I watched through the window until he was at the studio, and the light going on inside was the warmest, safest, coziest sight I’d ever seen.
CHAPTER 28
Melissa
Her sister had already stolen a few things, Melissa knew. A bottle of Jo Malone perfume. A necklace, one of her pairs of diamond studs and her recently purchased soft leather boots.
She and Kaitlyn had agreed not to talk about Ophelia’s future for a few days and give Kaitlyn a chance to catch up with her daughter before bringing up the idea of moving back to Ohio.
The thought of Phee leaving . . . and leaving for Wakeford . . . made Melissa’s chest ache. She cried all the time these days, but now it wasn’t just pregnancy. Ophelia deserved more. She had a fairy godmother in Melissa, and Melissa was determined to keep it that way. She lied to Kaitlyn, telling her she had to go get some pregnancy tests, and talked to a family lawyer about Kaitlyn’s rights.
The news wasn’t great. If Kaitlyn wasn’t using anymore, the lawyer said it would be hard for Melissa to keep custody of Ophelia.
“But I can give her so much more!” Melissa said. “And she’s been mine since she was seven!”
“Money can’t buy children,” the lawyer said. “Your sister has done her time so far as the law is concerned. As long as she’s not using, abusive or neglectful, it’s going to be very hard to win this.”
Melissa sobbed all the way home.
There was something wrong with the way Kaitlyn looked at Ophelia, she thought. Something . . . hard. She’d called Phee “Miss Fancy-Pants” and told her she sounded like a “snooty college kid.” Ophelia had looked so hurt in that moment.
“Smart, you mean?” Melissa said.
“Sure. Smart,” Kaitlyn said. “You’ll blow the kids in Wakeford out of the water. Valedictorian, maybe.”
Phee glanced at Melissa but said nothing.
“She can’t take her back to Ohio,” Melissa whispered to Bradley the fourth night of her sister’s visit. They were in bed, and Melissa had pillows under her knees while Bradley was stroking her stomach, irritating her. “If you want to feel the baby move, just leave your hand still,” she snapped. “But I’m trying to tell you that Ophelia would suffer, Bradley. She needs to stay with us.”
“Which I would absolutely love,” he said. “She’s a very unique girl with a bright future, no matter where she ends up. Kids are adaptable, Melissa. Kaitlyn loves her and has a right to raise her daughter.”
“No, she doesn’t! She’s a junkie! Sorry, substance abuse disorder sufferer or whatever the heck you people call it. She just hasn’t relapsed yet. And she will, Bradley. She’s been on drugs since she was thirteen years old. Wakeford has nothing for Ophelia. Nothing except easy access to heroin.”
“Well, you know, the Cape has its drug issues, too,” Bradley said. “Lillie and I were vigilant with Dylan and the kids he hung out with. We talked very openly to him and his friends about drug and alcohol abuse. And sex. Oh, God, Lillie was so funny! There was no escaping her talks about teenage pregnancy. Every one of Dylan’s friends got lectured about STDs and condoms, consent, ovulation, everything.” He smiled fondly.
“Oh, for criminy’s sake, Bradley, do you have to talk about Lillie again? Can you just focus on my problem here?” The twang was in her voice . . . unavoidable when Katie was so close by.
“Honey. Sweetheart. I know this is very hard. But the fact is, Kaitlyn will probably get custody. You know that. It’s hard to accept, but we’ll adjust.”
She tried to turn on her side, away from Bradley’s too-kind face, but rolling was not her strong suit these days. “Give me a shove,” she said, and he pushed her back until she made it. She stuffed another pillow under her stomach, and the baby rolled and kicked against her. Maybe it was upset, too. Tears leaked into her pillow, and she belched. Grabbed the Tums she now had to keep on the night table.
“You okay, honey?” Bradley asked.
“No,” she said. “I hate being pregnant, and I’m about to lose Ophelia.” She sobbed, burped again, and let her husband put his arms around her.
It didn’t help.
* * *
The next day, when Bradley had gone to work and Phee was at school, Melissa asked Kaitlyn to sit down with her. They went into the den, which was cozier than the vast, echoing living room, and because there was a huge photo of the three of them on the wedding day—Melissa beautiful in that amazing dress （would her waist ever be that small again? Would her breasts ever come back to human size?）， Bradley gorgeous in his suit, and Ophelia smiling brightly, delighted by the “witch” who’d stood out there on the sand （who’d been photoshopped out, obviously）。 But Kaitlyn didn’t need to know the backstory. She could just see her daughter beaming, their little family so perfect.