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“What are you sorry for?” I look at him quizzically.
“Her.” He huffs.
One word is all it takes for me to understand. I grab his hand.
“Did you tell her where we live?” I ask.
“No.” He shakes his head.
“Then it’s not your fault, go answer the door.” He reluctantly walks away. I stay out of sight in the kitchen, listening.
“Erica what do you want?” I hear him demand.
“This is your last chance Austin. Do you want your daughter or not?” She snarls back at him.
“What do you mean, do I want her or not? Of course I want her. What is your problem Erica?” I can tell he’s trying really hard not to lose his cool with her.
“Give me the money, I’ll hand her to you right now and you will never have to see me again.” She pleads desperately.
“Erica, my lawyer called me yesterday. The results are in. I am filing the papers on Monday and we’ll be in court by the end of the week.” He explains to her.
“There is no way we’re going to be in court that fast!” she argues.
“Yes we will, Mr. Burns knows a judge and can get us on the docket as soon as I get the paperwork done.” He says.
I decide it’s time for me to interrupt the conversation. When I enter the foyer I see that she has Cordy strapped into a baby carrier.
“Come on Austin, do you really want this to go to court?” she is saying.
“Yes, yes I do.” He looks at her with disgust.
“Dammit Austin, just give me the fucking money and I will be gone!” She tries again to no avail.
“Austin isn’t giving you a dime.” I interject, coming up beside Austin.
“Mind your own business bitch.” She hurls my way with venom.
“I’m not the bitch in this room. Get out of my house. We are doing things the legal way.” I demand, having had enough of this shit.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Loki slink closer to her. I can tell he doesn’t like her raised voice or the way she is talking to us. It’s no surprise when he lifts his leg and pisses on her yet again.
“What is wrong with the dogs in this fucking town!” she screeches as she picks up the baby carrier from the floor next to her, swinging it around. “Everywhere I go dogs are pissing on me!”
I quickly lurch forward and grab Cordy from her, afraid she is going to get hurt. The poor baby is scared. Pulling her out of the seat I hold her up to my shoulder and let her snuggle.
“What are you doing with my baby?” She growls, stepping towards me aggressively. The return growl from Loki stops her in her tracks.
“I’ll take Cordy in the kitchen with Loki.” I snap out. “Austin, take care of this.”
“Her name is Cordelia, not Cordy!” she snaps at me.
I ignore her, calling Loki to my side. We walk away with the baby in my arms. I know she won’t talk to Austin the way she does me, she still wants something from him.
Cordy has stopped crying by the time we get to the kitchen. I immediately go into the pantry to get Loki a treat, telling him he’s being a good boy.
As I sit at the table with Cordy, I can’t help but notice that Erica is dressed in designer clothes with expensive shoes. Yet the baby is wearing a generic brand sleeper that looks like it was dug out of a recycle bin. It’s well worn and on closer inspection, even has holes in the seams.
Ten minutes later, Austin joins us. “Lily, you have to give her back.” He lifts her from my arms just as Erica storms in with the baby carrier I left in the entryway. I don’t want to let her go, but I can’t do anything yet.
