“I will. Thank you, Tina.”
“Don’t thank me yet. Talk soon.”
I ended the call, my fingers still shaking. I’d never considered the fact that I might lose my job or that my transfer request might get denied. Ever since I’d made the decision to leave, I’d been counting on the assurance that I’d still have a job. A stable job with insurance in order to take care of my children.
If I didn’t, who was to say Peter might not win sole custody? If he already had a lawyer, he was a step ahead of me anyway.
When my phone buzzed again, I assumed it would be Tina with an update, but my hope was dashed when I saw my mother’s name.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me.”
“Everything okay?”
“Hm? Oh, yes, everything’s fine. Fine. I’m just out running errands, and I picked up a few things for you and the kids. Do you care if I drop them by? Some snacks, and a few games and books to keep them occupied in the hotel and on the flight.”
She must’ve been feeling much guiltier than I realized, because Mom was never the type to just pick something up while she was out. Either that or maybe she’d just realized how distressed I was. Perhaps even terrible mothers had mother’s intuition.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, if it’s the last time I’ll be seeing you for a while, I wanted to. Do you want to come by the house later? Or would you rather I bring them to you?”
“Um…I’m not sure.”
“Well, let me drop them off, then. I’m already out. Where are you staying?”
“I, um…” I looked down. “I’ll just come get them at some point this afternoon.”
“Why won’t you tell me where you are? Is something wrong?”
“It’s not that, it’s just… Things got really heated between Peter and I. And I know what you’re going to say, so please just save it. I don’t want him to know where we are.”
“What happened?”
“It was nothing.” I didn’t mention that I’d spent the night scrubbing his blood from my teeth. “Just a fight. But right now, I’m worried if he finds the kids, he’ll try to take them away from me—”
“Oh, I’m sure he wouldn’t do that.”
“I’m sure there are parts of your marriage with Dad that I don’t know about, just like there are parts of mine you don’t know. Peter can’t find out where I’m staying, and I don’t want him to see me out and try to follow me—”
“Okay, fine, but what does any of that have to do with me?”
“I’m afraid he’ll follow you too, Mom. He came to your house, so obviously he thinks we might be in touch. If he believes you know where I am, if he thinks there’s any chance you could lead him to me, to us, I’m afraid he’ll follow you.”
She laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Ainsley. Peter’s not going to follow me. This isn’t a spy mission.”
“I need you to not come to me right now, Mom. Do you understand? I need you to just trust me. Hear me. Hear what I am saying and respect it.”
“Fine, fine… But I want to get these to you somehow. Should we plan a drop? Maybe we could dress all in black and I’ll sit down on a bench with a briefcase. We could come up with a code word—”
“Mom!” I cried, my irritation growing. “Just stop. Please stop making me feel stupid for protecting myself. I appreciate the gesture, but honestly, it’s not necessary. I told you we had everything.”
“You’re taking my grandchildren away without even letting me say goodbye to them. The least you can do is let me give them a gift.”
“It’s not safe,” I warned, my voice a low whisper. Why wasn’t she understanding? Why didn’t she believe me?
“Okay, well, let me have it delivered, then. How could he possibly know to follow a delivery man?”
Releasing an exasperated sigh, I thought it over. “Fine.” I didn’t have the strength to keep finding reasons to say no. “Okay, sure. That should work.”
“Lovely. I’m ready when you are.”
I told her the name of the hotel and the room number, and was relieved when she didn’t criticize the place.
“Excellent.” She clicked her pen. “I’ll drop it off to be delivered in the next hour, so keep an eye out. You’ll be there, right?”
“We’ll be here. And thanks, Mom.” It felt awkward to say.