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She felt like a fool saying that. “I told you I was rusty at this. I don’t know why I said that. It’s just an apartment.”
“It’s nice,” he said. “It gives me insight into how you live, but you’re right. It’s an apartment. I’ve got a two-bedroom place with a den that I use as an office. It’s got one bathroom with a big eat-in kitchen and living room. It’s about a thousand square feet and works for me when I’m there, but it’s nothing special. I don’t even think it feels like a home. This feels that way.”
“We’ve got two bedrooms,” she said, moving back so he could get in. “Down the hall is mine and Eli’s and one bath. The rest of the place is fairly open and you can see it. I want it to feel like a home for Eli. We haven’t been here long. It’s the first place I’ve had by myself.”
“Oh,” he said. “Maybe you can tell me about that if you want.”
“Why not?” she said. It’s not like she hadn’t already told him more than she’d told other people.
They got to his car and both got in, him pulling out of the complex she lived in. “I bet Eli has a ball here at the pool and playground.”
“He does,” she said. “Which of course is making it harder for him to go to Jeff’s because now he’s bored there. He’s got friends here he likes to play with.”
“I’m sure you don’t let him out alone, so you go sit outside on one of those benches as he plays with his friends. You keep an eye on him while keeping a distance because you don’t want to be a hovering mom and just are thrilled he’s got friends here and isn’t sad he had to move...from your parents’ I’m assuming?”
“You’re good,” she said.
He laughed at her. “I’ve heard that before. Let’s say an educated guess based on what you’ve said so far and that your parents have supported you.”
“Yes. When I left Jeff I moved in with my parents. They have a two-story house. The upstairs has two bedrooms, a full bath and another room that was like a living area that I hung out in as a kid. My father put up a door to close the stairs off so we had privacy. We had our rooms and like a living room to watch TV or Eli to play. We shared the kitchen though with my parents.”
“You would have had things upstairs so you didn’t bother them too,” he said. “Just like I would have.”
“I did. A small fridge and microwave, even a toaster oven. We could heat things up when we were hungry and I had food up there. I split the groceries with my parents and the cooking too. It was only fair and they didn’t even want that.”
“Of course they didn’t. They saw what you were going through and the legal fees you had. With joint custody and the comments you’ve made about an attorney, I’m going to guess you’ve got no child support but split all the bills like childcare and clothing, medical, et cetera.”
“Yes,” she said. “Jeff makes more than me. Not to mention his parents have always given him so much. I believe they pay his legal fees on top of it. He owns a house. It’s nice but nothing brand new. More than I’ve got.”
“Don’t compare yourself to him,” he said.
“I’m not. I’m proud of what I’ve worked hard for. I was able to save up for years even with legal fees and the other costs for Eli. Him starting school and not needing full-time childcare year-round was a big savings. But with this job came a fairly large raise that I wouldn’t have seen at my last job.”
“Sounds like it’s all coming together,” he said.
“I like to think so,” she said. “I’ve got breathing room until Jeff hits me with another stupid clause in the custody agreement.”
He frowned and turned to look at her. “Do I want to know?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing more than you’ve seen before. He just likes to stick it to me. I have to agree most times or it costs me a fortune in fees and stress I don’t need or want. Stupid crap.”
“Like changing the time to pick up and drop off Eli?” he asked.
“See, you know. Heaven forbid we just have verbal agreements. Nope, he has to get it in writing. All the time. The last one was holidays. We drop and pick Eli up between five and six normally. We’ve got that window due to our jobs and they might change. I was shocked he was fine with the hour window.”
“Could be his attorney got sick of the petty shit too,” he said.
“No clue,” she said. “Major holidays we split and both have him for some time, noon is the pickup and drop off. By major, it’s Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving. The rest were supposed to be at our normal five to six pick up and drop off. But it interfered with a party Jeff wanted to go to one Memorial Day and I had plans too and I was sticking to what was in writing. He wanted to go back to court to add all holidays for noon. In the end we got Labor Day, July Fourth and Memorial Day added. So stupid.”
“What about his birthday?” he asked.
“Oh, that’s the kicker. Whoever has him that day, gets him the whole day.”
“To stick it to you for the years you don’t have him and it’d hurt the worst,” he said seriously.
“That’s my thought. I don’t care about any of the other holidays other than the major ones. But his birthday is big for me.”
“For most Moms,” he said.
