Chapter 6 - The First Wednesday
I signed the duplex lease on Monday.
Not because Marcus won.
That distinction mattered to me.
I signed because the rent was nineteen hundred dollars.
Because Ava could keep her school.
Because Jordan’s therapist remained eleven minutes away.
Because Aunt Celeste gave me a standard twelve-month lease that Marcus was not listed on anywhere.
I read every line twice.
Then I paid the deposit myself using the relocation money from the building sale.
Marcus helped move boxes.
He did not ask for a key.
I noticed.
Our temporary parenting schedule started the same week.
Wednesday morning, I packed Jordan’s medication, school clothes, stuffed dinosaur, and three unnecessary pairs of socks.
Marcus watched from the doorway.
“You know they’re coming back Friday.”
“I know.”
“That bag looks like they’re deploying.”
“Jordan spills things.”
“I own a washing machine.”
“Ava needs her hair cream.”
“I bought the exact one.”
I looked at him.
“You did?”
He raised one eyebrow.
“I can read labels.”
I zipped the bag.
“Emergency numbers are inside.”
“I have them.”
“Jordan sometimes wakes around two if he’s anxious.”
“I know.”
“He likes water but not cold water.”
“Nia.”
“What?”
“I’ve had him overnight before.”
I stopped.
He wasn’t wrong.
It just felt different now.
Two school nights.
Not a weekend.
Homework.
Morning routines.
Real life.
Ava walked downstairs carrying her backpack.
“Ready!”
Far too excited.
I smiled anyway.
Jordan hugged me.
“We’re coming Friday.”
“I know.”
“Don’t cry.”
“I’m not crying.”
“You look like it.”
Marcus quietly looked away so I could pretend.
Then they left.
My apartment became silent.
I stood in the living room.
No cartoons.
No shoes in the hallway.
No arguments.
No one asking for juice.
For years, I had dreamed about silence.
Now I hated it.
At six fifteen, my phone buzzed.
A photo from Marcus.
Jordan asleep on the couch with a math worksheet on his chest.
Caption:
HOMEWORK WON.
I laughed.
Then another message.
Ava says you need to send a picture of where you put her lamp.
I sent one.
At seven, Marcus called.
“What happened?” I asked immediately.
“Nothing.”
“Then why are you calling?”
“Jordan says his stomach hurts.”
My chest tightened.
“Did he eat?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Chicken, rice, broccoli.”
“He actually ate broccoli?”
“I threatened to tell you.”
“Marcus.”
“Kidding.”
I heard Jordan in the background.
“Dad!”
Marcus laughed.
Then his voice lowered.
“I think he’s nervous.”
“Put me on speaker.”
Jordan came on.
“Mom?”
“Hey, baby.”
“My stomach feels weird.”
“You miss home?”
Silence.
Then, “A little.”
“That’s okay.”
“Can I come back?”
My immediate instinct screamed yes.
Then I remembered the bridge in his drawing.
I breathed.
“You can if you really need to.”
Marcus stayed silent.
“But maybe you and Dad can try your breathing exercise first.”
Jordan hesitated.
“Five balloons?”
“Five balloons.”
Marcus said, “I can do balloons.”
Jordan giggled.
“Dad does them wrong.”
“I do not.”
“You make dinosaur noises.”
“That is advanced breathing.”
I smiled.
“Try it. Call me again in twenty minutes.”
Twenty-two minutes later, Marcus texted.
ASLEEP.
I stared at the message.
Proud.
Sad.
Relieved.
All at once.
The next morning, I had my job interview.
The position was at a larger healthcare network.
Full-time.
Benefits.
Better pay.
When the manager asked why I was leaving my current company, I almost said budget cuts.
Instead, I told the truth.
“I need somewhere I can grow.”
The sentence surprised me.
So did how much I meant it.
That afternoon Marcus called again.
This time his voice sounded different.
“Nia.”
“What happened?”
“Ava has a fever.”
