When they finally arrived home, Amelia found a thick envelope stuck in her front door.
“What is it, Mom?”
“It’s from your dad’s law firm. Probably just some stuff for me to fill out,” Amelia lied. “You guys go ahead inside.”
It was from John, but it wasn’t his law firm. It was from his lawyer’s law firm, and it had to do with custody of the kids. She ground her teeth as she locked the front door behind her and stomped upstairs.
Once in her bedroom, she shut the door and sat down on the bed. Of course, half the documents were unreadable in their legalese. But the gist of it was unmistakable. John was requesting custody of the kids. Full custody.
As she skimmed the papers, she didn’t see anything that stated a specific reason why John wanted this. That led her to believe her hunch was right. John wanted the kids so he and Jennifer could still have the freedom to come and go even with a newborn in the house.
Her heart was pounding as she dug through her purse for her phone. She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm herself down.
“Don’t cry, Amelia. Don’t cry. Don’t shout. Just ask John if it’s true that Jennifer is pregnant. If he says yes, then ask why he thinks now is a good time to take the kids when the stress of a new baby is something they are not prepared for? That’s good. Just ask him that. Don’t say anything else. Stay calm.” She dialed his number and waited as it rang.
“Hello,” John barked as usual.
“John, why did you have this stuff from your lawyer just dropped here?”
“Amelia, I said I was serious. You didn’t want to talk. Now you can talk through my lawyer.”
“When is the baby due?”
“What?”
Amelia knew she’d hit a nerve. Jennifer was pregnant, and John wasn’t going to tell her.
“Jennifer’s baby, John. Please don’t play stupid. When is the baby due?”
It was quiet on the other end of the phone. It was obvious the element of surprise was squelched.
“May.” John cleared his throat.
“And why would you want Adam and Meg to move in when a new baby is about to arrive, subjecting them to sleepless nights and the stress of newborn responsibilities?”
Again, there was no reply.
“You weren’t even going to say anything. If I hadn’t found out on my own, you wouldn’t have said anything until the kids were at your house. You’ve done some low things, John, but this is by far the worst.”
“Amelia, it isn’t what you think.”
“Really? Tell me. What am I missing here?”
“I… can’t talk about it now.”
“Jennifer will hear you? You can assure her you are not cheating on her with your ex-wife. I wouldn’t have you if you were dipped in chocolate.”
“No. That’s not it. I just…”
“Need time to come up with plan B. I’ll tell you what, John. Since I’ve got these papers, that means my attorney does too. We’ll just talk about this in front of the judge.”
Amelia hung up the phone and then started to cry. Not like before, when she sobbed and sobbed until her chest ached. No. She sat with tears in her eyes more out of frustration than sadness or fear.
Before she could get too distracted, her phone rang. It was John.
“Nope,” she said, swiping the decline button. “I’ve got a bake sale to deal with. You can wait. You can wait until…” She looked at the legal documents. “October tenth at ten o’clock in the morning.”
She folded the documents up, stuffed them back in her purse, wiped her eyes, and went downstairs.
“We’re ready, Mom,” Adam said.
“Oh, you’re both helping?”
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t we?” he replied as Meg slipped a hot-pink apron over her brother’s head. “How do I look?”
“You should wear that to prom,” Meg teased. “Of course, you’d have to get a date first. Good luck.”
“You know, I think one of those paper bags will just about cover your head. You’ll get a date for sure that way,” Adam returned the volley.
“All right, you two. No fighting in the kitchen. It’ll make the cupcakes taste bad.”
“Is that true?” Meg asked.
“Yes. Remember that time I tried to make Girl Scout Surprise and you both hated it?”
“That stuff was gross. It was green beans and potatoes with hamburger meat all tossed together in tinfoil.”
“Yup. All kinds of things that taste good. But you guys were fighting and whining, so you ruined it. It’s all your fault it didn’t turn out. I hope you are happy.”
“No way!” Adam snapped.
“That’s not true. That stuff was gross!” Meg squealed.
“Well, when you curse it with bad behavior, yeah,” Amelia said with a serious face. “But that’s what happens when I let you go too long without a beating. Beatings will resume tonight.”
They all laughed. Before long, the kitchen was warm from the oven. The batter for the cakes was being made. The ingredients for the frosting were set out. It wasn’t long before the doorbell rang and Dan came in. Before she said hello, Meg had a hot-pink apron over his head, as well.
“Do you guys have any homework?” Amelia asked, pointing to the clock, which read nine thirty.”
“I can get mine done in study hall,” Adam said.
“I’ll finish mine in the morning.” Meg yawned.
Well, I’ll finish these up. You guys were a great help. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”
“What about the frosting?”
“I’ll handle that,” Amelia said. “Dan, you’ll help, right?”
“Frost cupcakes?” he said as if she’d offered him a spider to hold. “That may not be a good idea. It’s better if you do the baking and I do the eating.” He patted his stomach, which was anything but pudgy.
After sending the kids to bed with a kiss and pulling up a chair for Dan to be comfortable, Amelia told him about the conversation she overheard with Laney and Stacy.
“That’s interesting. I had a feeling it might be smart to talk to that Stacy girl again. I think I’ll pay the school one last visit on Monday and see what I can shake loose.”
“I’d let Stacy see you pull Laney aside. Sometimes a little fear is all you need to get the rest of the story.”
“I like the way you think, lady.”
“You’re going to come to the bake sale tomorrow, right?” Amelia said as she whipped together the frosting. Her hands moved mechanically, as she’d made buttercream frosting a thousand times before. The real pizzazz wouldn’t come until the end when she colored them. “I know it would mean a lot to Meg. Half the proceeds are going to the art club.”
“She loves art club.” Dan smiled. Since Amelia had met him, Dan had never been a gushy, smiley kind of guy. “Yeah, of course I’ll stop by and buy something. I hope she doesn’t mind if it’s just a couple of her mom’s cupcakes.” He winked.
“You’re so good to us, Dan.” Amelia’s eyes watered again. “I know it’s sophomoric, but I wish I had met you first.”
Dan understood what she meant. He didn’t move or smirk but looked at her as his own eyes welled up. But not a tear fell. As quickly as the emotion surfaced, it was gone. But Amelia saw it. It meant more to her than dozens of roses or an eight-carat ring or a hundred quick I love yous.
“I find it rather fitting considering all the sophomores we have been dealing with the past several days,” he quipped.
Amelia chuckled and shook her head, pushing a bowl and spoon in front of him.
“Stir,” she ordered.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ve got to get my airbrush ready.”
“Airbrush?”
“I’m representing the Pink Cupcake. I can’t let Granny’s lemon tart upstage me, can I?”