7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

Juliette

I watched the front door close and listened to the engine of Caleb's car turn over. Everything was a mess, and I was knee deep in it. Caleb made it crystal clear he wasn't going to give her up.

He wanted my help, but I didn't want to help. I wanted to take Kelsey home and pretend he didn't exist. Keep her life as steady as possible by keeping her with me. All weekend I had indulged that little sparkle of hope, a fantasy that Kelsey would become my daughter and we'd work through this together. Holding her while she sobbed had ripped the fibers of my heart apart.

My phone rang, startling me. It was Cora, my front desk staff and long-time best friend. "Tell me the building is still up." I put her on speaker and started setting the table for three.

"Mrs. Fontanile wants to know why you aren't teaching today," she said flatly.

"Are you really calling me right now over that?"

"Of course not. Costumes came in and FedEx won't let me sign for them."

"Put him on the phone."

"You have to come in."

"I can't! Why didn't you lie and sign?"

"Why haven't you printed and gone through this month's invoices for me to mail today?" I could just picture her rolling around on her chair and cocking her brow.

"That is your job."

"I am faintly remembering a conversation about a month ago when you swore you could remember to do that. "

I responded with a growl. "You work for me, you know!"

"And yet, I keep this place running." Cora was an insufferable, positively annoying, pain in my—

Something was burning.

"Shit!" I grabbed a cup of stock and poured it over the very browned chicken thighs. Not burnt… but toasty.

Cora's grin traveled through the phone. "Are you coming, or do I tell him to come back tomorrow?"

Down the hall I heard Kelsey finally exit her room, and probably head to the bathroom. I could run to the studio quickly and sign for the costumes and come back. "No, we need the costumes for rehearsal tomorrow night and he might not come in time. How long will he wait?"

She used the sweetest, most honeyed tone on our too young, very attractive, FedEx guy. Then snapped to me, "He said he'd wait as long as you need, if you agree to go to dinner with him."

My cheeks burned with embarrassment. "He did not say that!" I hissed. "Cora!" I heard him and Cora talking on the line, but she had covered the phone so that all I heard was muffled chatting and some laughter. I went to my phone and leaned in, whisper screaming so that Kelsey wouldn't hear me. "Cora! I swear to God, I am going to filet you into a peppered steak and pan fry you if you don't stop being such a fucking pain in my ass!"

"I put you on speaker, darling."

Oh. Lovely.

To the very last mitochondria, I was mortified.

"So, am I waiting for you, Miss Juliette?" the FedEx guy asked, amusement in his silken voice. We'd played cat and mouse for the better part of a year. I was running out of excuses not to go out with Nathaniel.

"Oh, I… You can just come back tomorrow. I'm very busy," I stammered.

"We're coming!" I whipped around and was met with Kelsey's bright and giddy grin. I mouthed no , and flailed my arms.

"Miss Cora, I have class in a little bit. Miss Juliette will drive me, and we will be right there! "

I gave Kelsey my best teacher glare and her smile got even wider.

"Great. I'll just go down the shopping center and swing back around," Nathaniel said.

"Perfect, thank you!" Cora hung up on me and I turned to Kelsey.

"Ooo," she cooed, "Are you finally going on a date with FedEx Man?"

"I am not going on a date with FedEx Man. Plus, don't you remember you told Ana I was dating Caleb? I bet the whole studio knows by now."

"Well, she'll find out sooner or later that was a lie," Kelsey shrugged.

The front door closed and we both turned to Caleb who walked in with a home improvement store bag. "What's all the excitement?"

"Miss Juliette is finally going on a date with FedEx Man!" Kelsey deadpanned, and for a second it was like we all forgot exactly what was going on tonight as they formed an alliance to torture me.

"FedEx Man?" Caleb questioned with a goofy grin to Kelsey. "Tell me everything."

"It's this guy that's been hinting at Miss Juliette forever that he wants to date her and she keeps saying no, even though we all know it's a yes . The whole studio has bets on whether they're going to get married. We ship them so hard, it's embarrassing how long he hangs around just to talk to her."

"Ooo," Caleb matched Kelsey's coo, and went to inspect the pot. He dropped the rice in and turned to me. "Is he hot?" Caleb asked, his voice a mocking octave higher.

"We're going to the studio after dinner for class and she's going to get those digits." There was a combative subtext to her words as her eyes narrowed slightly.

