That same night across the country, Agent Caldwell gets home from work to find her son at the kitchen table solving math problems, a concentrated frown on his face. She kisses him. Her mother has been sitting with Tyler. She’s laid out a snack of raisins and carrot sticks.
“How’s he been?” Caldwell asks her mother.
“He’s good,” her mother says, and then, under her breath, “a little quiet. I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
Soon, there’s a knock on the door. Through the peephole, Caldwell sees Edgar standing outside the door. She thinks about ignoring his knock, but she knows her ex won’t give up. She opens the door. He looks like a stranger as he stands there. She can barely recognize him with all the weight he’s put on. He smells like sweat and motor oil, an unpleasant combination that makes him even less attractive.
“Tania, hey. I’m so sorry about what happened. I don’t know what came over me.” His voice is quiet and soft, as it used to be in the best of times between them. He has a beseeching look in his eyes that’s possibly genuine. “I was hoping to be able to see my son.”
He looks so pathetic she almost feels sorry for him. Just then, Tyler comes up behind her.
“Hi Dad.”
“Well, hey there! How’s my little man? Want to go for a ride with your pops?”
“Oh yeah!”
“Now hold on—”
“I got a job at Mancuso’s Scrap Yard,” Edgar interrupts before she can finish her objection. “That’s why I look so grubby.”
“Sure, you did.”
“I can show you the pay stub!”
“Alright, let me see it.”
“I’m not with the boys anymore,” Edgar says, pulling out the stub from his wallet and handing it to her. “See?”
“Well, that’s a start, I guess.”
“C’mon, Tania, I gotta see my son.”
“Yeah, come on, Mom!”
“Alright, come in,” Caldwell relents. “You can spend time here with Tyler, help him with his homework.”
“Great!” Tyler smiles, opens the screen door, and reaches for his father’s hand.
Tania stands aside and lets the hulk enter the living room of her apartment. Why do I do this? she thinks, as he stands by the spot where he threw her against the wall. I don’t know. But I know I’m gonna let him.
“I don’t want to sit on your clean sofa,” Edgar says. “Maybe Tyler and I can just go for a walk. Do you want ice cream, son?”
“Ice cream!”
“Is that okay?” Edgar asks, his voice all sweetness.
He’s such a snake, Tania thinks as she looks at her son and his eager face. But I suppose a boy should have a relationship with his father. It’s more than I ever had.
“Sure, but be back in an hour,” she says, sternly.
“Just an hour?” Edgar asks, but then, reading Tania’s expression, adds, “Okay, let’s go, Tyler.”
He takes his son’s hand, and they walk out the front door. Tyler turns and waves at his mother. She smiles and waves back but feels an overwhelming dread.