with her bullshit when we were married because I didn’t want to rock our boat any more than it was already rocking, but that was then and this is now. I hate how she talks to Maddi. I hate the way she makes my baby’s shoulders slump and her eyes fill with sadness. I know it’s because she thinks she will never be able to please her mother.
“Fine,” she huffs out.
My jaw tightens. Our name is called—or rather, my last name is called. A name that Eva stopped using when we got divorced. Why she might have used it on the list is something I try not to think about.
At the booth we’re led to, I place Maddi next to me and leave Eva on the other side, alone. When the waiter comes over a few minutes later to take our orders, I ask for a burger and fries for myself and a grilled cheese and fries for Maddi—something that I can tell Eva doesn’t like, because the look on her face makes it clear. Thankfully, she keeps her mouth closed about me not forcing Maddi to eat some kind of vegetable with her meal.
“Are you excited for your birthday?” Eva asks halfway through what turns out to be a mostly silent dinner.
Maddi’s face lights up with excitement for the first time, and she nods. “Yes. Aunt Libby told me that she is going to decorate with unicorns, and Daddy ordered me a unicorn cake for the party.”
“I can’t wait to see it,” Eva says.
I feel my muscles bunch.
“Me either,” Maddi nods. Then, looking up at me, she asks, “Is Courtney coming?”
Looking at my baby girl, I smile and nod. I haven’t asked Courtney, but I have no doubt that she will want to be there for the party.
“Yay!” Maddi grins, and I touch my lips to her head while wrapping my arm around her shoulder.
“Your new girlfriend is coming to our daughter’s birthday party?” Eva asks.
“Yeah.”
“Do you think that’s smart? Didn’t you just start seeing her?” I can hear the annoyance in her voice and see it in her eyes.
“Don’t go there, Eva.”
“I just don’t think it’s smart to have a person in her life that you hardly know.”
“Do not go there,” I repeat.
She sits back, crossing her arms over her chest. “She’s my daughter, too. I have the right to know who you have around her.”
“We are not doing this right now,” I state, my voice hard. No way is she going to tell me whom I can and can’t see or whom I can and can’t have around our daughter, not when she’s barely been around the last couple of years.
“I want Courtney at my party.” Maddi cuts into my stare-down with Eva, and I look at my girl.
“She’ll be there, honey.”
“Do you think Merida can come, too?”
“Merida?” Eva asks.
“The dog we adopted last weekend,” Maddi answers.
Eva looks startled by the news. When we were married, she wanted us to get a dog, but I refused. It wasn’t that I didn’t want a dog, but my plate was full already, and I knew that taking care of any animal we got would fall to me. Maddi was too young to help, and Eva was too selfish to care for anyone or anything but herself.
“I don’t think dogs are allowed, but I’m sure you’ll see Merida when the party’s over. You’ll also see her tomorrow, since Courtney is coming over to cook dinner for us,” I say.
She smiles.
“I might need somewhere to stay for a couple more days,” Eva says.
I look at her, feeling my jaw twitch and tighten.
“I thought you were staying with Heather?”
“I am, but she only has one extra room, and her parents are in town for a few days.”
“I’m sure she has a couch.”
“She does, but so do you. I’d like to spend time with my daughter.”
“You know you’re always welcome to see Maddi, but last night was a one-time thing,” I state.
She presses her lips together.
No way is she staying the night again.
“Can I go to the bathroom, Daddy?” Maddi asks.
I look at the bathroom; it’s directly across the room from us. Knowing I will be able to see her go and come back, I nod and slide out of the booth. I watch her go and disappear behind the door, then take a seat while keeping my eyes on the closed door.
