“I see,” said Edward.
“Do you still love her?”
“I will always love your mom. And you. We’re always going to be family.”
“Even when we move to London?”
“Your mom talked to you about London?”
“She said we’re going to live with her mother, Nyle.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t want to go, Daddy. Please don’t make me go. If we go there, I won’t get to spend the weekends with you anymore.”
“Don’t worry, baby. You’re not going anywhere.” Edward kissed Chloe’s hand. “I’ll make sure of it.”
He intended to speak with Savannah about filling his daughter’s head with her fantasies of moving away. As soon as the movie was over he’d confront her.
* * *
At home, Edward poured himself a glass of Merlot and began to prepare a vegetarian Caribbean meal for two. Being reared in the Bahamas, he’d learned his way around a kitchen. Growing up in a large family with three sisters and a mother who could cook, he was spoiled. Never had to worry about cooking. But after marrying Savannah, he was forced to become a great cook, considering his wife could barely boil water. He would call home to his mother in the Bahamas and she’d equip him with her recipes.
After his father’s heart attack scare, Edward had become obsessed with his diet—only feasting on fish and chicken and incorporating more vegetables into his diet. He insisted on healthy eating in order to prevent heart disease and other ailments that bad eating caused. He needed to be healthy for his daughter, and he wouldn’t compromise that. He visited the gym every other morning, if for nothing more than a run on the treadmill.
“You think you can break up the broccoli?” Edward asked Chloe.
“I can do it.” She stood on a step stool in front of the kitchen’s island with the granite top.
“Good!” He pulled her ponytail. “You do the broccoli and I’ll cut up the peppers and onions.”
He headed into the living room and tuned the stereo to his Afro-Cuban playlist. He could hear his phone ringing in the kitchen.
“Daddy, it’s Mommy!” Chloe called from the kitchen.
He grabbed it from the granite countertop and answered it. “Hello.”
“Hi.” Savannah’s voice was sweet in Edward’s ear. “What’s Chloe doing?”
“She’s preparing vegetables for our dinner,” Edward said. “We’re making a vegetarian gumbo.”
“Yum. You always were a great cook,” said Savannah. “The movie was great, I hope.”
“It was fantastic,” Edward said. “Your daughter fell asleep midway through, but I enjoyed it.”
Chloe laughed, and so did Savannah.
“She’s so bad at movies.”
“The worst.” Edward laughed. “Would you like to speak with her?”
“I actually called to speak with you. I’d like to talk to you about London.”
“There’s nothing more to talk about.” Edward was calm for Chloe’s sake.
“I would really like your blessing, Edward. I would hope that we could come to an agreement about it.”
“That won’t happen,” he said, and then smiled at Chloe, who was listening intently. Edward stepped outside onto the back deck where he could speak freely. “I haven’t changed my position on this, Savannah.”
“Would you really deny me the opportunity to connect with my mother? You of all people know how important this is for me.”
“Then you should go to London and connect with your mother. But leave Chloe.”
“I can’t leave my child, Edward. You know I would never leave her.”
“Then you won’t be going. Because she’s not going!” He was adamant. “I would never agree to that.”
Savannah was quiet for a moment. “Then I don’t have a choice. I’ll have to petition the courts. I don’t want to, Edward, but you’re leaving me no choice.”
“Do what you have to do, Savannah. But know that I will fight this.”
“I know that you already have your bulldogs lined up,” she said, referring to Edward’s lawyer friends.
“I’ve already consulted with counsel. Yes.”
“Fine.”
“And just so you know, Chloe doesn’t want to move to London. Have you considered that?”
“You’ve been talking to her about it?”
“She brought it up,” he said. “Apparently you’ve been filling her head with this bullshit.”
“How dare you discuss this with her without me.”
“You’ve created this, Savannah! So deal with it.”
“I will!” she yelled and hung up.
Edward stood on the deck for a moment, trying to gather himself before going back inside. If Savannah was looking for a fight, she’d surely found one.
After dinner, he tucked Chloe into her bed.
“Are you mad at Mommy?”
“No, sweetheart. I’m not mad at your mommy,” he lied. The truth was, he was furious with his ex-wife. “Now get some sleep. You’re in charge of the pancakes in the morning.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Good night, Daddy.”
“Good night, baby.” He kissed her forehead.
He poured himself another glass of Merlot and plopped down on his leather sofa. Turned on CNN to find out the latest goings-on in the world. He leaned his head against the tan leather and thought of Chloe. He didn’t know what he would do if a judge found that she’d be better off in another country. He wouldn’t survive without her, and thinking about it took his breath away. He blocked it from his mind. Thought about work instead, and before long his eyes grew heavy. He gave in to the fatigue.
* * *
When he pulled up in front of Savannah’s home on Sunday afternoon, his emotions got the best of him. Usually, she’d suggested that the drop-off take place somewhere else, but this time she wanted him to drop Chloe at home. In the past, when he’d dropped Chloe off there after his weekend, he would at least walk her to the door. Occasionally, Savannah would invite him inside for a cup of coffee and a quick chat. But today he wasn’t in the mood to stand on her doorstep, and even less in the mood for a conversation with her. He sat in the driver’s seat of the car, leaned over and kissed his daughter.
“I love you, sweetheart,” he said.
“Love you, too, Daddy. You’re not coming in?”
“No, not today, baby. I’ll wait here until you go inside.”
Chloe hopped out of the sedan and skipped to the front door of the two-story traditional brick home. The home that he and Savannah had shared before the divorce. The one that he still made mortgage payments on. She rang the doorbell and within seconds Savannah appeared in the doorway. She took Chloe’s backpack and gave her a strong hug. She glanced toward the car, as if waiting for Edward to step out of the car or at least wave. He refused to do either of the two, and as a result she ignored him, too. She grabbed Chloe’s hand and