I stood immediately.
“How high?”
“One-oh-one point eight.”
“I’m coming.”
“You don’t need to.”
“What?”
“I have her.”
“She’s sick.”
“Yes.”
“I’m her mother.”
“And I’m her father.”
I froze.
Marcus softened.
“I’m not keeping you away.”
“Then why are you telling me not to come?”
“Because you have work.”
“My shift ended.”
“Okay.”
He paused.
“Then come.”
I drove over.
Ava was curled on Marcus’s couch under a blanket.
Renee was sitting in a chair across the room.
I stopped.
Renee immediately stood.
“I was just leaving.”
“You don’t have to.”
The words came out before I could stop them.
She looked surprised.
So did Marcus.
I walked to Ava.
“How are you?”
“Bad.”
I touched her forehead.
“Definitely dramatic.”
She smiled weakly.
Marcus brought water.
Then medicine.
He had already called the pediatrician.
Already checked the dosage.
Already changed the sheets after she got sick.
I looked around.
The kitchen was messy.
Jordan’s homework sat unfinished.
A laundry basket blocked the hallway.
Marcus looked exhausted.
Something inside me almost smiled.
“Fun part of parenting?”
He stared at me.
Then laughed.
“Go ahead.”
“What?”
“Say it.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yes, you do.”
I folded my arms.
“How was bowling?”
He shook his head.
“I deserve that.”
“No.”
I looked at Ava.
“Actually, you don’t.”
His expression changed.
“I was unfair.”
Marcus stayed quiet.
“I acted like what you do doesn’t count because it isn’t the same work I do.”
“That’s true.”
“I’m apologizing.”
“Oh.”
He nodded seriously.
“Continue.”
I threw a pillow at him.
He laughed.
Then he said, “I owe you one too.”
“For what?”
“I thought because I paid bills, I understood what carrying the week looked like.”
He glanced toward the laundry.
“I did not.”
I smiled.
“Wednesday humbled you?”
“Wednesday attacked me personally.”
We both laughed.
Ava opened one eye.
“You guys are weird when you’re nice.”
Marcus and I looked at each other.
That hurt.
Later Renee drove Jordan to soccer practice.
I almost objected.
Then Marcus said, “I can take him and you can stay with Ava.”
So I stayed.
Not because Renee had permission to replace me.
Because another trusted adult helped our child get where he needed to go.
The world did not collapse.
At nine, Ava’s fever dropped.
She fell asleep.
I prepared to leave.
Marcus walked me to the door.
“Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Not making tonight harder.”
I understood what he meant.
“Same.”
My phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Hello?”
“May I speak with Nia Williams?”
“This is she.”
“This is Andrea from Westlake Health.”
My heart jumped.
The interview.
“I’m calling regarding the billing supervisor position.”
Marcus watched my face.
“We’d like to offer you the job.”
I covered my mouth.
The salary she named was almost twelve thousand dollars more than I had been making before my hours were cut.
“Yes.”
I laughed.
“Yes, absolutely.”
Marcus’s face broke into a smile.
When I hung up, he raised both arms.
“You got it?”
“I got it.”
Before I could stop myself, I hugged him.
He hugged me back.
For one second, we were twenty-four again.
Young.
In love.
Certain everything would be simple.
Then I stepped away.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
We stood there awkwardly.
Then his phone rang.
He checked the screen.
His expression changed.
“What?”
He answered.
“Hello?”
I watched him listen.
Then he looked at me.
“Okay.”
His voice became serious.
“When?”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” I asked.
“That was Lauren.”
“The mediator?”
He nodded.
“She ran the formal support estimate using our updated incomes and schedule.”
My stomach tightened.
“And?”
Marcus slowly sat down.
“If we move toward fifty-fifty…”
He looked at me.
“I would still owe you child support.”
I stared.
“How much?”
May you like
He told me.
And suddenly I understood this fight had never been as simple as either of us wanted it to be.