That threw us all back to reality. Or at least, between Caleb and me, we exchanged a glance. His, one of betrayal, disappointment, a little shock. And me, well, I sent him an apologetic look. "Is that okay with you? I just have to sign for some costumes that we need for tomorrow. We'll come right back."

"Of course," Caleb shook his head. "Yeah. Go get the man, and have a good class, and I'll be here when you two get back."

The tension in the room was palpable .

I looked at Kelsey, who studied Caleb curiously. She'd probably expected pushback, the way I had. It took us both a little by surprise that he didn't mention the whole point of me being over—that I was supposed to be smoothing over their first night in the same house, not taking her away from him and avoiding the conversation completely.

I put a hand on Kelsey's shoulder, "I know you want to take class, but we really have to sit down together and talk about things. I should just go get the costumes and come right back."

The light in her eyes faded.

"It can wait," Caleb stepped in. "Kelsey should go to class. Do at least one normal thing today."

"Thanks," Kelsey whispered after a minute where we all just looked at one another, waiting for someone to make a decision.

We all sat for dinner, the clinking of silverware on porcelain the only sound accompanying us. Caleb and I kept exchanging glances. Say something , I urged him with a small flick my knife.

He cleared his throat. "So, uh, I signed all the papers at the lawyers office today. I think we should have a fresh start. I was thinking we should pick a new house."

No! Anything but that!

Kelsey's jaw dropped. "This is my house."

Caleb continued, oblivious to the way Kelsey was panicking beneath that cool exterior. "I know. We wouldn't sell it. I changed the documents to sign it over to you on your eighteenth. But we could buy a new one and make it ours."

"I'm not moving," Kelsey said flatly. "I'm going to go get ready for class." She stood and left us, retreating to her room, a stoic rigidness to her spine.

I couldn't look at him.

"What? It's a good plan. It makes sense."

"Maybe it is, but what about, ‘ hey, what do you like to do?' How about getting to know her before you tell her that she's losing her mother and her home all within a week. "

"I said she would keep it and it's hers when she turns eighteen. She can come here whenever she wants, but we should have a fresh start."

"For who's comfort? Yours or hers?"

His mouth dropped, like a fish out of water.

"Exactly," I said. I stood and grabbed my bag. "We'll be back in two hours."

Caleb

They left without another word to me. Which was just fine because I was having enough words with myself.

I'd never really been great at saying the right thing and today my ability to read a room was failing miserably.

It only seemed logical to me that we move. Why would I postpone the inevitable conversation? If I were Kelsey, I wouldn't want to stay in that house. It didn't make sense to stay in this house with so many bad memories.

Plus, there was no real room for me.

Shit.

I stood from the table abruptly and tossed the dishes a little too loudly into the sink.

So, maybe Juliette was right. Maybe I was an idiot.

The faucet rattled a little as I figured out that the hot and cold settings were switched. I got distracted and inspected the plumbing. It was an easy fix—for another day.

I sat on the cold tile floor and took a deep breath.

I was an idiot.

But I couldn't ignore the warm flame of hope flickering in the back of my mind. I couldn't deny that over the course of the day, coming to terms with being a father had felt good .

More than good.

Exciting.

Akin to the feeling of booking a vacation three months out and tamping down the anticipation of new adventure. The only difference was that I hadn't chosen this—not exactly. Right behind my sternum bloomed a feeling that acted like a voice, telling me that everything would fall into place. That somehow, this was right.

Maybe the excitement I was feeling was inappropriate. Neither Juliette nor Kelsey seemed excited to get to know me. I had to believe though that, once the shock faded, Kelsey would come around. The shock had already faded for me…

I felt a sharp pang of guilt as the inevitable thought of Vikki surfaced. I had to call her. She still didn't know. I stared at her name on my phone for a long time before dialing.

"Hey, babe," Vikki sing-songed.

Time to rip another band-aid off. "I got the results back. I'm her father."

She stuttered, "Oh, okay." She didn't sound okay. She sounded hurt. "When are you coming home?"

She was making me nervous. I stood and began pacing. I had no clue how she would react. Vikki didn't want kids, and she and I were definitely not in the stage of a relationship where a future was even on the table. "Not for a long time. I'm going to need you to pack me a box of clothes and send them."

"What? What about your job?"

"I'll work from here."

"Why don't you just pack her up and come back? She's, like, thirteen. She'll be thrilled to move to Cali."

"Actually, she's fifteen. And, no, she'd be devastated. Her whole life is here."

Vikki was quiet as she considered this. "I guess for the rest of the school year it makes sense. It's only a few months."

I filled her in on all the details of the papers I signed this afternoon. "Juliette is helping us transition," I finished .

"Who's Juliette?"

"The dance teacher who took her in."

"Is she pretty?"

The question caught me off guard. Of course she was pretty. Juliette was more than pretty, but I couldn't admit that to Vikki whose jealous streak could circumnavigate the globe. Twice. "She's alright, I guess."

"You hesitated."

I told Vikki about all of the moments Juliette pricked me with one of her quills in hopes that it would stop any misplaced suspicion.

Vikki made a disapproving noise. "You have to watch out for her. She doesn't seem like she's got your best interest at heart."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's your kid and she keeps undermining that. It's only day one. How do you think day two is going to be if you keep letting her step all over you?"

"Juliette feels protective of Kelsey. She's known her almost all her life."

Vikki scoffed. "She's her dance teacher. She has no business being in the middle of this. You signed the papers. The kid is yours now."

"Right."

There was a drawn-out pause. It didn't feel heavy, like the pauses in my interactions with Juliette. It felt thin and empty, like a glass balloon. Ornamental.

I kept tripping over the way Vikki referred to Kelsey as it and the kid.

"Can you please use Kelsey's name?"

"I did!" Vikki snapped.

"No, you didn't."

"What are you talking about? Yes, I did. You must have misheard me. I don't like that woman, Caleb. She's giving me bad vibes."

My reaction was full of the same dichotomous turmoil I'd felt when they'd left me home alone to go to class. Juliette was rightfully wary of me. I was just some stranger come to claim a person she felt protective over. Kelsey was experiencing something I couldn't even imagine going through. They had every right to tread carefully .

But also, Vikki was right. I wasn't the best judge of character. Oftentimes, I found myself trusting the wrong people. Seeing friendships where there were only acquaintanceships. Believing there was something deeper between me and several my exes than there was.

I thought about what I'd told Vikki about Juliette, how I'd painted her in a harsher light to assuage some of Vikki's insecurity. I revealed another layer of all that we'd been through today. "At the studio she was helpful, and I have been making kind of an ass of myself. I accused her of not seeing this all coming. That wasn't fair and she stood up for herself. So, I think she's genuine."

"She's manipulating you, Caleb. She wants to replace the runaway mom. Open your eyes. You're really gullible, you know."

"Maybe you're right."

"I know I'm right. Trust me. You have to be assertive and set your boundaries. Kick her out of the picture." Then, candy-apple sweet, she added, "Promise me."

"I can't promise that," I said.

"Or just let her take the girl if that's what they want and come home. I miss you already," Vikki whined. My insides recoiled from the giggle that followed. "I'll pack you a box and overnight it. I bet once you and the girl get to know each other she'll come back to Cali with you. Everything's going to be fine. I miss you."

My insides churned with the uncertainty of it all.

There was something about how little Vikki reacted to this change that nagged at me. I was, arguably, a mess. No matter what I wanted to think, or how I wanted to proceed… I didn't know what I was doing and I couldn't actually predict what the future would look like. I only had my intuition.

Perhaps Vikki was right. Maybe Juliette was making it seem like I was fumbling so that she could wear me down and have me sign over rights to her. That was her goal when she'd called me that first time. That's what Kelsey wanted, too.

Vikki was right about one thing, I'd already let them both leave to go to class when I'd insisted we sit and talk .

But Kelsey needed some normalcy.

I groaned.

Vikki had stopped talking. I hadn't even been listening to what she was saying.

"I need to go for a run, Vik." I had no intentions of going running.

"That's right, keep that tight ass in shape while you're gone," Vikki said flirtatiously.

"Yeah? Or what?"

"Or I'll find another to replace it." She laughed and I hung up after a curt goodnight.

I pressed my shoulder blades into the cabinets, tossed my phone to the ground, and zoned out to the ambient suburban noise enveloping the house. At least the conversation was over. The replay in my mind made me realize that Vikki hadn't asked me at all how I felt. In fact, she hadn't been supportive at all. Instead, she'd ripped the chair from under me and sent me reeling into doubt.

I shouldn't have called her .